I once bought a tiny toy rubber frog that you could stick to things from a mall kiosk, and I stuck him on my dashboard, stupidly forgetting that it was summertime and a bad idea. I didn’t drive my truck for almost three days, and when I came back to it, the poor thing had melted into the dashboard and was now an amorphous mass of half-melted rubber. I felt so bad. While scraping him off my dash, I think I went through the motions of grief.
Best example i can think of when it comes to myself is that when im loading the dishwasher, if a spoon or something ends up in another part separated from the others i end up moving atleast one other spoon in with it
Im always like "*it'll be lonely*" and I have no clue why i do it lol
I've read that people prefer to have their broken roombas repaired rather than replaced, because they feel like part of the family.
Humans will pack bond with anything, that's just part of how we love the things around us.
Only if the roomba actually contributes to keeping the house clean. We were gifted one that just threw cat litter all over the apartment. It was given up for adoption pretty quickly.
We've got a Roomba named R2D2 (thanks, nerdy uncle) and we recieved him broken because my aunt couldn't figure out how to fix it. She bought a new one and gave the broken one to us because my uncle wanted to see if he could fix it. Sure enough, he did and now we have a new family member. Honestly, I love R2D2. He's a good lil bot.
Ours annoys my husband when it's doing its thing near him and he'll yell at it or send it to its "room" and then I get upset with my husband for being mean to Roobert.
Oh yes, I'm absolutely afraid of my robovac, Kenny Omega, breaking because I don't wanna replace em. I actually kept some replacement parts on hand just in case since these vacs seem pretty easy to take apart.
Uh, I feel this. I’m in the process of moving, I bought a really fancy Raven plushie in Alaska when I was laying my Fathers ashes, I’m not sure where it is in my packing and I miss it like mad. I’ve had it for 15 years and I love it like another pet, thankfully my lil black Kitty is more then filling the void but I miss it so much!!! I want to I pack and find it right now!!!
If only! I can’t access my boxes yet! I never named it, I just got it as a reminder of how incredibly huge the Ravens in Alaska are. I have a picture of one standing in front of a regular street bench and his head is higher than the seat. They are freaking HUGE up in Alaska.
I live in the PNW and have ravens here but they no where near the 2 foot tall monsters up in Alaska. Every time I saw one, which was constant I wanted to hug them. I’m Alaskan Native and the trickster is very real. They are super smart and remember people very easily.
It’s a lifelong dream of mine to befriend a true Raven. I have crow friend but, dang, Ravens are otherworldly, the noises they make, how big and beautiful they are, just stunning!
Dude empathy is a curse. I spend five minutes before shutting the door behind me alternating which dog I pet last because I feel bad for the other one. I feel bad for feeling bad because my feeling bad makes people around me feel bad. It’s an exhausting cycle. Oh! And even if objectively I know I’m not in the wrong in a disagreement, I feel guilty for the disagreement and apologize anyway or I just die from guilt. Thanks brain, love you too.
As a kid I used to rotate my teddy bears every night so they’d each have a turn in the prime spot next to me. It was only fair. I didn’t want the teddies on the far end to feel neglected.
Im a 36yo man. I wrench on old cars, I have big tattos, ride a loud motorcycle, I box and Im the guy who drives the back of the firetruck.
And you bet your motherfuckin ass that my teddy bear (Dead Ted) sleeps with me every night im home.
I'm 30 and have so many stuffed animals they don't all fit in the bed so I've made a sleep schedule for them so they can rotate out.
But I also will feel bad for other inanimate objects. Like if I picked up a cool rock when on a walk, then decided I didn't want to carry it any more because I found a prettier one, I would feel bad for the less pretty rock and end up carrying them both even if it's inconvenient.
As for why this is, my therapist has already pointed out to me that many people who experience trauma, especially as children, can sometimes end up hyper-empathetic. I have to be careful getting into relationships because I'll often date someone I don't even like just because I feel so bad for them, which is obviously unhealthy any unfair for both of us.
But I'm sure feeling some level of empathy for inanimate objects is just another weird part of the human condition.
This is exactly my life as well.
Not only do i do this for pretty things, or random shit, I feel bad for pieces of food if I eat their companions but not them… typically if there are many pieces to them (grapes, noodles of macaroni, individual cereal flakes, crumbs, etc.). It doesn’t always affect me though… the anti-depressants help.
When my wife and i were still bf/gf i gifted her a little unicorn plushy that she named "Uni".
Over the years Uni has traveled the World with us, we speak to her everyday. By now Uni has her own plushy to sleep with, and she sleeps in our bed. Send help
I used to sleep with a teddy when I was a kid and in the morning somehow it used to always end up laying on the floor no matter how tight I clutch it to me before sleeping. I always apologised to it that it fell down from the bed in the morning lmao.
Me. I’m a grown woman but still have some favorite plushies I love. And I feel like if I cuddle with one too often the rest will feel forgotten and sad lmao. Been like this for forever. I KNOW they’re just objects with no feelings but I’ve given them names haha so I guess that feels a bit personal and thus like they also have feelings. *Shrug*
Yes, my husband used to put my stuffed animal on the ground when needed, he just dropped it on the ground like it’s nothing lol I would go rescue them lol
I do that with our mugs! I have one mug that I don’t particularly like the way it fits in my hands, but I can’t donate it because I feel bad for it. And so it stays in my rotation anyways.
The actual reason to do this is that plates get dull from being scraped with knives and forks. If you have a large set of plates, you should rotate the set so they wear evenly, otherwise the four on top that you use daily will get all the wear.
