Are Adult Pacifiers a Genuine Stress Relief or Just Childish Comfort?

Living in the 21st century is, unsurprisingly, stressful. That’s why our ever-creative (and profit-driven) world keeps inventing new ways to calm us down—or at least to cash in on our nerves. Remember the fidget spinner craze? Stress balls? Or the more recent Pop It toys?

This year, however, Chinese companies have taken a surprisingly old-school approach. Instead of designing yet another gadget destined to be forgotten like the spinner, e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com have started selling pacifiers—for adults. Marketed as tools to ease stress, anxiety, attention issues, and even smoking habits, these dummies come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, with prices stretching from just €1.20 to nearly €60.

But this pacifier trend—pitched as part doctor, part psychologist—didn’t stay in China for long. It quickly migrated to the U.S., where plenty of Americans are now ordering adult pacifiers from Amazon just to make it through daily life. While Amazon mostly offers childlike, candy-coloured designs, some sellers on TikTok are already cashing in with custom-made versions tailored for grown-up tastes.

Online reactions are split. Some users praise this nostalgic throwback to childhood, claiming it boosts their academic focus, offers psychological comfort during attempts to quit smoking, and even helps regulate their breathing.

@zbdapp My kekkei genkai is using an adult pacifier #adult #pacifier #adhd #lifehacks #fy ♬ Soak Up The Sun – Sheryl Crow

Others, however—especially dentists and psychologists—argue that adult pacifiers don’t actually solve the root of the problem and may even create new ones, particularly for your mouth (and, eventually, your wallet).

Orthodontists warn that spending hours sucking on a pacifier can shift the position of your teeth, leading to what’s known as an “open bite.” This is when a noticeable gap forms between your upper and lower front teeth, even when your mouth is closed, because the pacifier pushes the top teeth forward and the bottom teeth inward.

Psychologists also link the use of pacifiers to a phenomenon called age regression—a mental and emotional state where a person’s behaviour reverts to patterns associated with a much younger age.

They note that age regression is normal and temporary in children, often triggered by stress, trauma, or major changes in their lives. For example, a child who just learned a new skill might temporarily lose an older one when under pressure.

But regression doesn’t only happen in children. Adults, too, may slip into it as a way of managing stress. Freud described it as an unconscious defence mechanism that pulls the ego back to earlier stages of development. So does this mean that adults using pacifiers don’t consciously realise what they’re doing?

Not quite. Online reviews suggest otherwise. One buyer, for instance, openly admitted: “When I am under pressure at work, I suck on the dummy. I feel indulged in a sense of safety from childhood.”

On the one hand, buying an adult pacifier can seem like an unreasonable—almost lazy—choice. It doesn’t require much effort or self-work. It’s a quick fix, a fleeting comfort that won’t reshape long-term behavioural patterns the way therapy or professional guidance can.

So instead of confronting the root of the issue—whether it’s attention difficulties, anxiety, or relentless stress—are we simply slipping into infantile behaviour, numbing our feelings with a piece of silicone rather than learning how to manage them?

But on the other hand, given the soaring cost of mental health services, reaching for a pacifier could seem like a reasonable, low-budget coping strategy. While many of us instinctively react negatively to the idea of adult pacifiers, the trend at least brings one uncomfortable truth into focus: proper mental health support is still inaccessible for a huge portion of society. Therapy shouldn’t be a privilege for the upper-middle class—it should be available to everyone.

But even then, there are countless resources and strategies that adults can turn to without relying on a professional. Affordable self-help books, often costing no more than €20 or €30, can provide tools for managing anxiety and other mild mental health struggles. Even something as simple as journaling your emotions or keeping a self-reflection notebook can offer deeper, longer-lasting benefits than a piece of silicone and plastic wedged between your teeth.

Words by Dana Shmyha