Benefits of having a Comfort Item!

If you feel embarrassed about having a comfort item, I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! 

Here are 5 benefits of having a Comfort Item!

1. Emotional Support: Comfort items like a stuffed animal, blanket, or an item of clothing can offer emotional support and a sense of nostalgia. Have something that smells and feel like home can be incredibly comforting. ESPECIALLY if you deal with trauma/ PTSD. (Same queen/king) I personally feel like the childhood connect of a lovey can connect you to the simpler time where you could retreat with that special item to your choice of safe space. Even though it may have been a difficult time, the item brought (and continues to bring) a send of peace and grounding that can be difficult to find as an adult.
2. Stress Reduction: This goes for huggable items. When we give a hug to a friend or someone we love, several chemical reactions go off inside our body. We release Oxytocin, Dopamine, AND serotonin. These SAME chemicals are released while hugging a cuddly companion! SCIENCE! 
3. Providing a Healthy Coping Mechanism: Now if you're anything like me, especially going the difficulties, it can be very compelling to turn to some ugly and self loathing coping mechanisms. Having a Comfort Item provides you with a safe and healthy outlet to lay your burdens on. When you have a comfort item, it also acts as a companion, a small part of you in the external to turn to in times of hardship. 
   
4. Companionship: Sometimes we need to talk to someone and we just can't. Especially if you're someone like me who has struggled with Chronic Illness Flair ups. Which can leave you in bed/on a couch for days, weeks, months, even years. Having a comfort item during these hardships provides you with a sense of companionship. Someone to talk to (even if it is an inanimate object). When you have this time of love for your item, it becomes a friend. Something that holds your hand through the hard times, that gives you a fluffy head to cry ( or sneeze) on. They don't ask anything of you, they are just there, for you. 
5. Emotional Anchoring: Your comfort items often hold sentimental value and can help anchor positive memories, serving as a reminder of happy times. Even if the environment may have been unstable or difficult, our comfort items seem to take us back to the positive/safe memories.                                                                                                                                                                                               My Green Bear has always been a part of me. I have some difficult memories from my childhood, but anytime I hold my Green Bear, I feel a sense of home, that may have not existed in the house I grew up in. I feel loved. I truly don't believe you need any more reason than that, to have a Comfort Item <3