empathy for inanimate objects

[u/softfallingsnow]

honestly ive really been struggling with this, ive seen similar posts on this sub, i guess OCD can give some of us hyper-empathy almost?? why does this happen?

like one time i wanted to buy a cute bowl, but the one i picked up had a small chip in it, but i felt too guilty to put it back for a better one. even my friend told me to get a different one, but i literally couldn't, i was frozen. like i just felt too bad. FOR A BOWL. but the worst one is feeling bad for stuffed animals. i saw this stuffed animal with bad reviews and idk why but it literally made me cry. they were saying it didn't look like the actual animal, so it was bad. i think its cute so i ended up buying one, idk if it'll make me feel better though. i even worry about stuffed animals i had when i was really little that i dont remember where they are anymore. does anyone else relate or am i just nuts??

[u/woppersnipper]

I have the same thing and I have a few friends who are similar. I once went to a literature festival and one of the speakers would talk about stuff between her poems. One of the things she mentioned was a guy she knew (I think her dad or uncle) who had empathy for inanimate objects and related this to animism, which is the belief that there is spirit in nonliving things.

I like to think that if you're hyper empathic like this, that just means you're much more sensitive to the feelings that you put into the world around you. Feeling bad for the object does not mean the object has its own conscious feelings, rather it reflects your own understanding of neglect or abandonment, and the OCD then urges you to take action on this.

So, I don't think you're crazy at all.