The benefits of a comfort teddy bear on our health and wellbeing don’t expire when a child reaches adulthood!
Children are often thought to be the intended audience for teddy bears - and adults widely considered odd or immature (incorrectly) for indulging in the childish companion of a stuffed toy.
But why should adults deprive themselves of all of the incredible qualities and advantages that a teddy bear for anxiety or comfort brings?
Teddy bears can be used for a multitude of reasons! Stress relief teddy bears, comfort teddy bears, teddy bears for depression, teddy bears for anxiety, PTSD, for grief and trauma, teddy bears just for the sake of having a gorgeous furry friend to brighten up your life! Why should adults miss out for the sake of “being serious”, “not looking silly” or pandering to public opinion, when teddy bears bring so much joy?
Whether your teddy bear is a familiar childhood friend or an exciting new life size bear from Giant Bears, we believe there is no greater thing to show your love to adults and children in your life than to gift a Giant bear! Better yet, show yourself some essential self care and give yourself a present that will last a lifetime!
Our Top Six Ways Mindful Teddy Bears Help Children and Adults Thrive
1. Comfort Teddy Bears As Transitional Objects
Transitional Objects for Children
A Transitional Object is a possession that children become attached to in order to self soothe or lessen the stress caused from being separated temporarily from their parents. When a comforting teddy bear or stuffed toy becomes a transitional object for a child, they will often carry their teddy with them everywhere, especially to unfamiliar locations or when interacting with new people!
Children thrive when encouraged to treasure, care for and use their teddies to play freely, as opposed to when teddies are discouraged in certain environments. For example, children who are repeatedly told to keep teddies out of the classroom or tucked away in their bags can actually develop attachment issues in later life because limiting or removing a transitional object can hinder the way a child is able to feel secure in the world.
Transitional objects aren’t solely a tool for children going through a phase - it’s a part of human nature that we instinctively carry with us to adulthood and beyond.
Despite common misconceptions, it is not a sign of immaturity for an adult to have a prized teddy bear. As adults, we tend to treasure certain objects that remind us of past memories, whether it’s train tickets from a great journey, a first date memento or a personalised Lifesize Bear Sculpture we received at an important milestone.
These keepsakes in adulthood are our transitional objects, things we keep safe and carry with us because they hold personal value. Without them, we feel off-centre. Keeping a comfort teddy bear can actually be an emotionally healthy way of transitioning through stages of life. You may find adults keep teddy bears to feel closer to a certain person or memory. Examples include:
Moving Out - Taking a comforting teddy bear along is common for students moving out during university to act as a stress relief teddy bear when adjusting to new found independence.
Long distance relationships - Teddies can be the perfect cuddlers when you’re unable to see your partner. Spraying your partner’s cologne on your comfort teddy bear or giving your bear a voice box with a message from your beloved is highly comforting, keeps the relationship feeling secure and eases the pain of missing your partner even when you’re miles apart.
Family Ties - A teddy bear given as a gift can keep you feeling close to distant relatives you can rarely see, such as parents or grandparents.
Souvenirs - A small furry memento from a place can allow you to relive precious memories and feel connected.
2. Social Development and Mindful Teddy Bears
Children investigate the world through play! The best stuffed toys for toddlers are speedy vehicles that help them to learn about the world they live in faster.
Learn Language skills - Children use stuffed toys to start and practice having conversations and recognise specific animals.
Socialise - When playing with teddies, children tend to apply learned social concepts like good manners, acceptable behaviours and following rules.
Engage in Imaginative Play - by using their teddy to mimic a doctor or a teacher or an astronaut, children are inspired to go on imaginative adventures and further understand the world around them.
Feel Empowered - Teddies can instil children with confidence to be brave, engage in new experiences and communicate with new children or adults at school.
Initiate Play with each other - Children can grow eager to start new games together when an appealing new toy is introduced, leading children to learn how to share!
Develop Empathy - Having a comfort teddy bear and learning how to hold it, care for it and even believing it to have feelings and a personality allows a child to develop empathy and comprehend emotions of other people and themselves. Children may even feel sad or sorry if they “hurt” their bear’s feelings by dropping them.
How Do Teddy Bears Help Adults To Socialise?
Talking Points - Having a Teddy on your desk or accompanying you on adventures can start silly lighthearted conversations with friends and colleagues!
A Fluffy Confidant - Therapeutic stress relief bears make great companions to confide secrets to, especially worries that adults don’t want to share to others.
Recreation - Playing games and finding joy with a stuffed friend can develop your problem-solving skills, creativity and imagination - play is not just for kids!
Relaxation - Soft fluffy silent teddies create a sense of calm and peace, making them perfect to join you for teddy bear meditation, long walks or supervise you when stressed.
Mediating Arguments - A sweet fluffy mindful teddy bear can sit between you and your partner and calmly mediate or ease the tension during a disagreement. Hard not to smile and realise how silly an argument is in the long run with a teddy as your therapist!
Imagine how special it is to gift a bear to a child or adult you love, knowing how it can help them thrive socially and mentally!
3. The Power of Touch and A Comfort Teddy Bear
We know scientifically that owning, caring for and petting animals has many benefits to humans, including lowering levels of the stress hormone Cortisol in the body! This is important to note because high levels of Cortisol can have negative physical effects including fatigue, slowed healing, high blood pressure and increased risk of mental health struggles due to stress.
Of course, not everyone is able to own or visit a pet as a way of reducing stress levels! Pets require a lot of care and attention, financial expenses and a great deal of responsibilities to make sure the fluffy little creatures we love are healthy and happy!
