Pop-it or simple-dimple? How anti-stress medication works

One of the trends this spring is new anti-stress toys: pop-it, simple-dimple and squish. They all went viral at about the same time. And there are even memes on social networks about how to distinguish the novelties. While millennials were trying to figure out the English names, zoomers were already making viral videos for TikTok.

Despite the furor produced by a few toys, the anti-stressors themselves are not a new story. Remember the same spinners, popular a few years ago. They work on a similar principle – they help relieve stress, distract and calm down. But why? We answer this question together with psychologist Nadezhda Pozharova.

What are pop-it and simple-dimple?

The name of the toy from English translates as “burst it” – pop it. In fact, it works in the same way as the pulpy paper, only you can “burst” pop-it as many times as you like. When pressed, the hemispheres on the toy bend to the other side, making a characteristic sound, after which it can be turned over and continue the game. Now pop-it can be found in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes: from the “classic” rainbow squares and circles to multicolored flowers, hearts and even animals.

Simple-dimple works on the same principle as pop-it. But differs, as a rule, smaller size and number of poupyriks.

Why do anti-stressors help to calm down?

If we talk about antistresses in general, then, as a rule, they work on the principle of turning on fine motor skills. That is, thanks to the fact that a person is going through some objects in his hands, he transfers the focus of attention to them and conditionally returns to the moment. It is also worth mentioning touch. Connecting the senses, a person stabilizes his emotional background. For example, you are anxious and you can not get rid of this feeling, you close on your emotions and thoughts. And thanks to the senses and fine motor skills you can return “to the body”, ground yourself – feel that you are here and now.

In addition, successive movements allow one to feel a certain stability, stability. A person realizes that he or she can control something. And pop-its in many ways help to calm down at the expense of this. By bursting all the pop-its and then putting them back, we realize that we have a mechanism in our hands that we can control. When a person feels like they have no control over their life and can’t calm down, when anxiety overwhelms them – anti-stressors like pop-it help.

In general, anti-stressors can help with anxiety, so it’s important to keep them on hand. For example, carry a rosary, pebbles, or something similar. If you have high levels of fear or anxiety, a psychologist recommends chewing on something or fiddling with it. So you will feel that you can control at least your own body.

What effect do different types of anti-stress games have?

There are many types of anti-stress toys, pop-it is just one of the latest. Some of them are even enlisted in special types of psychotherapy. For example, kinesthetic sand helps to equalize the psycho-emotional background, reduces the general level of anxiety, develops fine motor skills, concentration, helps to unload unconscious material.

In the case of pop-its, color therapy is also involved. Bright colors also affect the psycho-emotional state of a person. Depending on the shades that a child or an adult chooses, we can talk about their feelings: what this or that color is associated with, how comfortable it is.

In addition, working with such anti-stressors is body therapy. We connect the body, and it helps us to feel it better.