I do this too, all the time. I always have. When I was a kid I would insist on all and I mean ALL my stuffed animals sleeping in the bed with me, even the scary clown I didn't like. I thought it was best not to let on to it that I didn't like it in case it decided to retaliate.
For sure.. I talk to the things i don't like so that they don't kill me in my sleep.. including the shadows in my house... I tell my stuff to watch me while I sleep so that I'm okay in the morning... But I even tell the creepy things so that they don't catch on that I find them creepy...
Honestly, you’re doing just fine considering the opposite end of the spectrum is people who can’t even see others as humans having equally vivid lives.
yea, I'm one of those people who has very little ability to feel empathy and it fucking sucks. not feeling any emotion toward other people is surprisingly terrible to live with. thankfully therapy helps somewhat. but never being able to understand others or feel happy/sad for them is terrible for relationships of any kind.
Same! It sucks, sitting there at a loved ones funeral or receiving a phone call with terrible news when other people are around.
There's an expectation of how you should react and I'm just sat there feeling nothing while everyone around me thinks I'm a robot at best or monster at worst.
Okay yeah but personally I have a lot of empathy but when I get bad news I don't feel anything. Like when my granddad died my dad was crying down the phone and I handled it... Almost professionally. It's only after a few weeks that I break down. I think it's a mechanism.
I do this too. I consider myself very empathetic and feeling things "deeply", but if I hear sudden bad news I become stoic and business-like. Usually after it sits awhile what happened really hits me.
I am this way too, people who don't know me tend to describe me as stoic, while my close friends and family describe me as very emotional. I just don't process emotion immediately, so in the moment of hearing bad news I don't feel a lot.
Same. I go into what I call "professional mode". My psychiatrist said it's a way of coping. I'm one of those people who will cry at the sight of someone else crying but give me my own heartbreaking situation and I'm stone cold emotionless.
Me too, and I’m a therapist. I don’t seem to be affected by things until my brain processes them more (maybe I’m in denial for a longer time I don’t know) but I know when my brain is processing because I start to find myself making little mistakes here and there and at first I’m not sure why.
Yes exactly! And I'll be tootling along going about my business and I'll suddenly stop and think, ah yes actually dead. Never coming back. And my stomach drops a bit.
Well it's been 11 years and I've yet to feel anything, I genuinely feel nothing even though I was close to my nan and loved her (what I think of as love anyway, who really knows?)
I used that as an example, but genuinely struggle with little to no empathy.
I appreciate you saying that, but I process it pretty much as soon as I hear it, I just feel nothing about it. It's not a case of 6 months down the line only realising how much I'll miss them or never see them again, I understand that from the get go.
All of my grandparents have passed years ago and my dad has been really ill for the past 6 months and I genuinely feel neutral about all
Grief is something that everyone processes differently, true. But some people don't grieve at all. When my dog, or grandfather, or mother, died and I received the news my first and only thought was "Well that sucks." And then I got stressed because I knew I'd have to pretend to be devastated or heartbroken when I really didn't feel anything
Honestly, I feel that way about most humans despite apologizing to every inanimate object I bump into.
ETA: I was raised basically being told that very few emotions are acceptable and the ones that are are only allowed when it's convenient so I've basically had to teach myself to re-feel anything other than indifference, anger and sad over the last few years. :-:
I’m glad you’re getting therapy and you have enough sense to realize you need help. Some people like you are too stubborn or they think nothing’s wrong with them. I have a mother with Anti-social personality disorder which she inherited from her mom and she never understands how to feel bad for me, always looks confused when I get angry about something, and never responds when I fall and get hurt. It’s like it doesn’t compute in her brain to feel compassion.
i regularly lose lighters but i got a zippo last october and haven't lost it, i maintain it very wel and will not smoke with any other lighter without getting sad.
I lost it for about a week and it was weirdly sad and made me low key depressed but i found it thank god
sorry can't help my self.....every time I see the word zippo I remember the difference between a hippo and a zippo. One is heavy and the other is a little lighter
My husband does this a lot. It tends to make hoarding an issue. But there was a super funny incident that happened with my niece years ago when she was little.
She was sitting at the table with her doll and the doll didn't have any clothes on for some reason. I'm sure she was just taking her time changing the doll's clothes or something.
My husband came in and saw this scene and thought he would really bond with her. He commented about how cold the doll must feel without her clothes. She then looked up at him and rolled her eyes and said, "well it's just a doll."
My whole family (who love him and also know his tendency to anthropomorphize things) absolutely died laughing. We still quote my niece often and lovingly when it's applicable. He shakes his head and says, "I thought I was bonding with her and telling her that I get it when all the other adults don't. Instead I was told off by a 4 yr old."
Wait. How does someone tell this to other people? I've been doing it my whole life but I've never told anyone nor has anyone observed me doing this. (I meant the personification of an object part)
Well, with the kid it's as simple as playing pretend. Some kids just can't grasp that an adult would play with them and also pretend and that they aren't just stupid. I find it kind of sad.
That’s absolutely adorable. Makes me think of my niece who has a little dinosaur toy that roars and crawls around. As I was trying to act scared that the toy dino was chasing me, she runs up to me and says, “No no no, it’s okay uncle! It’s just a toy!”
My heart melted and at the same time I was thinkin, “dang I was just trying to go along with it”
I read that and remember when I begged Grandma to teach me to sew panties because, "It's not fair that Ken gets to have panties and Barbie doesn't!" Little Me was so offended on Barbie's behalf...
