Managing obsessions/special interests

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I've recently become obsessed with a TV show, and it's interfering with my life because I want to watch it all of the time. I can't get my homework done the way I want to because my mind keeps going back to the show and pulling me to watch it. This has happened before, but last time I wasn't in school so it wasn't a big problem.

Does anyone have any advice for managing this until it starts receding a bit? Thanks.

In all seriousness, get rid of the TV. It will make you crazy for a bit because you HAVE to watch that program and won't be able to. But it will work.

If you can't get rid of it, if you have digital cable have someone program it to block that show. Just make sure they don't tell you the password.

That's a tough one. I know how obsessions are and how difficult it is studying when all your mind wants to do is resort to the obsession it feels most at ease with. I wonder if the thought of learning new things can actually make the obsession worse? Maybe it's an expression of insecurity about aquiring new information? I would listen to the same music over and over at college instead of studying even though I wanted to be studying. I kept procrastinating. The only thing you can do is make yourself study and keep trying, even when beginning to get distracted. You have to be determined to study no matter what.
The only way I got passed whatever I was thinking about all the time was wait it out. One day, it just wasn't interesting any more. I can't explain why. Time is the only thing that works for me, as far as ending the obsession altogether.

It's on the internet, and I need my computer for my school work.

I was afraid that might be the case. Sometimes I hate the internet. It's way too distracting.

Watch it for 36 hours straight until it's no longer interesting?

I don't think it's an insecurity thing, because I've been doing well with all of my work and studying until my new obsession started. But yeah, I guess I'll just have to try and force myself to study and wait until my obsession ends.

Well I've already been watching it for almost a week, so I guess as I said above I'll just have to wait it out.

Maybe if I just try cutting down little by little, that will help. I hope.

If you don't need the internet for school, you could disconnect it (and then reconnect it if you absolutely have to use it). I don't mean cancel internet service, but disconnect your computer from it. I have this problem as well, not with TV shows but just information gathering on the internet. Why does the internet have to have so much information?

I have this problem too. I keep my computer at my mum's so I have to go there to use the internet although she doesn't live far from me. I've had a problem this semester because the material for one of my papers is all on computer. So, rather than study from the computer I've spent hours copy and pasting and printing thousands of pages and learning it from home.
I think it might be a bit of burn out. It's much more fun to study from the computer. I've tried learning the last chapter from my computer in the last couple days but I've only gotten through half of it in two afternoons. When I study from the paper at home I get through the whole chapter in one afternoon.

I make time for my chores, time for my social life and time for The Kinks.

I wish I could offer some better advice, I have been working on a similar problem myself. You can try to find another less disruptive interest that will not interfere with your school. When you find something, spend a little time pondering even the smallest details, while learning as much about it as you can. Always remain positive and you might be able to divert your focus away from the current obsession and turn instead to a new interest.

Good Luck!

I'm with CockneyRebel. There is nothing wrong with making time for special interests, especially when a new special interest is dominating your thinking. With me, when I'm going through an obsessive period with a special interest, like you, I can't stop thinking about it. And the only way to stop the obsessive thinking is to indulge in the special interest. Yes, it may take some time away from your schoolwork, but if you don't indulge yourself at all, you will ultimately get less schoolwork done, because you will not be able to focus your mind. Like CockneyRebel says, you need to make time for everything important, and for an Aspie, special interests are part of that. It's hard to do, but you need to learn how to prioritize your time and be able to juggle both schoolwork and special interests. Luckily, I never had a problem with this, probably because many topics in school (especially in college) were milder special interests of mine.
-OddDuckNash99-

Record it to video or DVD and watch it when you are done with your schoolwork. The only way I was able to finish school was to incorperate my special intrests into it. If my parents had not done that I couldn't focus on the lesson.