Kroko, The Crocodile With Gestaltzerfall

Time reports on a new line of Paraplüsch toys from Germany representing animals with severe mental illnesses.

For your gift giving consideration: Dub the severely depressed turtle? German toymaker Paraplush has designed a controversial new line of toys with an assortment of psychiatric disorders. The company advertises stuffed animals who suffer from a range of mental illnesses (bipolar disorder, depression, multiple personality disorder) and even come packaged with a personalized medical history and treatment plan.

Ifelicious introduces us to the krazy kewt kritters:

Meet the gang!

(all descriptions below were taken from the Paraplüsch website.)

Kroko	The patient’s hypersensitive hallucinatory perception is a symptom of a paranoid psychosis. The signs are a mental block and a Gestaltzerfall (disintegration of structure) of the habitual field of experience. The consequence is a compensational reactivation of archaic reaction patterns.
Dolly	The patient seems to temporarily suffer from the delusion that she is a wolf despite the fact that she is without a doubt a sheep. The unexpectedly strong exhibition of the repressed identity completely overstrains her. Hysterical, psychotic defence reactions underline the fundamental threat which points at negative experiences and resulting fragmentation processes. In this state, the patient is unable to accept herself as a plush animal.
Lilo	The patient has been trying to solve a wooden jigsaw puzzle for the past few months without success. He is so absorbed in this repetitive activity that he is unaware of his surroundings most of the time. Ever since his disorder has begun, the patient hasn’t talked to anyone. A connection between the inability to speak and the compulsive urge to solve jigsaw puzzles seems likely.
Sly	The patient’s inner conflict must be interpreted as a sign of an ambivalent relationships towards its own body. Combined with the fascination of an apparently much more potent-seeming substitute rattle, we suspect the manifestation of a deeply rooted rattle complex. Of course, the enclosed substitute rattle should not be in use on a permanent basis and should only serve as a transitional object.
Dub	Being an animal more accustomed to a relaxed pace, life in the fast lane has caught up with our patient, sending him into a deep depression. Can you help him to come out of his shell once more and enjoy life on the outside? Help Dub to rediscover life – slowly this time!

Comments

[manuel]

I remember playing the game years ago... 05 or 04ish-probably even earlier, but I'm not really sure...

[ifelicious]

thanks for crediting/linking back to my post! don't you want one?

[CN Heidelberg]

I remember playing that game online about five years ago! I thought they had the plush to go with it all this time. The game was kind of fun.

[cohu]

The shelled turtle is my favorite. There's also a fun online game on their page!

[Although they might still count as "new" in the parallel universe of Time magazine, I distinctly remember those guys from back in 2008...]