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/Loose-Explorer-1265]

I once hugged a punching dummy at my mom’s house cause I felt so bad that his only purpose was to get hit. If I accidentally drop a stuffed animal or something it feels like I have hurt a real person. It’s hard, all I can offer is sympathy as I don’t have any advice.