Sidekicks

A sidekick is a teddy bear that you talk to asynchronously. One way to do this is by sending messages via WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram. The nice thing about WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram is that you'll see checkmarks that appear/change colors next to your message after your teddy bear has looked at your message, so you can feel witnessed without them even having to reply.

Having a sidekick provides a way to have someone along for the ride with you as you go about something that you might otherwise be doing alone (or while feeling alone). As with teddy bears in general, the sidekick need not be doing much for the sidekick to help substantially.

My first sidekick was someone who was able to help me with my goal of meditating more often and for longer. Anytime I did a twelve minute meditation, I would send her an email. All I asked her to do was just send me back an email saying that she read my email. But, she usually replied with some encouraging comments instead. Having this setup with my sidekick made a big difference, even though I wasn't asking much of my teddy bear.

As is the case in general with teddy bears, you can pretend like your sidekick is someone besides who they are. For example, someone found it helpful to have me represent the whole world while he was having me serve as a teddy bear. Even though you are talking to your sidekick asynchronously, their presence can make a big difference. Who they are or who you are having them be affects what you say to them.

I am currently available to serve as a sidekick for people who want to communicate with me via messages using Telegram. I'll be more likely to keep tabs on my Telegram account on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. On other days, I'm busier and may not have time to look at what's happening on my Telegram account. My phone number is 734-237-7676.

-Leeann