Autism and inanimate objects?

[okamiSolus]

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Kevin says hi

Cooper says hi [emoji1]

 

[okamiSolus]

He looks really chunky in this photo. Haha

 

[xudo]

View attachment 30527 Cooper says hi [emoji1]

OMG THEY'RE TWINS

 

[Koowie]

Not here. In fact, I kind of hate things and try to keep as few of them with me as possible. Too many things stress me out. love the summer when I can throw only the bare essentials in a bag and go couch hopping- it's a real relief. Best time ever was living out of my bag in a thatched-roof dirt floor house without air-conditioning. simplicity is calming to me.
Though now that I think of it I love that bag. It might be the only possession that I really adore. So I guess I have an attachment to the bag, but that's about it.

 

[Ambi]

Well.....I feel bad admitting this, but it seems to be true - I think I pay far more attention to objects and show a greater interest in them than people. Like...in an unbalanced way, ignoring people while obsessing over objects that I happen to be into at the time. I can be far more engaged in objects, gazing at them, contemplating, collecting, etc. With people - I am fascinated when I can basically collect data from/about them that is of interest - but I treat them almost like google. And IF I do "enjoy" people, it's in the way that I enjoy animals at the zoo or on nature shows.

 

[Streetwise]

What crafts are your thing mines greeting cards, a few gift boxes ,adult colouring, tiny bit of cross stitch ,embroidery,Christmas /hanukkah decorations

I collect a few things, but I had never intended to end up with so many soft toys. If I see one I get sort of fixated on it and I have to have it, but it has to feel nice to touch and be really soft. Kevin was actually from a jumble sale and my sister was like "why do you need that" and I'm "because it's a shark, I don't have a shark". Yeah my Mum thought it was weird too but thankfully my husband doesn't care. I used to collect keyrings when I was younger, but now it's Pop figures and bloody craft supplies

 

[JuniperBug]

Anyone else get attached to inanimate objects? Such as Keychains, pens, pencils, bags or purses, etc.

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Yes yes YES!

Your pineapple reminds me of my rabbit keychain, which I carry around everywhere and have named Eydir.

But I get this way about some of my pillows, clothes, bags, blankets, water bottles, and stuffed animals of course.

I'll feel affection and love for some of these objects similar to what you'd feel to a friend. I'll miss them if i lose them an mourn them if they break or have to be thrown away.

Can't get too attached to pens because I'm always chewing them to shreds. Haha!!

 

[xudo]

What crafts are your thing mines greeting cards, a few gift boxes ,adult colouring, tiny bit of cross stitch ,embroidery,Christmas /hanukkah decorations

I mostly sew, I make the occasional card. I like to embroider, crochet and some cross stitch.

 

[Streetwise]

Wish i could machine sew if IM not panicking i just cant put what IVE learned in order and IVE got muscle weakness so it really painful now i liked stitching when it DIDNT hurt id like to make some of Debbie shores Christmas chair covers and her 50s dress
shes on YouTube or hochanda craft channel

 

[Mia]

Have reached the realization that I'm much more attached to objects than I am to people. Keep clothes that belonged to relatives from childhood, and objects that were theirs such as watches and jewellery. Have held on to postcards and letters and fabric that remind me of people I've known, friends, relatives. Books that remind me of people from the past that belonged to them. Gifts from people I've cared about. It's even made me happy to use the same spoon and fork and knife that a relative used.

Somehow, using these things, reminds me of people I've cared about. My grandmother's quilt, my father's watch, an aunt's earrings. Whenever I touch them it brings back memories of those people and my feelings for them. It's something that I've done since I was a child, even keeping houseplants alive for forty years, because of their connection to people I knew who are no longer here. Whenever I touch one of these things, I experience some sort of memory connected to it, that gives me pleasure.

Don't know if this is at all related to autism? Are any of you more attached to objects than people? Do you know why you like objects so much?

 

[Questella]

I hold onto things forever as well. My moms always telling me to get rid of everything. Boo, fail, mom. Makes it hard to get a gift for somebody when you know they're just going to get rid of it with their next impulsive house cleaning.

I can't do houseplants though, I have no luck with them. :<

 

[The Penguin]

I'm that way with my toys. I know my best friend felt that way with her toys her whole life as she had trouble making friends. I didn't understand until I started my collection last year. Then this year I bought shelves to put on my walls so I can fit more. I have 30 toys that surrounds my TV. On my walls, I have three shelves with about 60 toys covering all three. They give me company and I felt a lot better when I learned how to display more in my room. I decided I will install more shelves in my room. There is 50 new toys in a box waiting for a home for new shelves.

My camera with accessories something I'm very attached too. Always thinking of new gear to get. For the first season of Punky Brewster, Punky notice George was lonely since he haves no friends. George comment was "All I need is my camera". I feel the same way as him. I have fun thinking of various projects I can do with my camera. My cooking videos which some of you saw was the first time exploring picture in picture. For filming my R.C. car, last week is the first time filming with 4 cameras. I do have lots of patience taking my time for the projects so I can devilry a great video and/photos.

There are toys I want to get from my childhood one day to bring back the memories. I'm aiming my life more on objects as they rarely disappoint me unlike people.

 

[Gritches]

Not sure if it's an autism thing. Whether it has to do strictly with autism or not, I do know our neurology pre-disposes us to encode memories in a fragmented manner, meaning the content of memories (the "what") is intact but the properties of time and space are missing, and even if the "when" and "where" are remembered they are only remembered as part of the content of the memory rather than being a factor in the process of involuntary memory recall; those factors may be known, but they aren't listed on the "label" of the "file" your brain goes looking for when involuntarily retrieving memories, involuntary recall being the majority of the remembering we do on a daily basis.

