Obsession or passion?

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Just to throw another word out there: What is the difference between an aspie special interest and an addiction?

My psychologist said that my special interests could also be classified as addictions because of what they are/were (poker, world of warcraft, other computer games).

I'm not completely sure about this, but I think a special interest is easily replaced by another. An addiction is not. I guess it could be possible to have both though.

Before I found out about AS, most people would possibly suspect that I'm a video game addict. I knew that I wasn't, but I couldn't figure out why. Now I know. The only time I'm really addicted is the first week after I get a new game.

It's kind of hard to explain. It's not like I need to play video games every day or that I value the virtual world more than the real one, it's just that when I get a new game I want to know everything about it. I don't put a game down until I've truly mastered it. I want to try everything I can think of to do. Once I run out of ways to play the game, I get bored and do things like download mods for it, go on forums and talk about it, and see if there's anything else I can try. Eventually I put the game down altogether and my other special interests take over (which are often, but not always other games).

Case in point: I would happily trade in my obsession with games for something else, but there really aren't a lot of other alternatives around the house.

On YouTube, in part of the Yale autism seminar they demonstrate that your idea is correct.

I tend just to use the term "interests"
The severity of your interests is nobody elses beeswax

When I have obsession with a object, when i analyze it deep, can be useful or not, but doesn't hurt me, but when my obsession is with subject, person, in first is nice, he feel first flattered...and than he or she have feeling that is stalked and avoids me, beside I'm nice with him, even try to help him and nothing look for beck, he can have only benefits. I think this obsession I can't put in normal interest or in passion, it is really different, like that object or subject, person has in self more than i can see and i must discovery it and when person ignore me or avoid me i going in bad feelings and depression and problem is that is how instinct and i can't avoid, like that is in brain activities which we don't control consciously.
Difference with common obsession or passion: obsession i don't chose consciously, that chose my part of brain which i don't control, eg like breathing, i do not decide when that obsession going to stop, that chose my part of brain which i don't control, if analyze of my obsession is stooped, while my brain still analyze, i suffer.

Last edited by nikoa on 06 Jun 2011, 3:25 am, edited 2 times in total.

How does [obsessive passion]^100 sound?

I often wonder if our interests are described as obsessions/addictions/[other word with negative connotations] simply because they're not deemed 'socially acceptable'. Millions of people give just as much time and energy to sports, or fashion, or the like, as we do to our special interests, and could certainly be considered to be obsessed. But being highly interested in these things is considered 'normal'.