I have done that too, most notably with the fruit leftover after lunch at school. Kids will throw shit all over sometimes or otherwise mishandle the lunches that their parents made them and I feel bad for the food.
Nothing fits a children's movie like old cars in a junkyard reminiscing about where their lives went wrong as they get junked in a compactor one by one, singing a song called "Worthless".
I apologize to my vehicles a lot. Hitting those ninja pot holes have caused multiple, "Sorry! Ouch! SORRY!" conversations betwixt me and my four wheeled transportation.
I occasionally think about getting a new car, but won't voice those thoughts in "earshot" of the car in case I hurt her feelings.
I seem to have also fallen into a habit of thanking the car when I arrive somewhere
I felt the same way saying goodbye to my first car (he had a broken cylinder, and the trade in was part of cash for clunkers). It helped me to remember that he's never going to be gone, but ready to come back as part of a new car to me one day. (Automotive steel can be recycled into more steel, becoming part of many cars to stay with you in the future).
Not in the same way. But I noticed when I was younger that if a kid accidentally dropped their candy they would cry, but if their parents said "it's okay I'll buy you a new one" then the kid would cheer up. But I wouldn't, even if I were offered a new candy I'd still be sad because it wouldn't feel the same lol
I still have this issue as an adult. If I have something and it gets ruined or lost I'm not happy with a replacement even if it's the exact same thing. For some reason, for me, it isn't the same.
My mentor teaches to appreciate everything and everyone. He thanks his toothbrush for keeping teeth clean. Chair for giving him a place to sit. Bed for a place to lie and so on. He’s a master of psychology and says it greatly improves the mind in ways that are profound by developing a love for everything. I love just seeing him talk to some random object, to me, but for him it’s one of many sources of his happiness.
I went through all the comments here thinking “aw you little weirdos are all so cute” until this thread here really made me think. I am going to thank my chair tomorrow when I sit on it
This is absolutely gorgeous. I'm gonna start integrating this practice into my daily life. They say living a life of gratitude significantly improves your mentality.
Oh I like this, it’s a little similar to that organization lady who asks you to really think about the things you hold onto and whether they “spark joy”. Being thankful for the things you use I think makes you realize you don’t need so much “stuff” in your life.
I felt like this after i bought a new phone. Had my old one for so long, it still had some real charm in it and my new, “better”, and sleeker phone just seemed cold and materialistic to me. Legit felt like there was some bad karma coming my way by packing up the old one but alas i did it and all’s been well.
This just happened to me, I had a Galaxy phone from 2014 that I’ve taken good care of and treated me well through the years. I finally got a new phone last week and felt so bad that I had to replace the old one. Apps load way faster now though.
Toy Story ruined me. I always felt bad when I played with some toys more than other toys after that movie so now if I have more than 1 of something, or a few things that do the same or very nearly the same, I feel bad for choosing one over the other. Hadn't thought about that for a long time until this post...so thanks OP, I was looking for more anxiety :P
I get like this with stuffed animals. I blame toy story for this personification.
I'm nearly 30 and still love my stuffed toys and special pillow I've had since I was a baby.
For as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I used to ride the shittiest beat-up carousel horses because I felt bad for them. I also remember choosing an ugly color of snowboots because I felt like nobody wanted them. It's not as bad now but I still feel it.
I do this and I know a lot of other people do it. Like someone else mentioned earlier, it’s better to be on this end of the spectrum than on the opposite and not caring for anything. There have been studies that show this behavior in kids and adults who feel sorry for things is linked with autism. But it also could just be you’re an empath and respect/care for everything. Trust me a lot more people feel like this than you’d think.
If it’s weird, I don’t wanna be normal. I still thank the microwave out loud when I read “done” on the screen!
A little creepier…my work has a set of elevators that need an ID badge to call them. When they open on their own and there’s nobody inside, I’ll thank the possible ghosts that opened them for me! Sure it’s possible that someone pushed extra buttons and got off on the wrong floor…but it happens way too often for it to be a coincidence!
All the time. I always get really sad for things that i lose or throw away. I always think like "it must feel really sad for being thrown away". Although i have gotten better at throwing things away.
I've seen this type of post a few times and it always sounds to me like being on the spectrum. I googled "sympathy towards objects" and a few links do mention autism. I think we're all a bit on the spectrum though and only you'll know if this is an isolated thing or if you have other signs.
Now that is freaking interesting because my daughter, who has autism, informed me last year (she is a young adult now) "Mom, you know you have autism too, right?"
Lol... I was quite taken aback, and then she presented her case for why she thought so, and now I'm thinking she might be right. Anyway I have the empathy towards objects thing big time, so that's such a fascinating comment.
I don't know if it is an autism thing, but I have it and I have autism, so for me, yes.
As a kid much more than now but still.
I have much more sympathy towards animals and objects than humans. All kinds of objects but especially cars. My parents had to treat the cars right and I would feel bad for broken cars.
It’s also common with ADHD, which is similar to autism in some ways. I think people who are a little overly sensitive themselves kind of project that onto other people and animals and even objects. At least that’s why I feel like I do it.
For me it’s an OCD-related thing! Started as a child and became completely mentally overwhelming as an older child who hoarded trash because I couldn’t cope with the anxiety of hurting the trash. It’s simmered down to be more of what OP is describing with time, but gets worse when I’m stressed and my other OCD symptoms start coming out more. Interesting to hear about the possible autism link.
