When I was younger, I did not understand the meaning of comfort blanket / object to a person. I just thought that it is just their favorite blanket or object. But as I mature, I realized that it isn't just a favorite thing, but it may also mean a state of serenity to other people.
I remembered one of my cousins back when we were very young. He would always bring with him a bolster pillow. He was so attached with it and even gave it a name. There was a time when, we were on our way to our province together with our relatives for a week vacation. We were riding in their jeep and his dad was the driver. We were in the middle of north express way when he felt sleepy, so he looked for his pillow in every bag that we have brought along. After quite sometime of searching, he started to cry and remembered that it was unintentionally left in their house somewhere in Taytay, Rizal. I was shocked that he cried out loud asking for the pillow and we ended up making a U-turn just to get his pillow.
During that time, I thought that he's just acting as a spoiled brat for crying just because he was not able to bring with him a pillow, but now I understand that it is not actually about the pillow, but it is because it makes him feel secured and at peace.
Now, I have my own kids, and my son also got his own version of this comfort blanket. He got this plush toy on his second birthday. It was the Alien character in Disney's Toy Story. From that day, he would not sleep without Alien. He is now twelve years old and yet he cannot sleep without it. Alien will also be with us even when we travel locally or abroad. We even teased him that he needed to get Alien a passport so he can come with us when we travel outside the country. And since Alien is now eleven years old, it already had a lot of stitches. Its body also shrank because of machine wash and/or dry cleaning it had encountered through the years, but my son will always ask me to refill it with polyester fibers or cotton wool to make it looked as plump as it was before. If previously he would cry everytime her older sister would hid Alien to annoy him, now he will be really mad at her, if she would try to hide it.
I asked him, what's with Alien that you cannot let it go? He answered, he is my non-human bestfriend. He is my buddy and my confidante. I even offered him that I would buy him another Alien as a replacement of his older one, but he said no need. There's nothing that can replace Alien.
According to some research, comfort blankets / objects are not only for children but also adults. It provides psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations. Many adults consider the comfort that security blankets/objects provide them as essential to their mental and emotional well-being. As I got interested with comfort blanket/object thingy, I asked some people and did some research, why they are so into their comfort objects, and here's what I have discovered.
1. It reminds them of their childhood - most comfort object come from when a person is still young. Two of the most common among comfort objects are "Blanket" or "Stuffed / Plush Toy" and usually they are the ones that they have been using since their childhood days. It provides them nostalgic memories and brought them back to happiness of former place or time.
2. It reduces their stress - while these objects are inanimate. The person could use these as a way to express what they feel. Girls usually have their teddy bears or rug dolls that they talked to when they are alone in their room just to share some stories that they are too shy to tell others, even to their parents. There are stages in child's life as well, wherein they have this imaginative-buddy usually with their toys as they play make believe, and some carried their habit of expressing feelings with it. Some people would find it hard to sleep if their childhood blankie is not with them, even they are using a new blanket, the thought and smell of the childhood blanket beside them or in their hand would be enough to put them to sleep and relieve their stresses.
3. It has become their prized possession - although we usually think that a comfort blanket/thing are in form of blankets, plush toys and the like, not all of it are something that we can bring to bed and fall asleep with. There are some comfort objects that had become a prized possession to the person. For example, a necklace or amulet given by a grandmother to a grandchild that he/she believes with bring good luck or fortune to him/her every time he/she wears it. It only doesn't give him/her the confidence but for that person it is a highly valuable object.
4. It has become a part of that person - as that object stays longer with a person, it doesn't just become something that they own, it becomes part of them. Just like to my son, since his Alien is starting to get worn out, I have been offering him to buy a new one of the same kind and of the same brand, but he would strongly disagree with me and will insist that I repair or stitch whatever will be damaged with Alien. According to an article I read in the internet (livescience.com), it is called "essentialism," or the idea that an object is more than just a physical property. They believe that there is something special about that particular comfort object that cannot be replaced even with the same, exact and indistinguishable replica of it.
5. It has become a companion that is ready to give you a hug when you feel and/or alone - As an adult, though you had met a lot of people and maybe gain a bunch of friends as well along the way, there will be a time in your life when you are so down or even so elated with happiness but at that moment, you have nobody to share that emotion with. Your comfort object is the first thing that can give you a congratulatory or a condoling hug. Imagine you get home after being promoted at work and it just so happen that you don't have company at home and couldn't even reach them by whatever means of communications you have? Or you reach home after rushing out of a cafe because you saw your long time boyfriend kissing your bestfriend intimately? These are some of the moments that your comfort object will embraced and gave a back tap on you!
6. It is a piece of your home that you can bring anywhere in the world - Since most of the people with comfort object could not sleep or get through with their day without them, it is always in the first list when packing for a vacation or any kind of travel. It gives you connection of your home away from home, because it will always remind you of something about your home and how relaxing it is there, and with this comfort object beside you, you have a piece of home wherever you go.
7. It serves as a reminder of the things a person had overcome- Through the years that this comfort object stayed with you. It had witness almost every detail of your life. Good or bad, it had stayed with you all these times. And as you look back, you will realized that it is the same comfort object that had been there for you, without judging you, without scolding you, without blaming you and with open arms will be there for you anytime.
