The benefits of using Playmobil© as an emotional management tool

Depressive or anxiety states not only have a great capacity to make us feel bad for months, but also They also modify our way of interpreting things and of "visualizing" the environment that surrounds us, with its opportunities and opportunities. risks. That is why in the field of emotional management some forms of help or tools have been developed designed to allow the person to express their way of seeing or feeling things and, from that initial representation of what they see, feel and what that he interprets, can detect errors and tendencies to self-sabotage, taking the first steps to reconfigure his mind and his philosophy of life.

One of the resources that go along this line is the use of Playmobil © dolls, both for children and adults.. Let's see how it can help in cases of depressive states or anxiety.

A complementary tool for emotional management

This tool, new in Spain and with several years of growing popularity in the US. and Latin American countries, it is used as a projective technique in individual personal counseling sessions.

Through the dolls, unconscious aspects can be detected and revealed, which visually convey much more information than the person can sometimes express verbally. We can come to understand the basis of the problem or conflict, since with them people, objects, emotions or internal parts can be represented. It provides information that helps to understand the origin of the discomfort, and later, to find the best possible solution.

It can be used (in person or online) in both children and adults, although the operation is different, since that the children use the dolls to play and it is the professionals who interpret what is happening through that game. The adults, however, represent their conflict by creating a scene through the dolls, and in this way visualize that conflict, in addition to expressing it verbally.

• Related article: "Emotional management: 10 keys to master your emotions"

How are anxiety and depression related?

If the use of Playmobil © dolls has a reason for emotional management in states of anxiety or depression, it is partly because both have several things in common; that is to say, that some of their characteristics overlap and, therefore, can be approached from the same type of strategies. So that… What do these states share?

It might seem that the two obey completely opposite logic: while depressive states deactivate us mentally, anxiety keeps us excessively activated. However, to assume this is an oversimplification.

First, in practice, it is known that A large number of people who develop depression in some of its forms also suffer from some anxiety problem.; It is what is known as an anxious-depressive picture. On the other hand, the two states have as one of their main causes a predisposition to emotional instability. It seems that this element causes mental health to deteriorate both from the side of depression and from anxiety.

Secondly, these two psychological alterations significantly modify our way of interpreting reality.

For this reason, once we have begun to experience the first symptoms, it is very easy for the situation to worsen relatively quickly, since our philosophy of life leads us to self-sabotage and adopt habits that deteriorate our health mental. Since both depression and anxiety are characterized by making us feel bad, this emotional disturbance leads us to behave differently. a way that plays against us, both for constantly worrying about real and/or imaginary problems (suffering from anxiety) as for suffering a state of hopelessness, demotivation and inability to enjoy the good things that happen to us (suffering depression). And it is this second common element that should be taken into account when it comes to understanding the usefulness of the Playmobil© doll tool.

• You may be interested in: "Types of depression: its symptoms, causes and characteristics"

What are the benefits of using Playmobil © dolls?

These are the main positive aspects of using Playmobil © dolls as a resource with people suffering from depression or anxiety:

1. It offers a way to express with or without words what you feel

Various studies show that putting into words what worries us or makes us feel bad is an effective strategy to prevent our emotions from overflowing us and we are able to tackle these issues from a more neutral vision. However, sometimes this is not possible due to various circumstances. In this sense, the performances with Playmobil © dolls are a very good vehicle to express oneself.

• Related article: "Emotional labeling: what it is and what it is for in psychotherapy"

2. Predisposes the person to create a narrative thread that integrates what has happened to him

The use of Playmobil © dolls is also a way of representing a story, that is, a narrative in which they participate. characters and an initial situation is raised, a problem that exerts disruptive effects, and the development of the experience of facing that problem. That's why, Helps organize ideas and understand what happened, since by aligning concepts and events, it makes it easier not to get lost in the details.

3. It helps to see things in perspective and to discover new interpretations.

With an overview of what has happened to the person, it is easier for them to adopt an observer perspective external, discovering alternative ways of interpreting what happened and getting out of the vicious circle of beliefs dysfunctional.

4. It is a systemic tool to visualize the influence of the family

Finally, as dolls are normally used to represent the closest people, this resource helps to understand the role of the family and its influence on the person, as well as their possible participation in the problem, or the opportunities for improvement offered by the family context.

• You may be interested in: "Family therapy: types and forms of application"

Are you looking for professional psycho-emotional advice?

If you are interested in starting a process of emotional education to overcome conflicts linked to depressive or anxiety states, I invite you to contact me.

Am Luisa Ramirez, psychologist and coach, and I work helping people of all ages by offering sessions focused on the individual person or, conversely, family or couples counseling.