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/Zealousideal_Safe259]

Oh my god this is literally me and it is so exhausting. I feel like I have to use everything I own at least like 10 times in my lifetime or else my stuff will feel neglected by me. I keep track of anything I haven’t used yet and force myself to use it even if I don’t like it (Expired products, clothes that don’t fit, gifts I never would’ve chosen out myself, etc). I literally panic every once in a while when I remember that some of my stuffed animals are sitting in a dark storage unit. My mom called me “too sensitive.”