Posted by Deneb on November 8, 2010, at 21:05:45
My theory on why I am so attached to Dr. Bob:
Ever since I was a small child, I've had an extremely active imagination. Most of my play was pretend play. I pretended with my sister a lot. We used toys, give them voices and made them talk to each other. Or we would just pretend today without toys. I'd say 99% of my play was pretend play, with the other 1% being riding bikes or whatever.
Pretending was how I coped with life. I was an extremely anxious child. I prefered to imagine things in my head rather than play with the other children. Every recess I would walk around and around the playground, all by myself, imagining things. I did this both at school and at home. At home I would pace back and forth for hours on end, using my imagination to entertain myself.
I grew attached to my plush toys, especially to Meow Meow in particular. I think I got him when I was 4. I still have him today! I would bring Meow Meow with me everywhere and pretend a lot with him.
I used Meow Meow and my other plush toys for pretending well into my teens. They were like real people to me.
I don't play with my plush toys anymore now though.
Here is my theory: I never stopped pretending or having an imaginary friend. When I got way too old for Meow Meow and found Dr. Bob, somehow Dr. Bob became the new Meow Meow. Dr. Bob essentially replaced Meow Meow for me as my main imaginary friend. That also explains why I get such an inexplicable feeling of cuteness when I think of Dr. Bob.
I think having an imaginary friend has helped my cope with life since I was a small child. I guess I just never outgrew the need for an imaginary friend.
poster:Deneb
thread:969296
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20101014/msgs/969296.html