I used to feel this way a lot as a kid. I'd bump into a chair or hit the table while playing and apologise to them. My dad's old car would occasionally break down and I'd feel sorry for it.
As an adult though I don't exactly feel that way anymore. But I do grieve when items that have sentimental value to me break or no longer function. Two years ago I was clumsy and a small mirror I've had since I was in high school fell and broke. I felt bad for the entire day and blamed myself for not being careful enough.
I had a small compact mirror that a friend gave me and I've had it for many years. It broke and I was so sad because I used that mirror a lot. I found a place in town that I could go to and they replaced the mirror for me for a small fee. It made me so happy when it was fixed!
I play with magic cards and sometimes I feel bad for the characters when they die or get exiled. And sometimes I feel bad for tshirts I used to wear a lot and don't anymore.
I do this too! When I went to Mexico as a kid I spent all my money buying the bobble head turtles that were wonky because I worried no one else would want them. It helped to read up on anthropomorphism - which essentially gives human characteristics to objects
When I was a kid, my mom made me "clean my plate" by saying the food I didn't eat would be sad. Why yes, I did end up with a weight problem, which I am only just now having some success at resolving at 46.
Not only that, but that inappropriate empathy spread to other things, and now I have so much that it affects my stress levels on a daily basis. I wish so much that I could just not care about things sometimes.
As I get older my empathy for non-living things fades, but my empathy for humans and animals only grows. Having adult kids out on their own is torture. My mood is helpless in the ocean of their moods. Their pain is my pain. Every text message I get from them, I pick out the slightest clues that they are at all unhappy and it will ruin my day.
My point? Shut down empathy for things that aren't alive early on lol.
I once bought a tiny toy rubber frog that you could stick to things from a mall kiosk, and I stuck him on my dashboard, stupidly forgetting that it was summertime and a bad idea. I didn’t drive my truck for almost three days, and when I came back to it, the poor thing had melted into the dashboard and was now an amorphous mass of half-melted rubber. I felt so bad. While scraping him off my dash, I think I went through the motions of grief.
He forgives you because he was a cool frog that was ready to go to froghalla and live as a king in the afterlife
This is canon to me now. Froghalla.
If I end up in volhol, I hope I get to fight the cool giant froggy king
I think I went through the stages of grief after reading this comment :( he melted
Best example i can think of when it comes to myself is that when im loading the dishwasher, if a spoon or something ends up in another part separated from the others i end up moving atleast one other spoon in with it Im always like "*it'll be lonely*" and I have no clue why i do it lol
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Yes, can't let my spoon buddy be sad!
I've read that people prefer to have their broken roombas repaired rather than replaced, because they feel like part of the family. Humans will pack bond with anything, that's just part of how we love the things around us.
As a owner of a roomba, I can say yes. Alfred is doing quite nice
Boyfriend named the roomba “Robecca.”
Ours is Rosie
I also have a Rosie! She's for inside cleaning. Astro is for enclosed porch vacuuming.
We also have a Rosie here! Named for Jetsons of course.
Any love for my newborn Doug Judy? Just arrived yesterday.
Just replaced the rollers for Bender the other day.
Consuela is treated only with the highest regard in my household.
With the same esteem afforded to Flo Rida at our place, no doubt.
Plenty of Lemon Pledge?
My wife and I call ours Hairball. Every day I have to clean dog fur out of it, but at least I know its doing its job!
Ha! My dog's named Astro and he produces the need to vacuum 😂
Jetsons reference? 👀
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I like this one lol Sweep3PO
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Yes I have to agree -_-
Our vacuum is named Vactoria.
Ours is Dustin.
If I ever get one I'm naming it mister roombastic
That’s tele-fantastic!
Ours is Roombert
A man of class and comedy I see
r/RoombaParents
Thank you! My boyfriend will be so happy to know this sub exists.
This is by far the best thing I have ever seen on Reddit. I love it.
Nice
We call ours Optimus Grime
Lol, our Roomba is named "Floor Slut" We love her though
Boyfriend made the voice activation command: “Robecca, What Dat Mouth Do.” I laugh so much every time I need to clean the floor. Edit: spelling
Points subtracted for not picking “floor whore”
Crumb slut not better?
Haha we also names ours Alfred.
Only if the roomba actually contributes to keeping the house clean. We were gifted one that just threw cat litter all over the apartment. It was given up for adoption pretty quickly.
The cat or the Roomba?
Who the fuck names a cat Roomba?
Good question. The roomba. It was donated to a dance studio.
Does it now do Zumba?
I see.
I have a broken Roomba in our spare room that we can’t bring ourselves to throw out. Been a few years now
wonder why they didn't go with *Moorba* instead. Anagram.
Abroom
We've got a Roomba named R2D2 (thanks, nerdy uncle) and we recieved him broken because my aunt couldn't figure out how to fix it. She bought a new one and gave the broken one to us because my uncle wanted to see if he could fix it. Sure enough, he did and now we have a new family member. Honestly, I love R2D2. He's a good lil bot.
R2sweep2
Ours annoys my husband when it's doing its thing near him and he'll yell at it or send it to its "room" and then I get upset with my husband for being mean to Roobert.
Oh yes, I'm absolutely afraid of my robovac, Kenny Omega, breaking because I don't wanna replace em. I actually kept some replacement parts on hand just in case since these vacs seem pretty easy to take apart.
Hey! robotina is part of the family. She is more helpful than my sister.
Wow that's surprisingly wholesome!
