TEDx Talks - The Healing Power of Toys: How Toys Help People Cope with Trauma | Shelly Clevenger | TEDxSHSU
Dr. Shelley Cger discusses the therapeutic benefits of toys, emphasizing their role in healing trauma. She shares her personal experience of losing toys in a childhood home collapse and how collecting them as an adult has been healing. Toys can help people process trauma through play therapy, where they explore emotions in a safe environment. Collecting toys allows individuals to regain control and connect with happier times. Tactile toys like Legos and stuffed animals provide comfort and mindfulness, helping to alleviate anxiety and stress. Dr. Cger encourages everyone to embrace toys for their therapeutic and joyful benefits, regardless of their background.
Key Points:
- Toys can aid in trauma recovery through play therapy, allowing safe emotional exploration.
- Collecting toys helps regain control and reconnect with positive memories.
- Tactile toys provide comfort and mindfulness, reducing anxiety and stress.
- Toys are beneficial for everyone, not just those with trauma backgrounds.
- Engaging with toys can bring joy and healing, encouraging play without shame.
Details:
1. 🌟 Power of Childhood Toys
- Childhood toys evoke strong emotional connections, often unmatched by other experiences in life.
- Toys can create feelings of strength, happiness, safety, and being loved.
- The sensory experience of a toy (hard, soft, squishy, noisy) contributes to the emotional attachment.
- Recollection of these toys can trigger vivid memories and emotions, emphasizing their lasting impact.
- The emotional bonds formed with these toys can influence adult behavior, preferences, and purchasing decisions.
- Personal anecdotes often highlight how specific toys serve as anchors for cherished childhood experiences.
2. ❤️ Toys as Emotional Support
- Toys have the power to inspire and engage individuals, providing emotional support and aiding in trauma coping mechanisms.
- Toys help people cope with trauma by providing comfort and familiarity, which are critical in disruption recovery.
- Dr. Shelley Cger, chairperson and professor in victim studies, highlights the role of toys in trauma recovery, emphasizing their healing and restorative power.
- Dr. Cger, who is also a vintage toy collector, adds a personal dimension to her insights, sharing examples of how toys have assisted in trauma healing.
- Studies show that toys can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, making them effective tools in emotional recovery.
3. 🏡 Personal Toy Trauma and Healing
- The speaker recounts a childhood incident where the roof of their home collapsed, resulting in the loss of many beloved toys, which was a significant emotional trauma.
- Some toys, such as Teddy Ruxpin, survived, underscoring the deep emotional attachment the speaker had to these toys, which served as friends and companions during childhood.
- The trauma of losing these toys went beyond the physical loss, affecting the speaker's emotional well-being and illustrating the profound connections people can have with personal possessions.
- The aftermath of the incident had a lasting impact on the speaker's relationship with toys, highlighting the resilience required to cope with such personal losses.
4. 🔄 Healing Through Toy Collection
- The process of collecting and playing with toys from childhood that were lost is described as healing, offering emotional restoration.
- Sharing these toys with a daughter allows for bonding and reliving childhood experiences.
- The specific example of acquiring an original vintage Strawberry Shortcake doll is highlighted as a significant emotional milestone.
- This act of collecting and playing with toys provides feelings of happiness, love, and a return to childlike joy.
5. 🎭 Play Therapy with Toys
- The collaboration with the Houston Toy Museum enabled students to create infographics showing how toys aid in coping, providing the community with insights into the therapeutic benefits of toys.
- Play therapy is highlighted as a method for both children and adults to process trauma and victimization in a safe environment.
- Therapists can observe children through their play to understand their experiences, including trauma.
- Utilizing toys like the Hulk, therapists can help children articulate emotions and explore alternative reactions to anger.
- Specific examples from therapists reveal how using dolls and action figures in play therapy sessions can lead to breakthroughs in emotional understanding.
- The variety of toys used, including dolls, action figures, and building blocks, serves different therapeutic purposes, such as expressing complex emotions or building social skills.
- Case studies demonstrate significant improvement in children's behavior and emotional articulation after consistent play therapy sessions.
6. 🧩 Collecting Toys for Control and Comfort
- Collecting toys serves as a coping mechanism, helping individuals regain control over their lives, especially after traumatic experiences.
- The act of collecting connects people to happier times, providing a sense of emotional comfort and nostalgia.
- For those unable to engage in active play, toy collecting becomes an extension of play, offering psychological benefits.
- Individuals report that toy collecting plays a significant role in their healing journey, providing emotional support and stability.
- Example: Lisa rediscovered her childhood favorite toy, Sheira Princess of Power, which revitalized happy memories and improved her emotional state.
- Lisa's collection of Sheira series dolls reconnected her with positive childhood experiences, illustrating the profound emotional impact of collecting.
7. 👐 Tactile Toys and Mindfulness
- Tactile toys like Legos, stuffed animals, and fidget toys help individuals stay grounded and present, offering a means to cope with anxiety, fear, or stress by focusing on the toy and the current moment.
- Both children and adults benefit from tactile toys, as they provide comfort and can be used to push away negative feelings.
- Legos serve a dual purpose as both a tactile toy and a form of mindfulness, similar to meditation, by allowing movement and focus on building tasks, which helps in pushing out overwhelming thoughts and feelings.
- The use of Legos by therapists highlights their effectiveness in therapeutic settings for children, providing a practical method for managing emotions.
8. 🎮 Toys for Everyone, Everyday
- Toys are not limited to children or those with trauma backgrounds; they offer value and enjoyment to everyone, including adults.
- Engaging with toys, whether through video games, board games, action figures, or creative activities like building blanket forts, can enhance everyday life.
- The message encourages adults to overcome the stigma and embrace toys as a source of fun and healing.
- The invitation is to not only play with toys available in specific settings, like a lobby, but to integrate play into daily life whenever possible.