G5 A troubling thought...

[Sprout]

So... I have loved My Little Pony since I was a kid but right now I am having a crisis about how much I cannot stand MLPG5. It is not merely that I hate it, nor is it a "old better, new bad" kind of mindset. When G5 first came out I was super in love with it, bought every single toy and piece of merch, was mega excited for new content, basically one of the biggest G5 fans. But it crushed and disappointed me more than any other fictional thing, especially that the media completely sidelined my favorite pony ever Sprout. The 3D cartoon he was barely in ended, plus he isn't in the ongoing 2D cartoon AT ALL... and the toys are just a bunch of nothing now, and I dislike all the other characters now anyway.

Where am I going with this? Well, G5 is a severe trigger for me now, bigger than any other trigger I've had in my life, even moreso than severe and life-threatening things. You can laugh if you want, but every psychiatrist, doctor, and therapist I have talked to identifies it as a trigger and that my feelings are less like anger and upset and more like "a deep sense of grief and loss". I've had panic attacks and done bad things just from seeing pictures of G5, and it has only gotten worse and worse as the months and couple of years have passed--trying to overcome the trigger only backfired. As it is, I have a disorder that causes me to feel emotions extremely strongly. I have already gotten rid of hundreds of dollars worth of G5 stuff, and try to just focus on Sprout and previous gens and my own pony creations, but...

I feel as if I can never escape the pain unless I cut myself off from My Little Pony altogether (aside from Sprout specifically). I adore my old gen figures but my biggest comfort and my biggest trigger both being "My Little Pony" makes me feel distressed. Plus, whenever I google or search for previous gen MLP stuff, G5 stuff ALWAYS pops up even if it is completely unrelated to the ponies and topics I was searching for. I am trying to focus on making my own pony world and stories at the advice of a therapist, but it doesn't seem to be helping and I still keep spiraling.

I do not want to abandon My Little Pony, as there is no other IP that brings me near the amount of comfort and joy as MLP had. But I do not know if it is worth it now that it is pretty much "tainted" for me and even after G5 ends, it will still be around whenever I try to look for figures or art of other ponies. So I am not sure what to do. I have been struggling with this predicament for several months.

I wonder if anyone else has ever had thoughts of getting rid of their entire My Little Pony collection...

 

[minticat]

i think ultimately any advice given to you here will be trumped by what your medical team has to say. if it's this severe for you it's best to keep working on it with the professionals, but i will say it's ok to take a break. disengage from MLP online and put your ponies in storage somewhere out of sight while you continue to work through your troubles, if it makes you feel more comfortable. if you're torn right now you don't have to take an extreme option; just shelve things and put it on pause. lots of collectors have done it when things in life pop up.

 

[LadyMoondancer]

I agree with minticat, the most important thing is to communicate with and listen to your medical providers.

From my own non-medical perspective . . . it's true that you are always going to risk running into G5 stuff when you google MLP, look at pictures of other people's collections, etc. It's a part of this very long running franchise and it always will be. However, perhaps you can engage with MLP in a more personal, offline way. Like drawing your favorite ponies or customizing a HQG1C pony or having some favorite MLP picture books to flip through. If you only engage with MLP offline, then you will have more control over what you see and you can curate your experience. Being part of the wider MLP community is fun. But your health is worth more.

Best of luck! That sounds really tough.

 

[StormMaeker]

G5 is a severe trigger for me now, bigger than any other trigger I've had in my life, even moreso than severe and life-threatening things. You can laugh if you want

I’m not going to laugh because I think I get what you mean.
When I was younger the first online community I joined was for another huge interest of mine and it no longer is anymore. I cannot stand it one bit. I now cringe over how I was over it, I annoyed so many people at my secondary school. Online, I had someone ruin it for me and now years down the line after leaving it I realise more what happened and thinking about the franchise got to the point where even remembering it resurfaced the most horrible feelings. It even found its way into feeling horrible about other stuff too, like creating a fear of the internet.
I no longer have that collection in my room. It’s deep in storage in the loft and I am unable to shift it because it feels it crosses over with another huge interest and also I want to remove the attachment of the bad for it to be back to a lovely little thing again.

Thankfully, I think I am no longer in that place about it…? Maybe this place helped? Maybe moving onto other interests helped? Or maybe just separating myself all together from it by shoving it into storage helped? But dang sometimes when my brain throws it back up again it is rough. I just have to keep thinking to myself it’s gone, it’s passed and stuff…

I wonder if anyone else has ever had thoughts of getting rid of their entire My Little Pony collection...

Yeah, except for me I have have strong attachments for things so it has been more like “I want to shove everything in the loft.”
But with the old thing, definitely yes. But now I feel better about the old thing, I’d just rather never cross paths with it again

Previous commenters have given great advice.

However, perhaps you can engage with MLP in a more personal, offline way.

I like that idea, being offline from it. Creating your own stories is a good idea and the best part? You decide what’s canon and nobody can say otherwise!

Good luck, I hope you manage to pull through this

 

[Neelah]

I think I can see where you are coming from, my daughter is adhd/autistic and developed a new special interest. The problem with it was that she became that interest. It absolutely consumed her more then any others before it. Her therapist finally suggested we put it ALL away. Toys, books, t shirts, all of it. So we boxed it up and put it away in my closet. She is in a much healthier place now, more herself again. And that particular interest has subsided - she hardly talks about it, and when she does it's mostly because someone at school brought it up.
Maybe just taking a break from it entirely would help? If you pack up your collection for awhile it could feel like you're not letting the negative energy consume all of the joy. You could try the Marie Kondo method of thanking each piece for the good times as you put it away. Then eventually maybe you can open the box with feelings of greeting an old friend.
Like others have said though, your medical team is going to know best, but I did want to share what helped us. I hope you can come to peace with it and feel better soon

 

[Aurora Unity Solstice]

I would like to put a disclaimer here before I actually post my comment. My typing and my wording might not be the best but I mean well. That being said, I will be honest and blunt.

I agree, with everyone else here. Your well-being comes first and quite bluntly, I think it's time to put MLP behind you. This includes Sprout. At least, for now. I understand he means so much to you and you may even love them to the depths of you but in the end, he is also a reminder how MLP triggers you. Even keeping him around would be like opening wounds over and over. You need to want to do this obviously, it's not going to be easy, but it is best to put them all away and step away. Your medical team knows what's best and does want to help you but you do need to meet them half way with it.

I wish you peace and I do hope you feel better soon