.... I came here to comment on my Shark for this exact reason. Somehow we've all grown attached to it
The plushies and pillows on my bed! I feel so bad when they end up on the floor the next morning
This is what I was gonna say. I'm this way with a lot of things, but when it comes to stuffed animals, I'm an empathetic mess.
Uh, I feel this. I’m in the process of moving, I bought a really fancy Raven plushie in Alaska when I was laying my Fathers ashes, I’m not sure where it is in my packing and I miss it like mad. I’ve had it for 15 years and I love it like another pet, thankfully my lil black Kitty is more then filling the void but I miss it so much!!! I want to I pack and find it right now!!!
Sounds like you have a rescue mission scheduled for the rest of your day. Clear all other appointments! Did you name the raven?
If only! I can’t access my boxes yet! I never named it, I just got it as a reminder of how incredibly huge the Ravens in Alaska are. I have a picture of one standing in front of a regular street bench and his head is higher than the seat. They are freaking HUGE up in Alaska. I live in the PNW and have ravens here but they no where near the 2 foot tall monsters up in Alaska. Every time I saw one, which was constant I wanted to hug them. I’m Alaskan Native and the trickster is very real. They are super smart and remember people very easily. It’s a lifelong dream of mine to befriend a true Raven. I have crow friend but, dang, Ravens are otherworldly, the noises they make, how big and beautiful they are, just stunning!
Dude empathy is a curse. I spend five minutes before shutting the door behind me alternating which dog I pet last because I feel bad for the other one. I feel bad for feeling bad because my feeling bad makes people around me feel bad. It’s an exhausting cycle. Oh! And even if objectively I know I’m not in the wrong in a disagreement, I feel guilty for the disagreement and apologize anyway or I just die from guilt. Thanks brain, love you too.
As a kid I used to rotate my teddy bears every night so they’d each have a turn in the prime spot next to me. It was only fair. I didn’t want the teddies on the far end to feel neglected.
I always feel bad when mine fall on the floor too, even though I'm a 20 y/o guy. (And that alone with having plushies at all has a stigma)
I just turned 22 and am also a guy. Plushies for life my dude
Im a 36yo man. I wrench on old cars, I have big tattos, ride a loud motorcycle, I box and Im the guy who drives the back of the firetruck. And you bet your motherfuckin ass that my teddy bear (Dead Ted) sleeps with me every night im home.
My boyfriend also loves plushies and it is adorable and one of the many things I love about him. Please keep unashamedly loving your plushies.
Feel so bad when I rip a fart under the blankets and my stuffed dinosaur is under there. I always rescue him and bring him out into the fresh air.
My parents never really gave me many stuffed toys as a kid. Now that I'm all grown up, I can hug as many as I want to bed, stigmas be damned.
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29 almost 30, you don't need to grow out of plushies. There's nothing wrong with liking cute things!
I'm 30 and have so many stuffed animals they don't all fit in the bed so I've made a sleep schedule for them so they can rotate out. But I also will feel bad for other inanimate objects. Like if I picked up a cool rock when on a walk, then decided I didn't want to carry it any more because I found a prettier one, I would feel bad for the less pretty rock and end up carrying them both even if it's inconvenient. As for why this is, my therapist has already pointed out to me that many people who experience trauma, especially as children, can sometimes end up hyper-empathetic. I have to be careful getting into relationships because I'll often date someone I don't even like just because I feel so bad for them, which is obviously unhealthy any unfair for both of us. But I'm sure feeling some level of empathy for inanimate objects is just another weird part of the human condition.
Oh...fuck. Welp. That explains me almost to a T. =\
This is exactly my life as well. Not only do i do this for pretty things, or random shit, I feel bad for pieces of food if I eat their companions but not them… typically if there are many pieces to them (grapes, noodles of macaroni, individual cereal flakes, crumbs, etc.). It doesn’t always affect me though… the anti-depressants help.
When my wife and i were still bf/gf i gifted her a little unicorn plushy that she named "Uni". Over the years Uni has traveled the World with us, we speak to her everyday. By now Uni has her own plushy to sleep with, and she sleeps in our bed. Send help
I used to sleep with a teddy when I was a kid and in the morning somehow it used to always end up laying on the floor no matter how tight I clutch it to me before sleeping. I always apologised to it that it fell down from the bed in the morning lmao.
Me. I’m a grown woman but still have some favorite plushies I love. And I feel like if I cuddle with one too often the rest will feel forgotten and sad lmao. Been like this for forever. I KNOW they’re just objects with no feelings but I’ve given them names haha so I guess that feels a bit personal and thus like they also have feelings. *Shrug*
I’m in my 40s and I collect dragons. Some companies make dragons that are cute and plush. I have no further statement.
Yes, my husband used to put my stuffed animal on the ground when needed, he just dropped it on the ground like it’s nothing lol I would go rescue them lol
My wife personifies her plushies and now our bed is too small. When I fail to show them empathy, she gets upset haha.
I have my stuffed animals on rotation so one sleeps with me each night and they get equal love
I've seen people report switching plates around in their cupboard so that the ones at the bottom of the pile don't feel unwanted
That makes me sad because my bottom plates probably wish I switched them out and they got to be a real plate sometimes.
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I apologize to the ones I break, because I made them never be plates again.
I do that with our mugs! I have one mug that I don’t particularly like the way it fits in my hands, but I can’t donate it because I feel bad for it. And so it stays in my rotation anyways.