In the practical sense, this would mean someone who encodes memories in such a way would be much more apt to experience a powerful and vivid recall of a memory when perceiving an object that would serve as a trigger for such memories. Since the context provided by the properties of time and space are missing, you are free to recall purely the "what"s of a memory triggered by perceiving such an object without the full appreciation of when or where it happened to ground you and cheapen the whole experience, causing you to "relive" more than simply "recall". Absolutely fantastic experience if these are good memories, a literal waking nightmare if the memories are bad.

As such, I do have the same sort of relationship with sentimental talismans, but I usually get rid of them because I'd rather forget than remember.

Except for one thing: an ex of mine, the only girl who ever broke my heart, gave me one of her shirts once so I'd have something of hers. I've kept it around, losing it, finding it, and losing it again. But every time I find it, every time I feel it, every time I smell it (still smells like her) it just knocks me on my ass with all sorts of confusing feelings. Love, hate. Admiration, disgust. Joy, sorrow.

This is usually the reason I get rid of such things, but I don't know, that shirt brings back the memories of all the best times of my life, all the love and laughs shared, holding each other's hair back while we vomited, the first time she cooked for me, our first date where we did nothing but sit in my car and talk for 6 hours, and so, so much more; that shirt makes me re-experience it all like it happened yesterday, like a flashback, in vivid detail. In that way, I get to live those days again, if only for a little while, and that's why I can't bring myself to discard it along with the rest of my memories.

 

[Sherlock77]

Vintage photos for me... Our family collection of old photos is a little thin, except for my dad's colour slides, most of them taken between 1957 and 1961, taken before he met my mom! He traveled western Canada hanging out in Doukhobour communities, if you don't know anything about them just google it...

Anyway, not long after I discovered those slides I was at a local collectable show and there was one vendor selling vintage photos, that was probably ten years ago... I purchased a few, over ensuing years I've purchased far more, perhaps in my mind to compensate for a lack of photos from my own family... Maybe...

 

[Tyrantus1212]

I'm quite the hoarder. All my old college stuff I hold on to, just in case I might need it in the future. Heck, I don't even delete most of my emails...what if I delete an email and then end up needing it as a reference? I know that's OCD, but that only holds true for some of my hoardings. I used to hold on to my childhood toys, but I grew out of that; I only have some left that I hold dear, but that's not due to OCD. The reason I kept my toys for so long is that I have trouble letting go. I knew I wouldn't play with them, but letting go is often a non-existent art to me, in terms of both items and obsessions. The zillions of drawings I've made as a child/teenager - they're all stored in big boxes, this time for memory purposes; revisiting childhood memories is always fun.

 

[SusanLR]

I'm quite the hoarder. All my old college stuff I hold on to, just in case I might need it in the future. Heck, I don't even delete most of my emails...what if I delete an email and then end up needing it as a reference? I know that's OCD, but that only holds true for some of my hoardings. I used to hold on to my childhood toys, but I grew out of that; I only have some left that I hold dear, but that's not due to OCD. The reason I kept my toys for so long is that I have trouble letting go. I knew I wouldn't play with them, but letting go is often a non-existent art to me, in terms of both items and obsessions. The zillions of drawings I've made as a child/teenager - they're all stored in big boxes, this time for memory purposes; revisiting childhood memories is always fun.

I have trouble letting go also. I have hundreds of e-mails I know I'll probably never read. But, just in case I should find the time, they are there. And many I have read, yes, in case I might need them for some purpose. I have drawings boxed away and photos in boxes and albums by the hundreds. Racks of pendent necklaces because each one tells a story as that is usually what I get as a souvenir of places I go and gifts from people I've known. They are time markers. Each has it's own memory. Any object that belonged to someone I cared for deeply that I can touch is like being in that moment with them again. The touch makes it so vivid compared to just the thought. So, yes, material objects mean a lot since most of my happy times are in the past of time instead of the present. Touching something with a memory that is attached to someone I loved who is no longer a part of my life can make feelings of happiness or sadness depending on the event.

 

[Danny 74]

I have trouble letting go also. I have hundreds of e-mails I know I'll probably never read. But, just in case I should find the time, they are there. And many I have read, yes, in case I might need them for some purpose. I have drawings boxed away and photos in boxes and albums by the hundreds. Racks of pendent necklaces because each one tells a story as that is usually what I get as a souvenir of places I go and gifts from people I've known. They are time markers. Each has it's own memory. Any object that belonged to someone I cared for deeply that I can touch is like being in that moment with them again. The touch makes it so vivid compared to just the thought. So, yes, material objects mean a lot since most of my happy times are in the past of time instead of the present. Touching something with a memory that is attached to someone I loved who is no longer a part of my life can make feelings of happiness or sadness depending on the event.

Wow.....! Time markers......! Thats a brilliant way to describe treasured memory's. I like that ..

 

[xudo]

I keep some sentimental stuff, but when I have a clear out I can be a lot more brutal about stuff than my NT sister. Shes moving from her flat and I was helping her sort a load of stuff, and she's terrible for wanting to look at/through every single item (and we're talking tonnes of s**t). I'm like "It's been in this wardrobe for the past 2 years, why would you keep it? You didn't even know it was still here." She ended up keeping way more stuff than she should

 

[Nitro]

<hoarder level packrat

 

[Bella Pines]

Notebooks, pens, very old books and minifigs. In combination with my imagination the objects almost represent another reality and are very precious to me. I never gave it much thought but maybe his is an aspie trait.