In the mid 80s I worked at a place where two employees, in their mid 20's were dating and they both carried around a cabbage patch doll. They brought them to work, but didn't carry them around at work, but they had them with them when they did stuff outside of the house.

Eventually the girl broke up with the boy. He continued with carry around the cabbage patch doll.

It was really some of the oddest behavior I have seen in a work place.

Wow. That is different!

My Strange Addiction covers this kind of behaviour. Several people on the show carry a doll, stuffed animal, pillow, or other item to keep them comforted.

What started as a harmless couple idiosyncrasy probably turned into some kind of abandonment issue. It seems harmless, but it can really affect relationships.

I'd love to meet the woman who could inspire me to carry around a cabbage patch doll.

Thingsithink........
A trick pelvis would do it.

There's a difference between being childlike and childish. Adults carrying around baby dolls is childish in the extreme. Did they talk baby talk and pretend to care for the human needs of their dolls?

Cheryl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There's a difference between being childlike and
> childish. Adults carrying around baby dolls is
> childish in the extreme. Did they talk baby talk
> and pretend to care for the human needs of their
> dolls?

Not that I saw....just carrying around the doll.

I can't imagine the guy could get a date while carrying around a cabbage patch doll.

Just so freaking weird.

I carried around a fat white teddy bear for a while in the 90s. I was going through a very severe depression and was always on the verge of tears. It helped. I kind of miss him.

One of the attendees was carrying around a Cabbage Patch doll as a part of some kind of therapy. One of the attendees thought this pretty odd, so she kidnapped it and left a ransom note.

The target of the crime did not take this as a joke and made a huge deal out of it. The leaders made her give the doll back, but the perpetrator got a bit more mileage out it by leaving an unwrapped Tootsie Roll in its diaper for its owner to discover later on.

You seem to have an inordinate amount of information about that incident, mrtranquility.

Anything you want to admit to?

You might find interesting a British TV documentary you can view online called "My Fake Baby." It's about women in both the UK and US who buy extremely realistic-looking baby dolls and essentially treat them like real infants--buying them thousands of dollars of designer baby clothes and gear, posing for photos with them, taking them out in public in strollers, etc. Some of the women profiled in the program are even genuinely hurt and offended that their husbands don't consider the dolls to be their children. THAT is some seriously disturbing stuff.

I started a thread about them and it is the only thread I have EVER started that went over 30 replies! People seem to have very strong opinions on the subject. Go figure.

Yeah, but all doll collectors,me included, do not treat dolls like children or carry them around with us. That is a bit disturbing.

I had a roommate at BYU named Cathy who was the youngest in a large Mormon family. When Cathy went off to college, her mom began treating her Cabbage patch doll like a baby - getting it up, getting it dressed, talking to it etc. So one summer vacation, while her mom was at the store, Cathy took the doll and tied it to the ceiling fan and turned it on so when her mom returned, the doll looked like it was on one of those amusement park rides where the swings go round in circles high above the ground. Except her mom saw no amusement in it. Cathy thought it would help her mom see how silly she was being but unfortunately it did not.

This is a TLC program: My Strange Addictions.

OH GOOD GRIEF. I've seen some of these programs and can't imagine what is going on with these people.


http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/my-strange-addiction

I've met people with a lot of collections, Mormons included. Most of the Mormons had collections that were religious in some way like pictures of Jesus, or Creche (nativity scenes), for instance.

In fact, the LDS Church in the area where I lived for over three decades had, at one time, a huge Creche display that filled the whole gym and part of the state that was open to the public for several years. They also included a program with visiting choirs, and speakers.

I am told that much of the collection belonged to one person in the Stake. My husband was an amateur photographer. There are probably a hundred or more photos of them stored away.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2014 12:46PM by SusieQ#1.

I collect stuffed animals and bring a different one to work each day. Like a camel on Wednesday. They cheer me up. My job is stressful. I am autistic.

It leaves me speechless and sad.

Wow, I don't know what to say!!! I did see something similar while I was attending college, where a girl who was on the basketball team would carry around a basketball named "Bob" with her everywhere she went. She was differently the talk of the campus that year.

It's not unusual for athletes to name their sports equipment and see it to some extent as an extension of themselves. Athletes get very attached to certain pieces of equipment.

I always thought Cabbage Patch dolls were ugly, so if I decide to carry a doll it won't be a CP.

While the activity may seem bizarre to you, remember:
It doesn't hurt the person who does it.
It doesn't hurt anyone else.
It isn't illegal.

So, what's the big deal?

With "abnormal" behaviour, there are 4 factors that will be considered for the person in question:

1.Violation of social norms
2.Statistical Rarity
3.Personal Distress
4.Maladaptive Behaviour

The first two are not really a problem unless the last two come into play.

An adult carrying a doll is an unusual behaviour for sure, but as long as the person is ok with his or her quirk and it harms no one, it's not pathological.

It is an observation of unusual behavior.

I do think it hurt the guys ability to get a date!

When I lost my children I was devastated. I felt compelled to start caring for my cabbage patch doll as I did when I was a child. On one level I knew it was odd. On the other I knew if I didn't I might turn to alcohol or suicide. Taking care of the doll seemed healthy in comparison.

I don't remember how long it lasted. The weird part was when I was a child the doll was a baby in my mind. But after the tragedy my doll was the age of the children I lost. I had to buy clothes and underwear that were "age appropriate" for my doll. My husband was a rockstar and supported me.

I did not bring my doll out of the house. But I had to leave him in a chair with orders that nothing be placed on top of him and that he could not be moved to the ground.

That was excruciatingly painful to remember. Thanks for reading.

Sizterh this made me cry a little. Glad you were able to find a way to cope. In your case, this seems healthy & therapeutic. In fact it opens my eyes to the other examples in this thread. Dolls represent our need to nurture someone for lack of a real person to nurture. Can be therapeutic. Of course if it becomes a crutch and a person can't move on from it, then therapy may be in order if the person is willing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2014 09:38AM by lenina.

My husband and were flying home from Paris this summer and a woman across the aisle on the plane was holding a cabbage patch doll the whole flight. At first I thought she had a child with her somewhere and was holding it for them, but then I realized that she and her husband were flying alone. It was really odd. I figured she had some kind of anxiety about flying, but maybe she carries it everywhere. She was probably in her 50s.