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Remember when you were a child and you had a special stuff animal or blanket that you always kept with you? You brought it around with you everywhere you traveled, it always being the first thing on your mind that you must bring with you whenever you leave the house. You cradled it close to you, almost in a grip-lock so you will never lose it. Whenever you felt down, angry and/or depressed, you would hug it close to your body, squeezing it tightly in your arms. You feel safe with your item in your arms. As long as you cradle your comfort item, you feel like everything will be ok.
Now that you are older, you slowly start to neglect your comforting item. You feel like you don't need one anymore and that you feel like you can handle your emotions without issues. Over time, the need to have something to calm you down starts to come back to you. You need something to vent to, something that will bring you some sort of comfort, something that you can cling to. It might not be the same as you had when you were a child, but it is something that you can slowly start to call your own personal comfort item.
Everyone has their own unique item that brings them a sense of comfort and relaxation. This item can range from:
- Something you wear - a sweater or blanket wrapped around your body, keeping you warm and cozy.
- Something that you eat and drink - the calm and enjoyable smell and taste of a drink or edible treat that relaxes your mind and breathing.
- Something you can hug - a unique stuff animal or special pillow that you can hug tightly between your arms, cradling it and feeling it close to your body.
- Something you can play or read - a good book or a video game that slowly detracts your mind and brings it into a world of fantasy and delight.
Everyone has their own special object or activity that brings them comfort and joy whenever they feel down and depressed. In many cases, its not an item, but a person. You need to be close to that person and be in his/her company to make you feel calm and relaxed. There is no age limit or requirement to have one or the other. Everyone has their own unique way of feeling safe and secure.
artwork © 2014 Alex Cockburn
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Runewuff
I still have my first stuffed animal, a raccoon which having been a first birthday present, has seemingly been with me my whole life. He has been repaired numerous times at what my parents had to reassure me was the "toy hospital" when I was a kid to get me to part with him (it's the only high-end doll collector's and restoration shop in town), and even so, is worn and threadbare from countless years of use.
...at some indefinite point in time, when I was a teenager, sleeping with him as the comfort item was replaced by jewelry. Beaded "surfer" necklaces, or, more recently as I've come to worry less what others think too much, ankle bracelets as well. (though attitudes have changed a little over the years, foot and ankle jewelry is still considered mostly feminine) For some reason, just knowing the jewelry is there is comforting. Especially if I am sick and miserable, or worried, or frustrated, the feel of the jewelry on my skin is a reminder that I'm decorated and beautiful, that something fun is still going on just by it being there. Sometimes I sleep better with it left on, the feedback of its touch reassuring to my subconscious.