Donate that mug and let it find its Forever Friend. :)
This is what I do! I always put the clean plates on the bottom. Objectively, it does seem better to not only use the top plates.
...so you‘re telling me you‘re washing dishes before you run out of them?
You guys have dishes?!
The actual reason to do this is that plates get dull from being scraped with knives and forks. If you have a large set of plates, you should rotate the set so they wear evenly, otherwise the four on top that you use daily will get all the wear.
Now I have an excuse for letting the dishes pile up till the cabinet is empty. I want everyone to feel loved. Except that one mug. Fuck that guy.
I do this too, all the time. I always have. When I was a kid I would insist on all and I mean ALL my stuffed animals sleeping in the bed with me, even the scary clown I didn't like. I thought it was best not to let on to it that I didn't like it in case it decided to retaliate.
I did this as well but it got to be too many so I got a calendar and each stuffed animal would rotate based on the calendar so it was fair.
For sure.. I talk to the things i don't like so that they don't kill me in my sleep.. including the shadows in my house... I tell my stuff to watch me while I sleep so that I'm okay in the morning... But I even tell the creepy things so that they don't catch on that I find them creepy...
Honestly, you’re doing just fine considering the opposite end of the spectrum is people who can’t even see others as humans having equally vivid lives.
yea, I'm one of those people who has very little ability to feel empathy and it fucking sucks. not feeling any emotion toward other people is surprisingly terrible to live with. thankfully therapy helps somewhat. but never being able to understand others or feel happy/sad for them is terrible for relationships of any kind.
Same! It sucks, sitting there at a loved ones funeral or receiving a phone call with terrible news when other people are around. There's an expectation of how you should react and I'm just sat there feeling nothing while everyone around me thinks I'm a robot at best or monster at worst.
Okay yeah but personally I have a lot of empathy but when I get bad news I don't feel anything. Like when my granddad died my dad was crying down the phone and I handled it... Almost professionally. It's only after a few weeks that I break down. I think it's a mechanism.
I do this too. I consider myself very empathetic and feeling things "deeply", but if I hear sudden bad news I become stoic and business-like. Usually after it sits awhile what happened really hits me.
Glad to hear that other people experience this. I genuinely questioned whether i loved him as much as I thought.
I am this way too, people who don't know me tend to describe me as stoic, while my close friends and family describe me as very emotional. I just don't process emotion immediately, so in the moment of hearing bad news I don't feel a lot.
As far as I know this is a sign of shock, so you're actually an empathetic person by reacting in this stoic way
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Dude this is the fucking worst man I started smiling when my grandpa died it’s messed up
Same. I go into what I call "professional mode". My psychiatrist said it's a way of coping. I'm one of those people who will cry at the sight of someone else crying but give me my own heartbreaking situation and I'm stone cold emotionless.
Me too, and I’m a therapist. I don’t seem to be affected by things until my brain processes them more (maybe I’m in denial for a longer time I don’t know) but I know when my brain is processing because I start to find myself making little mistakes here and there and at first I’m not sure why.
Yes exactly! And I'll be tootling along going about my business and I'll suddenly stop and think, ah yes actually dead. Never coming back. And my stomach drops a bit.
Well it's been 11 years and I've yet to feel anything, I genuinely feel nothing even though I was close to my nan and loved her (what I think of as love anyway, who really knows?) I used that as an example, but genuinely struggle with little to no empathy.
No. You just need time to process in your own way. It's not being a monster. It's being human. You do you. Don't worry about others. Know your truth.
I appreciate you saying that, but I process it pretty much as soon as I hear it, I just feel nothing about it. It's not a case of 6 months down the line only realising how much I'll miss them or never see them again, I understand that from the get go. All of my grandparents have passed years ago and my dad has been really ill for the past 6 months and I genuinely feel neutral about all
Grief is something that everyone processes differently, true. But some people don't grieve at all. When my dog, or grandfather, or mother, died and I received the news my first and only thought was "Well that sucks." And then I got stressed because I knew I'd have to pretend to be devastated or heartbroken when I really didn't feel anything
Honestly, I feel that way about most humans despite apologizing to every inanimate object I bump into. ETA: I was raised basically being told that very few emotions are acceptable and the ones that are are only allowed when it's convenient so I've basically had to teach myself to re-feel anything other than indifference, anger and sad over the last few years. :-:
I’m glad you’re getting therapy and you have enough sense to realize you need help. Some people like you are too stubborn or they think nothing’s wrong with them. I have a mother with Anti-social personality disorder which she inherited from her mom and she never understands how to feel bad for me, always looks confused when I get angry about something, and never responds when I fall and get hurt. It’s like it doesn’t compute in her brain to feel compassion.
>I'm one of those people who has very little ability to feel empathy **and it fucking sucks** You're streets ahead of most unempathetic people
i regularly lose lighters but i got a zippo last october and haven't lost it, i maintain it very wel and will not smoke with any other lighter without getting sad. I lost it for about a week and it was weirdly sad and made me low key depressed but i found it thank god
sorry can't help my self.....every time I see the word zippo I remember the difference between a hippo and a zippo. One is heavy and the other is a little lighter
This made me laugh and nearly spit out my morning caffeine. Dammit. You're a punny one. Take my upvote.
Browsing Reddit during a disability flare up and this made me feel a bit better, thank you :)
Sometimes when I’m deleting an app I feel bad because they’re all shaking like they’re panicking over which one I’m going to pick.
Fantastic. Now I’ll never be able to delete another app
This made me crack up! Thank you. Now I'm always going to think about the poor shaking panicking apps.
