The Right Stuff?

The Mannik Monkey & Pax L. Possum pattern is available through PayPal and Ravelry. To Purchase click below.


Over the weekend I made two more stuffed knit toys as a variation on the Douche Bag doll pattern. This plush, pink creature is named Pax L. Possum, the anti-anxiety marsupial. Anti-anxiety medication is now a common thread in our American fiber, for adults and children alike. We certainly do live in anxious times — personally, politically, economically, globally. But I have no idea what it's like being on meds, I assume it's like having a great weight lifted from one's body for some people.



I actually have an illogical fear of becoming dependant on or addicted to... something.... which I guess makes this a non-specific phobia. Yet I've never been addicted to anything of note — hard drugs, pharmaceuticals, pot, booze, internet porn, gambling, TV... if only I'd ever get addicted to regular exercise. But I might need those extra 20 pounds if another war breaks out and the economy collapses. I owe this all to being a jaded art college student from the 80s.

Doesn't heroin sound so 80s? But as reported on the news it's a growing suburban epidemic. The closest thing I have to an addiction is a cigarette habit and penchant for buying more yarn just because it's on sale. Other phobias I have are a stark fear of electricity, being late, drowning, the sight of my own blood... these are all fairly "garden variety." I blame all these on Catholic school and nuns.



This green fuzzy guy is named Mannik Monkey, a perilous primate with a prehensile tail that you just can't shake. Meds and mania are steady companions. One friend describes his treatment as going "flat" but being able to think properly. So, Manic Monkey doesn't really go away, he just becomes reasonably annoying.



In the opinion of our pharmaceutical industry, addiction and phobia stem from imperfections in one's mind. They recommend a regime of chemical adjustments to the brain that may yield temporary relief from chronic symptoms. Who is looking for perfection? What is so wrong with being the spazzy-geeky kid? They make fine musicians and brilliant scientists. My father, may he rest peacefully, always said if he could wish anything for us kids, it would be that we would be just normal, healthy, and happy. In our modern age that might be asking too much.

Over the course of years, these chemical adjustments always need more adjustment. This might explain why a reasonable person might one day yell out something odd at a random barista, like "I just want half hot water and half coffee! Is that so hard? What is f******g wrong with you people!" We've all been in that coffee line. Brain chemistry is a weird, young science. I don't know if we should be playing with our gray matter so much, especially when it concerns children. Treatments start as young as the age of 9.