Strangely enough, this is where stress relief teddy bears can actually stand in as a feasible alternative if you’re craving a furry friend!
Studies suggest that hugging a fluffy teddy bear has similar positive effects of lowering Cortisol levels and releasing “feel-good” hormones such as Serotonin and Oxytocin!
Incredibly, the medical use of stuffed toys to reduce stress hormones is a staple in children’s hospitals and teddy bears for anxiety have been proven to relieve pain in children post-surgery! What an incredible reason to gift a teddy bear to your loved ones and share all of the physical health benefits of owning a stress-relief teddy bear!
Stress relief teddy bears can be the perfect solution to a high-pressure lifestyle as they are portable (even our Lifesize teddy bears can take the tube or a bus with you) and always available for when needed! Plus you don’t need to check with your landlord that their properties are pet-friendly when you own a teddy bear, or worry about food and vet bills!
Both adults and children stand to gain from hugging a furry teddy bear for anxiety, as age is irrelevant to the universal hormonal benefits that teddy bear hugs provide.
4. Mindful Teddy Bear Coping mechanisms for Grief
It’s a terrible day when we lose a loved one, and all the days that follow can be traumatic, bleak and painful. This time of vulnerability can cause some to surround themselves with family or some to withdraw. Whether you are soothed by others at this time or not, the peaceful presence of a comforting teddy bear to hold in our arms can provide great comfort.
Memory bears were designed as a way of memorialising your loved one after they have passed on and can aid with any kind of unfortunate loss, including bears for pregnancy loss. Using clothes and treasured belongings of the deceased to create the keepsake, a memory bear can be a way of feeling connected and close to your loved one in this time of loss.
It is often found that a memory bear - especially a sweet, calm bear - can bring a small piece of normality and cheer to the daily life of someone coping with grief. Long sleepless nights during the grieving process can be made easier with a memory or comfort teddy bear to hold when lying awake or brought to tears - especially if the person lost used to be the person you cuddled in bed at night.
Memory or mindful teddy bears can guide the bereaved - adults or children of any age - through grief and provide a needed source of comfort during painful separations.
5. Benefits of Mental Health Teddy Bears
Mental health struggles are considered an “adult problem” - but the reality is that a child’s mental health is just as precious and vulnerable. As children’s minds develop, signs of anxiety, depression may become present even at an early age - and they need help dealing with these issues as early as possible.
Giving children the language and skills to express what goes on in their heads can help to identify problems early and teach children healthy coping mechanisms. Mental health teddy bears and teddy bear therapy can be one way of teaching children about their mental health through play!
Mental Health Bears for Adults
It may seem silly that a happy little stuffed bear or a huge lifesize bear can have a positive impact on our mental health as adults. The positive impact of comforting mental health teddy bears is not an illusion or story we tell to our children to soothe them - it is a fact.
Owning teddy bears for depression or to recover from trauma is recommended in psychology, as caring for a little fluffy bear can allow people to slowly heal through positive attachments. Teddy bears for anxiety can be highly effective, as cuddling a teddy reduces Cortisol, which in turn lowers the anxious feelings that can escalate pre-existing mental struggles. Our mental health suffers when we lack proper sleep, which is why soothing bedtime cuddles is one of the greatest benefits of having a teddy bear and can actually improve the quality of your sleep!
During stressful times, including the aftermath of COVID 19, adults and children alike were cut away from socialising with friends and family, which only exacerbated struggles with loneliness and took a toll on mass mental health. Teddy bears can be social companions, and while not substitutes for other people or animals, friendly mental health teddy bears are valid tools for helping children and adults to cope with the sense of isolation.
6. Teddy Bear Therapy For Children and Adults
Teddy Bear Therapy is a therapeutic storytelling process created by Charl Vorster in 1995, in which therapist and child use a mindful teddy bear to tell a story where the bear is experiencing the same situation as the child.
By projecting a child’s thoughts and feelings onto a comfort teddy bear, the child finds it a safe, easy way to discuss their fears, doubts and problems with adults through play without feeling additional distress. The child is encouraged to take their new mindful teddy bear home and try to help the bear with its problems, thereby also finding solutions and coping methods for their own troubles.
How Do You Begin Teddy Bear Therapy as an Adult?
While this tool was developed to help children articulate experiences that they struggle to understand, Teddy Bear Therapy is also beneficial for adults who are broaching difficult topics.
First Steps in an Adult’s Teddy Bear Therapy:
Name your comfort teddy bear and embrace their endearing traits.
Start to associate your bear as a source of comfort whenever you are sad or troubled.
Sleep with your comfort teddy bear and let them accompany you on your travels.
It may be difficult for adults to access deeply personal thoughts and feelings, especially if they have been repressed for a long time; This is why it is recommended to use affirmations such as “I give myself permission to feel my feelings”, especially during teddy bear mediation and therapy sessions.
Using teddy bear therapy in adulthood can be crucial to connecting yourself to your inner child in order to address deep-rooted issues from your childhood.
Your comfort teddy bear can become a “psychological representation of yourself”, that encourages self-love and empathy towards your own experiences. Teddy bear therapy and the use of mindful teddy bears in your daily life can bring you clarity and peace regardless of your age.
Whether you require a teddy bear for anxiety or a teddy bear for depression or simply to aid your sleep at night, a teddy bear is ageless in the value it brings to our lives.
Your stress relief teddy bear can help you through tough times, through grief, uncertainty, new adventures. Your bear is your companion and confidant through life, from childhood to old age, which is why Giant Bears’s come with a guarantee.
Don’t try to convince yourself you don’t want or need the joy of a mindful Giant bear in your life for a second longer! We can all benefit from a friend, even adults.