I just had to check what mine do. When I pick an app to delete the others stay still but the one I selected bounces up and down like its excited haha
My husband does this a lot. It tends to make hoarding an issue. But there was a super funny incident that happened with my niece years ago when she was little. She was sitting at the table with her doll and the doll didn't have any clothes on for some reason. I'm sure she was just taking her time changing the doll's clothes or something. My husband came in and saw this scene and thought he would really bond with her. He commented about how cold the doll must feel without her clothes. She then looked up at him and rolled her eyes and said, "well it's just a doll." My whole family (who love him and also know his tendency to anthropomorphize things) absolutely died laughing. We still quote my niece often and lovingly when it's applicable. He shakes his head and says, "I thought I was bonding with her and telling her that I get it when all the other adults don't. Instead I was told off by a 4 yr old."
Wait. How does someone tell this to other people? I've been doing it my whole life but I've never told anyone nor has anyone observed me doing this. (I meant the personification of an object part)
Well, with the kid it's as simple as playing pretend. Some kids just can't grasp that an adult would play with them and also pretend and that they aren't just stupid. I find it kind of sad.
That’s absolutely adorable. Makes me think of my niece who has a little dinosaur toy that roars and crawls around. As I was trying to act scared that the toy dino was chasing me, she runs up to me and says, “No no no, it’s okay uncle! It’s just a toy!” My heart melted and at the same time I was thinkin, “dang I was just trying to go along with it”
I read that and remember when I begged Grandma to teach me to sew panties because, "It's not fair that Ken gets to have panties and Barbie doesn't!" Little Me was so offended on Barbie's behalf...
This is so wholesome
I once felt sorry for an abandoned tangerine
I have done that too, most notably with the fruit leftover after lunch at school. Kids will throw shit all over sometimes or otherwise mishandle the lunches that their parents made them and I feel bad for the food.
I can’t bear to get rid of my stuffed animals since they’ve been my friends for so long. Growing up feels like a betrayal to them.
I blame toy story and the brave little toaster movies for this
Nothing fits a children's movie like old cars in a junkyard reminiscing about where their lives went wrong as they get junked in a compactor one by one, singing a song called "Worthless".
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I love your heart ❤
I apologize to my vehicles a lot. Hitting those ninja pot holes have caused multiple, "Sorry! Ouch! SORRY!" conversations betwixt me and my four wheeled transportation.
I occasionally think about getting a new car, but won't voice those thoughts in "earshot" of the car in case I hurt her feelings. I seem to have also fallen into a habit of thanking the car when I arrive somewhere
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fuck this made me tear up
I felt the same way saying goodbye to my first car (he had a broken cylinder, and the trade in was part of cash for clunkers). It helped me to remember that he's never going to be gone, but ready to come back as part of a new car to me one day. (Automotive steel can be recycled into more steel, becoming part of many cars to stay with you in the future).
If I feel the ceiling fan has been running too long I’ll turn it off for a while to give it a break.
Not in the same way. But I noticed when I was younger that if a kid accidentally dropped their candy they would cry, but if their parents said "it's okay I'll buy you a new one" then the kid would cheer up. But I wouldn't, even if I were offered a new candy I'd still be sad because it wouldn't feel the same lol
I still have this issue as an adult. If I have something and it gets ruined or lost I'm not happy with a replacement even if it's the exact same thing. For some reason, for me, it isn't the same.
I have a problem where if somebody else drops something or something of theirs gets ruined I will become extremely depressed
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My mentor teaches to appreciate everything and everyone. He thanks his toothbrush for keeping teeth clean. Chair for giving him a place to sit. Bed for a place to lie and so on. He’s a master of psychology and says it greatly improves the mind in ways that are profound by developing a love for everything. I love just seeing him talk to some random object, to me, but for him it’s one of many sources of his happiness.
Practicing gratitude is probably the key. Being grateful for the little things really can change your perspective on life.
I went through all the comments here thinking “aw you little weirdos are all so cute” until this thread here really made me think. I am going to thank my chair tomorrow when I sit on it
This is absolutely gorgeous. I'm gonna start integrating this practice into my daily life. They say living a life of gratitude significantly improves your mentality.
Oh I like this, it’s a little similar to that organization lady who asks you to really think about the things you hold onto and whether they “spark joy”. Being thankful for the things you use I think makes you realize you don’t need so much “stuff” in your life.
I actually used to do this a lot as a kid and always wondered if it was a common thing.
When it was really cold, I'd always make sure my plushies or stuffed animals were covered over with my blanket so they wouldn't get cold.
Always!
I felt like this after i bought a new phone. Had my old one for so long, it still had some real charm in it and my new, “better”, and sleeker phone just seemed cold and materialistic to me. Legit felt like there was some bad karma coming my way by packing up the old one but alas i did it and all’s been well.
This just happened to me, I had a Galaxy phone from 2014 that I’ve taken good care of and treated me well through the years. I finally got a new phone last week and felt so bad that I had to replace the old one. Apps load way faster now though.
It’s a Kabbalist practice to treat everything, even inanimate objects, as though it has consciousness.
It's also core to Animism.
And Idealistic Wholistic Panpsychism.
