#61 ·
Eric Collins5 said:Alright, here is a transcript of an article I wrote for Reddit regarding my attitude toward physical objects and memories.
Quincy:
I purge absolutely everything:
My call log on my phone—(daily, multiple times a day, including texts and calls).
Text messages—(immediately after reading them; plus, I have my settings configured so it never saves my sent messages or even displays read receipts).
Unknown numbers that have called me.
Honestly, I can’t wait until I haven't heard from someone who has my number—but whom I don't want having it—long enough that I can finally delete them from my device. Perhaps it's just a subconscious hope that they’ve done the exact same thing.
Browser history on my computer—I click through it repeatedly to ensure every single trace is wiped (multiple times a day).
Emails and photos I’ve glanced at once that won't be needed again (actually, I'm just waiting for the moment they cease being useful so I can delete them).
And after all that, I always go straight to the Recycle Bin to permanently delete everything.
My inbox on Reddit; I clear it the very second I reply to a PM.
Old photos of myself and people I will never see again (I’ve always been this way; once, while I was in high school, I tossed some childhood photos in the trash, and my mother nearly murdered me for it).
It might be unrelated, but I peel off all those non-original labels from products.
Old SIM cards—I never kept them; whenever I changed my number, I’d destroy them. On top of that, I wouldn't give the new number to anyone I didn't want having it, nor would I save their numbers in my new contacts. I’ve changed my number several times just to make a clean break when someone I didn't want contacting me ended up with my digits.
Gifts I received from women I used to date—I regularly discard or destroy them once the relationship ends (😠😠 like that beautiful Zippo lighter I got back when I used to smoke; why wouldn't my parents or some relative I'm forced to maintain contact with have given it to me? Now, it's sitting at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay).😠😠😠
I also occasionally get this feeling that something (bad) will happen if, for example, I don't count the letters of some random word I've conjured in my head right now.
😕
I am burdened by hand-washing compulsions. Every time I'm out in the yard and I toss something directly into a large trash can (like an ice cream stick, for instance), I feel a sense of revulsion at the thought of even touching the bin. I'll use the stick itself to lift the lid just so I can quickly drop the item in without touching the cover. Once, I lifted the lid too far, and it leaned against the wall, so I had to kick the bin just to get the lid to fall back into place.
🙄
Do I even need to mention that every single time I successfully toss trash into the bin, I immediately run off to wash my hands?
😳
There is more to it, but nothing else comes to mind right now... 🤔
Oh, and I am quite an introvert, but I don't have any trouble functioning in life. In fact, I feel like I resolve problems and dilemmas much better than most people; specifically, I don't get caught up in the kinds of messes people usually cook up for themselves.
My question is, what on earth am I actually looking at?
Thanks.
😁
You aren't crazy. You're normal, and I'm the exact same way.