Comfort items

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I know this has been discussed a number of times, but I want to bring it up again. I feel like it's important to me as someone with autism, considering I'm like the queen of comfort items.

So, do you have them? What are they? How do they help you cope with the everyday struggles of autistic life?

I have a blanket named Keru that reminds me of my hero Takeru. The reason is because Takeru is like my security blanket when it comes to my anxiety. When I snuggle with Keru, I remind myself of my hero, and I always feel better. Keru is really soft, fluffy and enjoys lots of snuggles each time I sleep or need him~



Honorable mentions: My pound puppy (given to me by my grandfather as a baby before he died), Rainbow Dash and Yoshi (both given to me by a very good friend of mine), Fluttershy, Stuffy the Dragon (Doc McStuffins) and more I can't bother to name at the moment. XD

Blankets. Soft cuddly blankets. And pillows. Lots of pillows. That's what I have now.

Though when I go out, sometimes I'll draw on my arm or wear armored bracers and that gives me comfort.

Yaaaaay! I love these kinds of topics.

These are all currently my favorite comfort items (I tend to rotate them sometimes):

There's Dory the dolphin, Oh the Boov, Bitty Sadness and Tiny Sadness, my purple scrunchie, my Dumbo Tsum Tsums (Baby Dumbo and Zizz) Susie the coupe and my Calico Critters cat, Ms. Important, a pack of Extra gum, and my stim toys - a Tangle Relax, a textured Tangle Jr, a Snake Twist, and my chewable cloud pendant.

I got the Snake Twist and chewable pendant from a website called Stimtastic. They have great stim toys.

Dory and Oh help me sleep better, and they're both very soft. Baby Dumbo, Zizz, and Tiny Sadness help with that, too - all I have to do is hold one of them in my hands and I fall asleep right away. Maybe it's a special power that Disney Tsum Tsums have. I named one of my Dumbo Tsum Tsums "Zizz" b/c he has his eyes closed as if he's asleep. Bitty Sadness is incredibly soft and velour, and she's good friends with Tiny Sadness. They both share a love for cute hair clips.

Even though my hair is nowhere near long enough for me to tie it up in a scrunchie, I still wear the purple one on my wrist b/c I like the sensory feedback of something gently-yet-snugly wrapped around my wrist. I heard somewhere that that's even supposed to help with motion sickness. I also have the gum b/c it gives me something else to chew on, even though that's what the cloud pendant is for. I like to chew gum after having something to eat - I feel like it freshens my breath. I have Ms. Important, the Calico Critter b/c my therapist gave her to me as a reminder that I'm important as a human being, and that I deserve to have my needs acknowledged (I've always had really low self-esteem so it's hard for me to remember that). I also like how CC's are flocked - I like how those flocked, fuzzy surfaces feel. Susie the coupe is a die cast car based on one of my favorite Disney characters, and it feels good to "roll" her along one's arms or legs. Besides that, she's just a cutie patootie! :3

My Snake Twist and Tangle toys are there b/c I like to have things I can manipulate with my hands when I'm anxious or starting to become fatigued. If I didn't use them, I would bite and pick at my fingernails all the time, which obviously isn't good. I used to have a therapist who would ask me to "put them down" at certain points during our sessions. The therapist I had before her understood why I needed them, though.

All these items help me cope with life by decreasing my anxiety and...just by being there for me. When I'm feeling upset, anxious or mad, they don't ask me to go into "WHY" I feel that way; they just automatically "know" and are there to help me. They aren't scared or disgusted when I cry or have a panic attack. They don't get in my face and yell at/guilt trip me in shrill voices. Other people have to leave sometimes, but they always stay with me. They also give me something to focus my attention on when I'm in crowded spaces with lots of people, and things are really loud, things are being dropped suddenly or being moved loudly, and the lights are really bright or have shorted out and are strobing. Most importantly, they're there for me when I'm in what I feel are (potentially) unsafe situations, like when my stepmom wants to go to a fancy restaurant where she can order a glass of wine....and then continue to pour herself glasses of wine off and on for the rest of the night, after we get home. You get the idea.

The Cars blanket that they're all sitting on is a comfort item, too. I got it for Christmas in 2008. I also have a lime green University of Minnesota hoodie (not pictured) that my favorite aunt gave me several years ago. It's full of tears and holes now, but it's still my favorite one. My stepmother used to be repulsed by it and tried to get me interested in wearing other hoodies.