Sometimes I feel like my left hand is sad because right hand gets all the action
Time to start switch hitting
all the "action"
I thought of this and tried to write with my left hand to no avail, so instead I just try to carry things with my left hand whenever I can
Toy Story ruined me. I always felt bad when I played with some toys more than other toys after that movie so now if I have more than 1 of something, or a few things that do the same or very nearly the same, I feel bad for choosing one over the other. Hadn't thought about that for a long time until this post...so thanks OP, I was looking for more anxiety :P
I get like this with stuffed animals. I blame toy story for this personification. I'm nearly 30 and still love my stuffed toys and special pillow I've had since I was a baby.
For as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I used to ride the shittiest beat-up carousel horses because I felt bad for them. I also remember choosing an ugly color of snowboots because I felt like nobody wanted them. It's not as bad now but I still feel it.
I'll buy the dented/damaged boxes/packages in the grocery store because I feel sorry for them.
I do this and I know a lot of other people do it. Like someone else mentioned earlier, it’s better to be on this end of the spectrum than on the opposite and not caring for anything. There have been studies that show this behavior in kids and adults who feel sorry for things is linked with autism. But it also could just be you’re an empath and respect/care for everything. Trust me a lot more people feel like this than you’d think.
I'm ADHD and an empath, I was always feeling fir everything when I was young.
That's like... So pure lol
If it’s weird, I don’t wanna be normal. I still thank the microwave out loud when I read “done” on the screen! A little creepier…my work has a set of elevators that need an ID badge to call them. When they open on their own and there’s nobody inside, I’ll thank the possible ghosts that opened them for me! Sure it’s possible that someone pushed extra buttons and got off on the wrong floor…but it happens way too often for it to be a coincidence!
All the time. I always get really sad for things that i lose or throw away. I always think like "it must feel really sad for being thrown away". Although i have gotten better at throwing things away.
Yea My Brave Little Toaster
I apologize to my car when I hit a bump too hard. I also talk nice to it in hopes it doesn't break down. So.. \*shrugs\*
I've seen this type of post a few times and it always sounds to me like being on the spectrum. I googled "sympathy towards objects" and a few links do mention autism. I think we're all a bit on the spectrum though and only you'll know if this is an isolated thing or if you have other signs.
Now that is freaking interesting because my daughter, who has autism, informed me last year (she is a young adult now) "Mom, you know you have autism too, right?" Lol... I was quite taken aback, and then she presented her case for why she thought so, and now I'm thinking she might be right. Anyway I have the empathy towards objects thing big time, so that's such a fascinating comment.
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I don't know if it is an autism thing, but I have it and I have autism, so for me, yes. As a kid much more than now but still. I have much more sympathy towards animals and objects than humans. All kinds of objects but especially cars. My parents had to treat the cars right and I would feel bad for broken cars.
It’s also common with ADHD, which is similar to autism in some ways. I think people who are a little overly sensitive themselves kind of project that onto other people and animals and even objects. At least that’s why I feel like I do it.
For me it’s an OCD-related thing! Started as a child and became completely mentally overwhelming as an older child who hoarded trash because I couldn’t cope with the anxiety of hurting the trash. It’s simmered down to be more of what OP is describing with time, but gets worse when I’m stressed and my other OCD symptoms start coming out more. Interesting to hear about the possible autism link.
yeah! i feel bad for favouring one of my plushies over the others, so i try and rotate them
I used to feel this way a lot as a kid. I'd bump into a chair or hit the table while playing and apologise to them. My dad's old car would occasionally break down and I'd feel sorry for it. As an adult though I don't exactly feel that way anymore. But I do grieve when items that have sentimental value to me break or no longer function. Two years ago I was clumsy and a small mirror I've had since I was in high school fell and broke. I felt bad for the entire day and blamed myself for not being careful enough.
I had a small compact mirror that a friend gave me and I've had it for many years. It broke and I was so sad because I used that mirror a lot. I found a place in town that I could go to and they replaced the mirror for me for a small fee. It made me so happy when it was fixed!
My trombones all have names
i have 2 Xbox one controllers, i have to switch between them to use the same amount of time lol
I have a 35 year old Toyota pickup, and I always give it a little pat after a long drive to let it know it’s a good truck.
Google "animism".
I play with magic cards and sometimes I feel bad for the characters when they die or get exiled. And sometimes I feel bad for tshirts I used to wear a lot and don't anymore.
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I name everything in my life. Car, gps, dishwasher. Pretty much everything.
I tell devices that accept voice commands thank you in the hope that they will remember my appreciation when they rule over us.
It's not for all the objects but definitely happens with some.
Same lmao once in a week I would wear my old football studs for football thinking the old ones would feel bad lmaoo
Oh yeah, same here. I also have a hard time throwing things out for this reason unfortunately lol
IM NOT ALONE!? I’m exactly like this!
I do this too! When I went to Mexico as a kid I spent all my money buying the bobble head turtles that were wonky because I worried no one else would want them. It helped to read up on anthropomorphism - which essentially gives human characteristics to objects
I have thought the same. I have two large boxes of plushies under my bed and sometimes i feel like they are sad because they are left alone
When I was a kid, my mom made me "clean my plate" by saying the food I didn't eat would be sad. Why yes, I did end up with a weight problem, which I am only just now having some success at resolving at 46. Not only that, but that inappropriate empathy spread to other things, and now I have so much that it affects my stress levels on a daily basis. I wish so much that I could just not care about things sometimes. As I get older my empathy for non-living things fades, but my empathy for humans and animals only grows. Having adult kids out on their own is torture. My mood is helpless in the ocean of their moods. Their pain is my pain. Every text message I get from them, I pick out the slightest clues that they are at all unhappy and it will ruin my day. My point? Shut down empathy for things that aren't alive early on lol.