Do I Have Attachment Issues?

[Goerge]

My number one possession is my photo album with my childhood pictures spanning 15 years, I love looking through it but somehow it makes me feel sad like somehow it was better then... I think if I was to lose this album I'll die because it the only thing I truly treasure, if my house caught fire forget the cat and my omegas I'll go straight for this one album even if their was a change I'll die..... Do you think this is unhealthy? Do I place to much emphasis on 'perceived' happier time when my life is pretty cool now..... Is this a attachment issue I have perhaps?

[Codymoogle]

My number one possession is my photo album with my childhood pictures spanning 15 years, I love looking through it but somehow it makes me feel sad like somehow it was better then... I think if I was to lose this album I'll die because it the only thing I truly treasure, if my house caught fire forget the cat and my omegas I'll go straight for this one album even if their was a change I'll die..... Do you think this is unhealthy? Do I place to much emphasis on 'perceived' happier time when my life is pretty cool now..... Is this a attachment issue I have perhaps?

Everyone has some sort of attachment to their past (whether the attachment is good or bad), however, it's best to focus on the now.

~ Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why they call it the present. ~ Master Ugway, Kung Fu Panda

Think of who you are NOW, and live your life as who you are NOW, whoever that may be. It's okay to remember the past, but keep it to just memories, you know?

~ moogle

[Rockies Fan in Diapers]

I agree with moogs. There is nothing wrong with memories, & thinking of good times, but keep it real & live for now & not for the past.

Rockies Fan. Go Rockies in 2010!

[WallaWalla]

If you're asking a group of anonymous people if you have attachment issues, you probably do. I mean that in the most respectful way possible and simply mean to say that you should give some measure of validity to your concerns. If it wasn't an issue, I highly doubt that you would be speaking to us about this right now.

That being said, the behavior you are reporting is very typical of humans.

[babyvr6]

The other pic died, so here is another one.

[turtlepins]

I'd be curious to know why that album means so much to you. I have one that we keep ready in case we are evacuated or an emergency arises. It's our wedding album. I know why mine means so much to me. Why does your album mean so much to you?

[turtlepins]

mommy?

[Yvhuce]

My number one possession is my photo album with my childhood pictures spanning 15 years, I love looking through it but somehow it makes me feel sad like somehow it was better then... I think if I was to lose this album I'll die because it the only thing I truly treasure, if my house caught fire forget the cat and my omegas I'll go straight for this one album even if their was a change I'll die..... Do you think this is unhealthy? Do I place to much emphasis on 'perceived' happier time when my life is pretty cool now..... Is this a attachment issue I have perhaps?

What're your "omegas"? And yes, you should seek professional help with this. It's one thing to have a prized possession. It's another to become overly obsessed over that possession. Sometimes we just need someone to help us realize where we've come and how to get back to a more stable point.

Awesome picture, incoherent message. What's it trying to say?

[tris]

Omega wristwatches, is my guess. They're quite a spendy little item -- well into the thousands. Real Silver and Gold, and actual diamonds in some. I believe the new Bond wears Omegas, though in previous versions, I could have sworn he was a Tag Heuer man. . In any case, something worth running back into a burning building for. Judging by your posts, it wouldn't surprise me that somebody somewhere thinks you're worth enough to pay you the kind of money that affords such luxury items. I laud you for your position in the social strata.

You know you can attempt to convert all that shit to digital, right? I mean, that way, it can never really be destroyed. . . Think that'd be an option?

[sarah_ab]

You know you can attempt to convert all that shit to digital, right? I mean, that way, it can never really be destroyed. . . Think that'd be an option?

VERY good idea. While it would never replace the original photos, it would allow you to know you will always have a copy of them safe.

Given some of the information you have shared with us about your childhood goerge, I do not find your desire to hold onto those pictures and the memories and emotions they represent as abnormal. i'm sure we all have some prized posession, something treassured that the thought of losing in a disaster causing great emotional distress.

however, if your desire to protect this item is becoming intrusive i.e. you constantly worry about it or find yourself checking numerous times a day on this item, especially to the point that it is interfering with your daily activities, and/or you find yourself having constantly intrusive thoughts about disasters occuring and are constantly 'planning' how you would save this item, this does not necessarily point to an attachment disorder but rather to and obsessive compulsive disorder.

