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Samara1991
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21 Apr 2010, 1:31 pm

I don't know if its an AS thing or if its just me but I have an issue with giving inanimate objects human emotions. I'll try to explain this better. We just moved from a big house to an apartment. My first issue was moving from the house that i lived in all of my life. I thought that the house would feel unloved and miss us. My second issue was going thru the 60 some years worth of junk that piled in the house. (the house belong to my great grandmom) Throwing stuff out was extreamly hard and i often cried because of the thought of my stuff going into a dumpster. When i get upset sometimes i'll throw a stuffed animal across the room only to cry about that and hug it and say sorry.... I have no idea why I am like this and I'm wondering if anyone else has this issue or knows anyone that does



Bonafan
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21 Apr 2010, 1:35 pm

Absolutely! I cannot throw away anything with a face, to the point where I have bags of soft toys. It is such an issue for me and I definitely put human emotions on them.



pineapple
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21 Apr 2010, 1:40 pm

I'm the same way. I don't let myself buy stuffed animals anymore because I know I'll never be able to get rid of them. Luckily, my family knows by now not to throw out my stuff without asking me.

One thing that does help me part with items is Freecycle.org. It's a time-consuming way to get rid of things, but I'm more likely to do it if I think someone else is going to enjoy the item or get use out of it.



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21 Apr 2010, 4:27 pm

Yes, I am like that too.



CockneyRebel
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21 Apr 2010, 5:49 pm

I'm the same way.


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TheSpecialKid
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21 Apr 2010, 5:50 pm

The exact same here!



wendigopsychosis
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21 Apr 2010, 5:56 pm

I wonder if you're on to something with this...
I know it's common for autistic people who get "attached" to inanimate objects, and I certainly do. Until you mentioned it, I never really questioned the fact that I give human emotions to inanimate things. I never considered it abnormal...
I hate throwing away or giving up items, because I feel as if I have some sort of "bond" with them. It's a problem in terms of hoarding/collecting because I don't really have all that much room in my apartment ;)


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Rose_in_Winter
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21 Apr 2010, 6:10 pm

I'm not sure this is limited to AS/autistic people. My NT husband is a much worse pack rat than I am. We have boxes of stuff in the basement that came to our first apartment with him and have -- 8 years later -- still never been unpacked! He can't possibly need whatever is in these boxes, but he won't let me throw them out. He's very attached to the stuff in them. As for me, I apologise to the furniture if I bump into it, and I do assign emotions to my stuffed animals. I did this much more when I was younger.



ForsakenEagle
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21 Apr 2010, 6:21 pm

I think I have attributed human emotions to inanimate objects here and there. :oops:



_Square_Peg_
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21 Apr 2010, 6:38 pm

I'm the same way, especially with toys. I hate the idea of throwing away my toys, even if everyone says I'm too old to be playing with them. It always made me feel like I was abandoning my friends and they'd get so lonely without me. And watching Toy Story doesn't exactly help with the process either.



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21 Apr 2010, 10:09 pm

Thank the Lord I'm not alone! I honestly thought I might have been. If I pick up one item at the store, then put it down to pick up another, I feel like I might be hurting the first item's feelings. As nutty as that might sound, I think I've got my wife half believing me that cars have some sort of consciousness. After all, each car, I've explained to her, handles differently and is different, as are all human individuals. I sincerely think we give our motor vehicles a certain rudimentary consciousness, simply out of the sense of inseparability that people have with their cars.
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astaut
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21 Apr 2010, 10:21 pm

I attribute human emotions to objects a little bit, but more so with things like stuffed animals or toys that have faces. I'll feel a tinge of sadness when I see an upset/crying child surrounded by toys with glued-on happy faces. Or when I put all my toy horses away in a plastic box to store them, or if I have to leave a toy alone without other toys. I don't consciously believe inanimate objects have human emotions, but I still feel this way. I'm interested that there are others like this.



Neon304
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21 Apr 2010, 10:42 pm

Sometimes I even wonder if some of my childhood toys miss the gang being together.... some them were burnt (RIP) and those that weren't are hopefully in thecareof someother kid whoplays with them on a semi regular basis. I'm not joking, and until I saw this thread, I thought I was strange. I still have atroll doll sitting in the top of my closet, and I swear it looks atme everytime I open the door. There are a couple of very unusual stories surroundingthat thing though, even to a point I could almost convince anyone that it has some sort of spirit, so even if this is justan autistic trait to assign human emotions to objects, I think a lot of NTs would wonder about this particular doll. I'll spare you guys the long stories, unless somebody just wants to hear them.



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21 Apr 2010, 11:40 pm

my things are my children. i love them and cherish them. they comfort me, and they console me. as a child i became attached to a little toilet plunger which i took to bed with me as though it were a teddy bear. i was upset when my parents took it away from me and stuck it into a pile of goo in the toilet. from my hospital maternity/operating room days, i still have a peel-pack from a piece of disposable surgical equipment that has a gold sticker which reads, "35 millionth vacuum extractor sold!" i used to have a little plastic "rock" troll house that came with a box of troll dolls, that i would play with and spin around along with the troll dolls. they all ended up with my older sister. i have a green toy train that would go 'round in circles and go "CHOOCHOO!!" that i haven't played-with since the early 60s, but i cannot part with it- it is sitting up in a box in my storage room as i type this. when i handle my things, they feel like love, like they are radiating love to me. when i am hurting i pick up a thing and handle it, and i feel better afterwards.



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22 Apr 2010, 4:18 am

I have a light blue plastic bowl the hospital gave for bathing infants when my son was born. He's 12. I also have a griddle that's over 50 years old. I don't use it but I couldn't possibly throw it away. My mother was cooking pancakes on it when she told me Jack Kennedy had been killed.



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22 Apr 2010, 5:19 am

i had this bizarre attachment to a marble collection when i was a kid. the marbles had names and personalities and relationships to each other ... i had a catalog of their characteristics and i acted out little scenarios, including a wedding between the two marbles i liked the best.

i have no idea what happened to the marbles (I lost my marbles! haha ... :geek: )

it's completely ridiculous, but i still think about them!! ! are they ok??? i feel like i've abandoned them.

it's a little weird - and should have been an indicator something was "off" - for a kid to be so attached to inanimate objects, moreso than to my family.

i also get really attached to places - cities, and really particular spots i like to hang out at (alone).


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