Do you personify inanimate objects?

Hey, everyone!
I'm new here, female, 32yo, not diagnosed. Was browsing through your forum, and saw a couple of posts on how people personify inanimate objects, start feeling guilty that they're hurting the object's feelings, etc.

OMG!!! This is what I'm so struggling with!!! Guys, please, elaborate!!!

What exactly you do/think/feel, how it started, where are you now, what are your favorites, has an MHP diagnosed you with OCD on basis of this, what do you do about it, etc, etc, etc?

I go wild on this one, as long as I remember myself. I feel sorry for things, and desperate 'cause I can't help them out. I know it makes no sense, and feel embarrassed, but still get badly depressed over most random issues. Like, I bake an apple pie, and all of a sudden feel sorry for it; I just can't cut it to pieces and eat. And I can't dump it. And I can't let it rot. Either way - poor pie, such a miserable fate, and nobody cares, and even I, who wishes to protect it, is powerless here (because, for heaven's sake, how do you protect an apple pie?!) Misery of my life. I'd like to get a plant, but I just know I'll start feeling sorry for it and end up giving it away to stop the cycle, so it's better to not get it in the first place. Same for buying clothes, or just getting anything nice at all. Anything I like - right away I feel sorry for it, and know there's no way to protect the poor thing, so it's better to destroy it. I'm not psychotic, I don't destroy things, but, OK, I give them away, or just not get them in the first place.

Anyone like that?

Sorry for the long post; just got so excited I'm not the only one who personifies...

I havent heard of this b4 but now that I have my mind will probably develop it

Gosh, Lexmark, sorry, I wan't thinking. Hope you're kidding!

Lexmark said:

I havent heard of this b4 but now that I have my mind will probably develop it

Click to expand...

LMAO i hope u were kidding

I have never heard of this but i find it to be very interesting, it sounds like a serious problem and maybe u should seek help....i'd be interested to know what they tell you, and dont be embarassed to speak to the therapist because they've probably heard everything in the book

Looking at your topic title, I thought I'd relate to this, since I get attatched to all sorts of things... but apple pie???! Sorry, but that's beyond me.

You are most definitely not alone. I have no idea what I have, I'm sorta in the process of gathering info before I think about finding a doctor (19 year old with authoritative, overprotective parents make this difficult). I think I have some combo of hyperhidrosis, social anxiety, avoidant personality, and possibly a bit of OCD if this personifying things aspect is a sign of OCD.

Although the thoughts never caused me to carry out any action, I have had the exact thoughts you've had. I remember back when I was a kid watching my dad making waffles in the shape of Mickey Mouse's face......he would always do the voice of mickey mouse thinking it was so funny...."oh don't eat me! it hurts! you just ate my ear! hahaah"

Thinking back....that may have been one of THE traumatic moments of my life...that ONE instance could have caused this personification of inanimate objects that I have. I often personify anything I own, whether it be video games, electronics, my car (which I have no idea how I'm going to let go of), etc.

It used to be much worse, but I've sorta developed strategies to just mentally "plow through" the obstacle and just get rid of crap when I need to. The personification aspect of my life is probably the least of my worries, but it definitely is something that I can't just let go of, since it might possibly be the anchor that puts me in the OCD category....

Serious disease, hmm... IMO, still better to feel sorry for an apple pie, than not to feel sorry for anything - that´s the real disease. This happens to me sometimes as well, not always, sometimes. I feel sorry for the food I eat etc. (let alone meat). Or I feel sorry for lettuce when putting it in the fridge because it will suffer there or so. And I feel sorry for any insects whatever it is, I don´t kill even spiders, cockroaches and similar when I don´t have to, save wasps and bees and flies when I see them drowning or suffering.

Car personification

yea, well no apple pies here but i personify cars or basically any other pretty object. I haven't named my car or anything but i treat it better than most of the people i know. Anyways i crashed my friends audi, beautiful car by the way, and i felt so bad for hurting such a nice car. i payed for it to have it fixed, extensively. 7900 dollars, i spent every dollar that I had even though he could have it payed for it himself and am now completely broke. I just felt so damn bad for hurting her. She was a beautiful car and is now once again after repairs but my ocd is mildly related to my vehicles and I think that is where the personification is related. If you obsess over something long enough you can almost make them into something animate or living. I also don't like letting anyone else drive or work on my vehicles because it feels like my car is cheating on me with someone else, plus I don't trust putting her in the hands of anyone else besides me. Whenever someone else works on my car I have to sit and watch every move they make. Anyways I believe Howard Hughes suffered from something similiar to this. He was intensely obsessed with his airplanes and like me treated them much more like people than the people around him. Maybe when you don't get along with people very well, it's easy to personify things that you own????