If these thoughts or your intense emotional attachment to this object is causing distress to you, i would suggest speaking with you doctor about this. In many instances cognitive behavioral therapy can help you overcome these distruptive thoughts.

Also in the meantime, i would suggest investing in a fireproof closet sized safe to contain the objects in. This way, unlike a safety deposit box yiou can take them out to look at any time you desire, but know when you leave the house, they are safe from disaster.

and yes get them converted to digital format as well.

[Repaid1]

Not sure of how to comment on the original question. But I do concur that you should have them scanned at a very high resolution. Switched over to cd/dvd and have multiple copies placed outside of your home. Also remember that burnt DVD's are not forever. They do loose data over a period of 5 to 10 years, so you should repeat the process around that time period.

I have lost pretty much my entire past from family and past girlfriends and such. I would love to have some pictures from my past and now they are pretty much all gone. So I guess if I were you, regardless of attachment issues, I would back up the photos.

[Goerge]

I have already had them duplicated and put on CDs, didn't know you have to burn them on new CDs so soon. I do find some thoughts intrusive to the point of obsessive like I daydream about the same things all the time, nappies, incontinence my albums, I walk everywhere and I go into trances daydreaming along and kinda black out as I've walked to my destination without acknowledging my surroundings....

[Bettypooh]

Not sure of how to comment on the original question. But I do concur that you should have them scanned at a very high resolution. Switched over to cd/dvd and have multiple copies placed outside of your home. Also remember that burnt DVD's are not forever. They do loose data over a period of 5 to 10 years, so you should repeat the process around that time period.

I have lost pretty much my entire past from family and past girlfriends and such. I would love to have some pictures from my past and now they are pretty much all gone. So I guess if I were you, regardless of attachment issues, I would back up the photos.

Plus one!

Multiple back-up in at least two locations with regular inspection and renewal is the standard If the loss of something would be heartbreaking, it's well worth the effort and cost it takes to protect it

Don't rely on a cheap "strong box" alone as fire protection. They're very limited as to what temperature differential they can provide While better than anything less substantial, the contents of these are often ashes after being exposed to an average house fire, with pictures taking the worst hit because they suffer damage at lower remperatures than it takes to carbonize paper :oThis comes from firefighters I know who have seen it happen many times over.

Documents can sometimes be retrieved from ashes, but never photos If you need fire protection for home storage you need to research the safes you're considering. Place then on the lowest level (and on the floor) where the heat of a fire is lowest. Placing then behind a door (like in a closed closet) also helps a lot. None are totally fireproof as to the contents, so what you're really doing is buying time to give the firefighters a chance to do their thing and keep the temperatures low enough to save the contents

Being attached to something is normal. All of us have something we'd risk our life to save in an emergency It may not mean much to someone else, but to us it's priceless.

Bettypooh

Bettypooh

[Goerge]

I've locked out fire poof safes and they centrally aren't cheap but worth the investment, I was thinking about getting a floor safe and putting it under my floor boards in my boiler room. Good idea really thanks!

[bedwetter73]

I have attachment issues too, but not to an album like that, or even to my diapers. I could loose everything and I would be upset, but not devastated. I do have a memory case in which I put all my old photo's, year books, cub scout uniform and other memories from my childhood. I think I keep these so close because it reminds me of who I am and where I came from. Without proof who knows what reality is real? I can look back on those items and remember being there, and the feelings of being there remind me of a simpler time. A time before going to work mattered, a time before cleaning the house was your responsibility, a time of innocence. I hate responsibility, but without it what would I do all day?

So I don't think you have attachment issues, just fond memories of your past.

[Goerge]

LoL, I still have all my school work, every school report thought-out my schooling, all the bad behaviour reports, every social services file they would give me through the freedom of information act (they tip-exed all the names out because of the date protection act but I managed to fill in the gaps, I have every letter, postcard, birthday card anybody has ever sent me.... I keep everything.....

[curiositykilledthecat]

Heck I'd like to burn all my childhood photos, I was an ugly, goofy looking kid.

[Yvhuce]

Heck I'd like to burn all my childhood photos, I was an ugly, goofy looking kid.

I'd start with everything after I was 2... I also was an ugly, goofy-looking kid... And wouldn't you know it? I turned into an ugly, goofy-looking adult...

[sdsddlr]

I don't have any childhood photos. Not one. I was separated from my biological parents years ago and I just don't know what happened to our belongings. I've never had a hint of how to go about reclaiming anything if it still exists.