Anyone else have quick and SUPER intense special interests?

[jbalka]

So, this was a weird thing that happened a couple of weeks ago...

I suddenly got into natural/long hair care in a BIG way. Nearly out of nowhere. I bought new shampoo, and then on the way home, I was like, "I'm going to look up some things about not using sulfates, etc." and then BAM 48 hours on the internet reading everything in the universe on hair care. I think I exhausted the field, actually. It was to the point that I wanted to do other things and I was annoyed at myself, but I couldn't! And now the interest has died down into a slightly more manageable hobby. Probably only because I've read everything, and my hair is straight and not very hard to take care of.

Anyways, do these short, intense spurts count as special interests? I'm self-diagnosed, and I have had longer term interests at various times in my life (dogs, Star Wars, the Amish, Hassidic Judaism, eating disorders (even though I never had one..), autism).

 

[Axeman52]

Yeah, this sometimes happens to me. Sometimes the obsessions are shortlived, other times they stick around forever but with less severe intensity.

Anyone who happens to notice my posts here will probably notice that this year they've pretty much all been related to The Lion King in some way (and here I go again!) because I watched it for the first time since I was 5 years old at christmas and since then it won't get out of my head. Just because I watched it one time. Who knows how long it will last? I hope that before long I'll stop obsessing over it with such intensity that I can't stop myself from spending several hours per day (and night) trying to deconstruct it and find as much information about it as possible, because there really are better, more productive things I could be doing with my time.

This type of thing does happen quite frequently, and usually I do manage to learn something new and useful from each thing that seems to get inside my head and take over, and while the interest in that thing usually sticks around, the obsessive intensity eventually levels out to a point where it stops becoming intrusive.

 

[toothless]

all of my interests have been long term,i have quite a few i think though, like collecting mugs [is that classed as an interest?] animals [especially my fish,support cat and two rabbits],computers,going to sensory rooms,using my own sensory equipment and autism research as a special interest,my only recent obsession/interest has been making videos to help people understand autism but its not exactly new as i used to do it years ago in makaton/sign language when i was non verbal.

i dont think it matters if you have quickening interests or not, its all about having special interests,but even then i think aspies and auties differ.

 

[Suzanne]

Yes, absolutely! I am in a sort of obsession right now actually but I can control it, mainly because I have to control it. Sorry for any curiousity awakened here; not evil by any means.

My one obsession that has stayed around for a long time now, is colours. I am absolutely crazy about colours and gets frustrating when I cannot have a colour that I am obsessing about.

Oh and I am obsessed with picking hair and could spend hours doing this; so comforting.

But definitely do get quick fire obsessions and very much like you describe; I may get something and get curious about it all and by the end of the obsession, know pretty much all there is to know and that is it; no more.

 

[jbalka]

Yeah, this sometimes happens to me. Sometimes the obsessions are shortlived, other times they stick around forever but with less severe intensity.

Anyone who happens to notice my posts here will probably notice that this year they've pretty much all been related to The Lion King in some way (and here I go again!) because I watched it for the first time since I was 5 years old at christmas and since then it won't get out of my head. Just because I watched it one time. Who knows how long it will last? I hope that before long I'll stop obsessing over it with such intensity that I can't stop myself from spending several hours per day (and night) trying to deconstruct it and find as much information about it as possible, because there really are better, more productive things I could be doing with my time.

This type of thing does happen quite frequently, and usually I do manage to learn something new and useful from each thing that seems to get inside my head and take over, and while the interest in that thing usually sticks around, the obsessive intensity eventually levels out to a point where it stops becoming intrusive.

Ooh, I do that with movies I *really* like, too! Most notably, Amadeus (my absolute favorite) and The King's Speech. For both, I watched them numerous times, watched every "making-of" video, read every interview... I did end up somewhat exhausting them-- my husband and I joke that I "solved" the movies.

 

[jbalka]

all of my interests have been long term,i have quite a few i think though, like collecting mugs [is that classed as an interest?] animals [especially my fish,support cat and two rabbits],computers,going to sensory rooms,using my own sensory equipment and autism research as a special interest,my only recent obsession/interest has been making videos to help people understand autism but its not exactly new as i used to do it years ago in makaton/sign language when i was non verbal.

i dont think it matters if you have quickening interests or not, its all about having special interests,but even then i think aspies and auties differ.

I've had long-term interests, too, but I suppose they're more come-and-go. I'll get back into it very intensely and then back off. (Actually hair might even be a long-term thing for me, because I was certainly fixated with hairstyles when I was a kid, and I always stare at people's hair.......) I'm back into autism research again right now, which was an intense interest for months last year for me. Do you think "special interests" are marked by their intensity, and not necessarily how long they last?

 

[jbalka]

Yes, absolutely! I am in a sort of obsession right now actually but I can control it, mainly because I have to control it. Sorry for any curiousity awakened here; not evil by any means.

My one obsession that has stayed around for a long time now, is colours. I am absolutely crazy about colours and gets frustrating when I cannot have a colour that I am obsessing about.

Oh and I am obsessed with picking hair and could spend hours doing this; so comforting.

But definitely do get quick fire obsessions and very much like you describe; I may get something and get curious about it all and by the end of the obsession, know pretty much all there is to know and that is it; no more.

I do like the quick obsessions! (Not always when they interfere with things, but what can you do?) I was even thinking recently that I haven't felt that all-encompassing interest feeling for awhile. I've even tried to create a special interest that was productive, like math or science or something cool. But nope-- it's hair products.