image by https://unsplash.com/@randomlies
For the past two years, I think, I have had this issue with decluttering and I didn't even notice. I do declutter quite different, I live with my parents and I share a room with my brother since I discovered I can't get rid of stuff that doesn't belong to me, that may have driven me from the physical space to a virtual space, you can call this OCD, not Obsessive-compulsive disorder, this OCD( Obsessive Cleaning Disorder) but for a Phone.
It starts with me deleting files, I don't open or files I think are not important ( even when it's clear I would need it sometime), I delete movies immediately I watch them, and goes as far to delete empty system folders which clearly to me has no value ( I think).
How I noticed it
It did take a while to notice it was an issue, I thought it's normal to free up space on your phone, I was surprised when I found out my sister still had movies she watched 2 years ago and pictures we took over 4 years ago, but when I checked her phone storage it was on red and it didn't seem to bother her ( when it bothered me when it wasn't even my phone 😅), okay maybe my sister likes to keep all her files I thought, but it turned out most of my friends still had old images or APK files of applications they used some time ago while some backed up their files to the cloud, I have tried that before, I still get the urge to declutter.
It should be clear that it's an issue now right? But that wasn't the case for me, even after trying to recover a project I deleted, or when I get the nostalgia of the time I played games on my previous PC days after uninstalling them, for some reason I don't think this is an issue.
The Addiction
It has become an addiction, that I need to delete a file to get a feeling of satisfaction, relief, freedom, and control. But the addiction issue is you have to do more the next time to get that same amount of satisfaction (dopamine), for I had to delete bigger or more files to get the same amount of satisfaction.
How I cope with it
The less you want, the more you have
And I still don't believe it's an issue,
But, you don't get to notice how important something is until you lose it.
If you relate to this or have a possible solution, leave a comment, I would love to see it from your perspective.
Thanks for Reading