So for a long time now I have felt very depressed and lonely and I saw somewhere that when some people feel lonely or depressed they go to sleep hugging a pillow to cast the illusion of someone else being there. At first I though this was kind of crazy but I went ahead and tried it and it was one of the best nights sleep I have had in a long time. I have been doing this every night now for months and recently I have been saying to myself "I have to stop doing this, it isn't healthy". So last night I didn't use a pillow and 3 times that night I had the same dream. You know the one, where your falling and you don't know why then you wake up and you feel like you actually were falling and you just landed in your bed. I post this because I was wondering, is there any chance this bad nights sleep is a result of me giving up using a pillow to try and suppress my depression / loneliness?

I wonder why you think that sleeping while hugging a pillow, is unhealthy? Where would you get that idea?

Look at children. Most children sleep with a favorite stuffed animal. The main reason parents introduce a stuffed animal is so their kids will have someone to snuggle with at night. It works wonders.

There's no reason that a single adult can't use the same technique to help them sleep. When my husband is on nights I often fall asleep hugging his pillow. It not only helps with my missing him, but it's also really great for my back, and finding the "zone" so that I'm comfortable enough to sleep. Sometimes I sleep with a pillow even when he's in bed with me, because of the physical benefits for me, and not the mental.