They’re cute, they’re huggable, and they’ve got problems.  They’re the Parapluesch, a line of cuddly stuffed animals with mental illnesses from the Psychiatric Institute for Abused Cuddly Toys.  Seriously, they’ve got some serious disorders to work through.  There’s Dolly the sheep with the personality disorder, Dub the depressed turtle, Kroko the crocodile who is afraid of water, Sly the hallucinating snake, and Lilo the obsessive-compulsive hippo.

The toys are the brainchild of 36-year-old Martin Kittsteiner, of Hamburg, Germany.  He explains that his toys aren’t just cuddly critters with funny back-stories, but they can also be helpful.  “It started as a bit of a joke with my girlfriend, who has lots of soft toys, and then we thought there could be something in the idea.  Children and grown ups like their vulnerability and find something in them that gives them a great sense of comfort in helping to heal them.  I think some adults see it as a form of therapy for themselves.”

You can buy 5 copies of every toy for the obsessive-compulsive in your life at Parapluesch.de.

Tags: Martin Kittsteiner, Psychiatric Institute for Abused Cuddly Toys, Parapluesch.de, cuddly toys with mental disorders, psychotic toys, toys with psychiatric disorders, unusual toys, mental illness toys, Hamburg, Germany

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