Anthropomorphism

Houses definately hold the memories of the people who lived there and I often feel that they're sad for not being a happy home anymore and happy when they're bought by new owners and redecorated and restored. I feel sorry for empty houses at xmas when they're the only one in the street undecorated.

 Not odd at all, I feel the same way.

My elderly neighbour across the road from me went into a care home recently and the house she raised her family in is lying empty. 

I can’t help imagining the house itself is sad and grieving.

To me objects only feel inanimate when there has been no interaction with them by animals or plants. The strip of tarmac outside my house feels inanimate but my house doesn’t, as if the humans and other creatures that live there lend it some of their spirit and leave their trace. When I walk into a church I can feel the history, the people who have prayed there. When I pick up a old tool it’s like I can feel the experience of my father and grandfather who used it previously.

Odd that I should feel like this? Maybe. But still real. 

At age 53, I still sleep with 40 teddy bears in my queen sized bed, especially my beloved Paddington Bear - he’s my rock, we fall asleep in each other’s arms, keeping each other warm and safe with our love for each other 

Great!

For the most part I don't believe in the lack of conciousness of inanimate objects and I think the term nonambulatory would be better, of course tree and plants feel stuff, things like houses and cars hold impressions of the people they've lived with and the things that have happened. I've always known this, growing up people thought I was mad, then I met  a bunch of psychics who told me it was called psychometry, I dont' care what it's called I just know its real.

The only real inanimate objects I know are people who are so focussed on their phones they have no awareness of anything else around them, even when they're actually moving, like walking in fornt of my car. Should be illegal to run them over?

My new car is due to be delivered in two weeks time so this afternoon I went along to the garage to get the service history of my current car, which i now need to sell.  I was overwhelmed with guilt driving home. I feel like I'm betraying my car, which has been a good car for many years. I talked to it and apologised.

Amerantin (former member) said:

This is so me!

And me........ but I never tell anyone.... so keep it quiet, eh!

Ben

I am glad it's not just me. At work I talk myself through my day and speak to my laptop if anything goes wrong. Fortunately I work from home now so colleagues can't hear.

I get quite upset if I don’t wear all my different trainers equally even though I have only 2 pairs that are my fave. 

trees i talk to trees

Meeee *puts hand in the air*.

It's always such a comfort to know I'm not weird and other people do things like this. It's also useful there's pictures that explains it because I could never put this in to words.

Autonomistic said:

for example, that a specific crayon or hairbrush isn’t being used as often as the others, because it might be feeling left out.

This is so me!

I'm like this too. I gives names to things and interact with them, particularly with cuddly toys and my car.

This article on autistic hyper empathy is relevant:

https://the-art-of-autism.com/autistic-people-empathy-whats-the-real-story/

"Another way this shows itself is in the extreme personification of objects: forming deep emotional bonds with everyday items like pencils or rubber bands.

There are many examples of personification in the language we use every day (time waits for no-one/the camera loves her etc.) and also in our culture, with films such as Beauty and the Beast being very much enhanced by its singing, dancing, emoting kitchenware, but what I’m describing here is something much more overwhelming. Autistic people can become extremely upset if they feel, for example, that a specific crayon or hairbrush isn’t being used as often as the others, because it might be feeling left out. I can imagine how that sounds to anyone who’s unfamiliar with autism, but believe me, to many, many autistic people, this really does make perfect sense."

I could start a whole separate thread about printers!

Mood.

Take5 said:

I constantly tell myself out loud what I’m going to do and in what order.

Oh yes, I certainly do that, if I didn't I'd never get anything done.

Ben

Hi everyone 

Really interesting to hear about the objects and how you talk to them. It sounds like quite a therapeutic thing to do tbh. I’m not aware I talk to things but I talk to myself while using things (almost like I’m on tv explaining to an ordinance). I’ve never really thought about this until I saw this thread but it’s something else I now have become aware of. I work alone so I do talk to myself a massive amount, I’m ocd as well so that usually means I constantly tell myself out loud what I’m going to do and in what order. I am going to try and talk to some objects or possessions though and see how it goes. Sounds like a great idea and sounds comforting also. 

And I thought it was just me!

I talk to inanimate items, I treasure some of my possessions. I have things from way-back taking up far too much of my storage space; they just don't deserve to be ditched. However, I do lose my rag with uncooperative printers; I've had a rant about them on the forum before, I threaten them, I give them a damn good talking to, warning the recalcitrant little objects of the peril of their very existence...... but they don't listen!

Ben

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613211039387