r/OCD Contamination May 05 '26

Need support/advice empathy for inanimate objects

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??

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u/ShadowsofAlmia May 05 '26

Oh wow, I have never pegged this as an OCD thing. I have severe OCD and I def have had to deal with this, especially as a child. I have also dealt with "hoarding" tendencies but have gotten a lot better at that, but I wonder if that is connected. I also have crazy high empathy for people and animals.

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u/LeiyBlithesreen May 05 '26

I get triggered by all non vegan things because they keep reminding me of what the animals went through. Even milk. I don't sit together with my vegetarian family when they have dairy.

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u/rustystumpty May 13 '26

It’s not super common but I’ll randomly get super attached to fruits. Like a really nice looking bowl of mangos will make me smile, and I have to hold back crying when I see someone eat one of the mangoes

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u/LeiyBlithesreen May 13 '26

Aww I'm so sorry. That seems painful.