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Scared about losing a stuffed animal - help me get over it!

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Scared about losing a stuffed animal - help me get over it!

Postby Losingmyspider » Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:49 pm

Hello everyone,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post but I really don't know who else to talk to about this. If I'm in the wrong sub-forum, please redirect me! :)

Here's the situation:
I'm an 18 year old female.
When I was a child I had tons of stuffed animals. As I got older I put most of them in boxes that are stored in the attic. After my 10th birthday I didn't sleep with any stuffed animals up until 2 years ago.
About 2 years ago my mom gave me a super cute small spider plushy as a halloween gift.
Long story short: I've become super attached to it.
My boyfriend thought it was kind of weird at first but he even gave the spider a name and a voice. Since getting this spider I can't resist super cute stuffed animals and now I have around 20 of them. Each has a name and sits on my bed or next to my computer. Most of them are keychain-plushy sized.
I know that this is weird. But honestly I don't tell anyone about it (only my closest friends know and think it's cute) and - at least in my opinion - it's harmless.

But here's my problem:
I'm incredibly scared of losing the first spider or any of the 20 aforementioned plushies. The spider is the most important to me though. I'm going to move with my boyfriend to his homecountry in december and I'm super scared of bringing the spider/other plushies. Why? Because when my boyfriend goes to work and I go to university, no one will be home to look after the spider/the plushies. What if there's a fire? What if the building collapses? I know it sounds SO ridiculous but I just don't want anything to happen to them.....
That's why I'm considering leaving them at home in my room and have my family check up on them/rescue them in case something happens. I also don't want to be without them though...Just writing this makes me feel like I'm crazy. :oops:

I know it's so unlikely for something to happen to them. Why would a fire even break out in my apartment? Why would the building collapse? I just don't want to take any chances, I guess. Even thinking about possible situations like me losing my spider makes me cry. I had nightmares about it already. It's unreal.


Does anyone have experience with this? How can I get over my unfounded fear? I'm dreading the day I'll move out, it's causing me a lot of stress.

Thanks for reading!!
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Re: Scared about losing a stuffed animal - help me get over it!

Postby vishva » Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:06 pm

I had this with a stuffed toy when I was about 4 years old. I was worrying about losing it, and needed to hold it every night to sleep. I still remember the trauma when I really lost it for few hours while on a trip. I have even worried what would happen to my stuffed toy after I would die someday.

It is now kept by my mother, I guess. I have grown out of it (attachment to that toy). But the anxiety was left with me. I couldn't grow out of the said mindset completely.

Maybe you need to talk with a professional about this. This is no 'crazy', don't think/feel of you like that.
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Re: Scared about losing a stuffed animal - help me get over it!

Postby ZeroStream93 » Thu Sep 17, 2015 2:03 am

You've gotten so used to the stuffed animals starting very young and hard to break habit. Since you have had this behavior for two years, an emotional attachment has been developed. The spider might have provided a feeling of comfort and companionship along with nostalgia from your childhood that you cant let go of. My advice would be to see how long you can go without it like a few days. Lastly is get another way of satisfying the emotions behind the attachment to your spider doll in a healthy way.
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