We all have our ways of dealing with stress. Some people listen to music, others may read a favorite book, or go outside for a walk, talk to a friend, or just sit and look out the window. There are probably as many ways for people to deal with stress as there are, well, people.
I prefer whiskey.
Now, some of those stress-relievers are healthy. Walking, for example, or exercise in general, is always good for you. But some people resort to some really odd ways to deal with the stresses of everyday life, and I have to say, infantilization probably isn't the best way to go. In China, though:
When the going gets tough, the tough … pop in a pacifier?
That’s the surprising stress-busting move thousands of young adults in China are making — swapping melatonin and meditation for an adult-sized binky.
Once a niche quirk, the silicone soothers are supposedly now big business on Chinese e-commerce giants like Taobao and JD.com, where they are priced anywhere from a budget-friendly 10 yuan ($1.40) to a luxury 500 yuan ($70).
They’re sold as sleep aids, stress relievers, even smoking-cessation tools — and shoppers are gobbling them up. Some online sellers move thousands each month, according to the South China Morning Post.
And the fans aren’t shy about why. “When I’m under pressure at work, I feel a sense of safety from childhood,” one Chinese buyer said, as reported by the outlet.
Now, before we start pointing and laughing at China, we should note that young Americans are doing this, too.
The trend isn’t staying swaddled in China, either.
TikTok is sucking it up — literally — with videos of American adults pacifying themselves in traffic, at work, or in the throes of burnout.
In the comments section of a TikTok by @thebentist, one user swore, “I just use an adult pacifier it hasn’t moved my teeth been using them for 4 years.”
Another doubled down: “Just get an adult pacifier I use one! And the ADHD tip it works!!(for me).”
Others admitted, “we gotta do what we gotta do to keep focused. over bite or not getting stuff we need to get done. Lol,” while one confessed, “im so ashamed, I’ve been addicted for 23 years, my entire life.”
Some naysayers chimed in with alternatives — “if you want something in ur mouth, chew gum. if you want to suck on something (like a pacifier) have a sucker [lollipop].”
My eyes just rolled so hard that I saw the inside of my skull.
Some of the comments are nonsensical, too. Take "...if you want something in ur mouth..." I'm not sure why this person brought up an ancient, lost Sumerian city, but then, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the "pacifier" thing, too. (Seriously, people, "your," not "ur," I mean, it's two frigging keystrokes; that's not so much of a price to pay to not look like an imbecile.)
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This, to me, just doesn't seem healthy. What's next? Diapers? Taking a favorite blankie to work? If I had an employee who insisted on using a pacifier during the day, I'm afraid they wouldn't be employed long; someone who is that insecure, that infantilized, so as to need a binkie to deal with stress probably won't be a model of efficiency. Want to know how to stay focused? Learn to act like an adult. Being able to concentrate on a task, well, that's pretty much an Adulting 101 subject, and anyone over the age of three should be able to do so without what my mother used to call a "dum-dum" stuck in one's mouth.
If we needed any more evidence that we're in the "weak people make hard times" phase of societal development, well, here it is.
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