Emotional attachment to inanimate objects

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One thing that just kind of occured to me is that I often form an emotional attachment to certain objects or think random objects have feelings. One such example is my winter coat. I've had the thing for well over ten years but can't bear to part with it. It still fits (it was bought so I would "grow into it") and does an adequate job of keeping me warm. Everyone says I should get rid of it because the zipper is broken and I've had it for so long. I tell them I don't because this one still works and decent coats are expensive but really it's because I can't imagine not having this coat in my life. I also think it would be sad if I threw it out.
Another example is my old phone. I recently upgraded because my needs in a phone changed and my old one couldn't meet those needs. I feel so bad for my old phone. I feel like I'm betraying it and nearly break out in tears thinking of sitting in my night stand drawer.
Anyone else have these issues and how do you deal with them? I've tried telling myself they're just inanimate ojbects and don't have any feelings but it doesn't help.

More so when I was a child I felt like this, I didn't want to throw anything away because the stuff would feel sad. I was very careful not to damage anything and was careful with my toys so I don't hurt them. I'm not so much like that now. If I feel like that now it's usually because im feeling emotional anyways.

Perhaps you could have another coat but keep your old one too.

I got a newspaper this Sunday, and I'm not able to throw it away.

Could you put it into recycling? It would want to go in recycling cos it can be made into new things

Yes! And my mom thinks it's so weird! For example, in high school a few years ago, they were serving turnovers at lunch. There were cherry, apple, and peach turnovers. The cherry and apple ones went in a flash, and the lunchroom staff kept putting more of them out. Meanwhile, the peach turnovers were virtually untouched. I felt so bad that nobody was taking those neglected turnovers, so I got one out of pity. This sort of thing happens to me a lot, and I hate it. I know the objects don't have feelings, but I can't help feeling bad for them!

No not typically but I was very attached to my computer. However that was because I had seen signs that machine had a personality. It was very weird. My other electronic devices seemed normal.

Also I guess it helped that computer had oodles of memories on it so when my computer crashed I cried thinking my files were gone forever like I had lost my best friend.


There is one other thing that I am comfortable sharing. When I had posters on my wall, I felt weird about getting dressed but that might be a little different because the posters are of real people. I still have some of those posters I think. Any attachment I have is I guess due to memories.

I have emotional attachment to some yellow baby receiving blankets that I have had ever since I was a baby. When the old ones wear out, I get new ones and they are still either just as special or almost as special as the original ones. I am also afraid to get rid of the many stuffed animals that I have had growing up, I have not used any of them except for this green frog in a while due to the configuration of my bed but I am afraid that I would get extremely upset and kick myself later if I got rid of them. There are a number of things that I cannot think of right now that I am emotionally attached to.

Confession time:

When I was young I used to permanently 'borrow' books from the school library.
Once I read them they became part of me and I couldn't take them back because that would be like returning a precious family journal for the public to look at and paw over and I couldn't deal with that.
I still have most of them now.
The other books in the library would have been thrown out long ago, so technically I saved them.
I will keep telling myself that, anyway.
Actually, I 'borrowed' a book early this year that I still have possession of.
I'm terrible.
I will take it back...eventually

My car also becomes a member of the family.
I lost one just recently

I had a polished stone I found by the bank of the river that my grandfather lives next to. I'm like 99% sure now that it was made by Native Americans at some point because arrowheads were found all the time in the trailer park he lives in. It had a gold and white splotch pattern and was a perfect oval. It fell out of my pocket when I was 7 or 8 while I was at church with my parents. I still experience separation anxiety thinking about it now.

I have a similar thing - I have quite a few plush toys on my bed, and despite the pile growing each year, I can't bring myself to get rid of any of them. I even feel guilty if I sleep with one more than the others, or if I throw one out of the bed during the night!

I also feel emotionally attached to objects. I used to feel really bad throwing something away (and probably still do).

Yes, I emotionally attach strongly to certain belongings, it's been a lifelong thing. Not everything, thank god, just significant items. However, I don't so much feel like the items themselves have feelings; it's usually more one sided and I just have the feelings for them.

For me I think it's part of the whole thing of how it's not easy for me to connect normally with people, and in fact connections to other people have been the source of every heartache, bad experience, downfall and setback in my life, because people are treacherous. But objects are neutral and dependable. My memories of good times are more vivid to me when attached to an object I can still hold and touch and look at, even though I already have vivid memories without aids. But the objects make it richer for me.

Some people mistake this for regular materialism but it's way more emotional than that.