Why do exes sometimes keep your stuff

By M.Farouk Radwan, MSc.

Are they still interested?

Some people might think that if their Exes kept their stuff after a breakup then they might still be interested in them however this is just a single possibility.

In my previous article 7 Reasons why men stay single i explained that in psychology no single action can have a single interpretation but in order for an action to be understood it needs to be connected somehow to a person's behaviour and character.

Yes your Ex could be missing you and that could be one reason they decided to keep your stuff but there are other reasons as well. After all so many people fail to recover fully after breakups and that's why they might keep the things that remind them of their old relationships.

If your Ex has decided to keep your stuff then this doesn't automatically mean that they are interested but it just means that there is one possibility that they still miss you (See why we miss our exes when we meet new people).

They recovered fully

Your Ex can also keep your stuff if they recovered fully. In such a case seeing your stuff over and over fails to trigger your Exes emotions. In some cases Exes who fully recover keep the stuff to remind themselves of the fact that they managed to recover and yes it's an Ego related thing (See why it's hard to recover from the first love).

In some other cases , even though your Ex have fully recovered, they could keep your stuff because they do respect you and want to keep the memory. While it's rare still in some cases Exes do actually become friends after they breakup (See why your Ex wants to be friends).

Even though Exes could have recovered fully carrying your stuff could result in a relapse. In my book How to get over anyone in few days i explained how getting rid of all of the items that belong to the person you broke up with can speed up recovery as this action signals your mind that the relationship is over for good.

After all the main reason people fail to recover fully from relationships is that they live on a false hope. Once hope is killed a person usually feels bad for few days then quickly recovers fully.

They need them

This is common among gold diggers. A person can keep valuable stuff after a breakup if he believes this stuff will be useful. A man can keep a watch that he got from his Ex or a woman can keep the jewelry her Ex bought her.

Not all people who keep such stuff are gold diggers. Sometimes a person might find that the stuff he got was useful and that there is no need to send it back. In such a case keeping the stuff doesn't mean that there is any emotional connection to the ex but it might just mean that the person is very practical.

They want revenge

Sometimes Exes act in a childish manner after a breakup and in many cases try to think of methods to make their previous relationship partners suffer. In my previous article Why Revenge against your Ex is a bad idea i said that doing things in order to take revenge can only show your Ex that you still care or that you are hurt.

Exes can sometimes keep stuff because they want to make their relationship partners feel bad. By keeping an expensive gift for example and using it everyday an Ex can believe they are hurting the one who bought the gift.

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Want to know more?

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