Did anyone else grow out of having special interests?

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I was diagnosed when I was a pre-teen, and I always had strong special interests. First I was strongly obsessed with dinosaurs and palaeontology, and then I was obsessed with pharmacology. This lasted all of my youth, both interests were obsessive and lasted years.

I'm 28 now, and have rare and fleeting obsessions (they last a couple of months or so). In the last couple of years I can only think of two of those periods, and the subject then quickly becomes boring again. The rest of the time I'm not particularly interested in anything. I am somewhat exhausted and spend my time working, studying for my degree (via distance learning), and keeping an exercise routine.

Is this common? Has this happened to anybody else?

I have grown out of specific interests. Video games is a good example for me. I used to love video games, I would always be playing one after I got home from school. Nowadays, video games are a hobby I rarely partake in. Not because I dislike them or felt they were immature or anything like that. I've just gotten older, moved on to different interests.

I have seen my special interests change over time. I've given up some special interests, only to go back to them. I've had fluctuations in the level of obsessiveness. And there are some I stopped altogether.

I wouldn't say I've completely outgrown any of them, though I've dropped the occasional interest and sometimes developed a bit of contempt for it, at least for a while. But the contempt has always subsided and these days I'm fond of them all, even if I don't pay them all much attention any more. When I do get re-involved with one, I probably approach and view it differently because I've changed, but it's not a negative thing and it's not indifference, except that I might not be as extreme with my enthusiasm for it.

I think you're saying that you just don't have special interests anymore. Maybe you have too much going on, with work, school, and exercise, to have the space for them in your life?

For me, I don't always have a special interest. Sometimes I just don't have any. But it doesn't have to do with age.

Special interests have always been my STRONGEST autistic trait. I've had the same ones since childhood, now I'm almost 40.

I've had most of the same special interests all through my life. Guess what my biggest one is.

My Special interests change, sometimes quickly but I haven't grown out of them exactly. I go back to some of them but not others (at least not yet)

Not really. I'm a month away from 40 and still have them. Currently its computer programming (HTML/CSS/Javascript and a touch of Python) and Buddhism.

I think heavy metal has been a staple as a special interest of mine since I was 11 and I still am just as passionate about it now as I used to be.

Some did outgrew.
Some lost it instead.

There's a difference. Former meant an internal change in me, usually for the better.
The latter is an internal change, not for the better. It involves forms of burnouts.

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I still find "magical" aspects about the special interests I had as a child such as roller coasters. I used to live and breathe roller coasters ... all the way through college. As I matured as an adult, I didn't spend as much time with researching and riding them. However, something else sparked my interest -- collecting vintage roller coaster blueprints. Although I spend little time thinking about these rides, I did start an HO scale roller coaster model last year that has most of its major sections built. I still like house plans and blueprints for them, but I don't collect house plan books anymore, however, I will try to get an occasional mid-century style blueprint when available.

My big thing now is writing. I find writing as an escape into whatever world I want it to be. If all is quiet in the house, an I submerge myself deep enough, I can quite literally feel like I am living the story I am writing.

So, to answer your question. Have I grown out of having special interests? No. I still get overly fascinated by topics. But my approach to them has changed.

It depends on what it is, I still like the funny duck and rabbit show for babies since August 2022 approximately. I'm not saying I'm "too old" or "outgrowing" it specifically but I'm might be losing interest in cats, probably because I can't get a second cat for a long time...

I had grew out of special interest which one of them was my deep interest in trains and the other being engaged with the Hip-Hop scene.

I grew out of some of my special interests over the years but I still have some now. In fact, special interests are one of my most obvious autistic traits.

I think monotropism is more consistent with my experience.

I go into depth in things that I want to learn about, and this means I often think just about
one thing. But I never really had this "special interest" thing.

For years now, since before pandemic, likely from my last burnout from that full time job that I couldn't improve upon -- I hadn't had a real special interest since.


If I had to recall it, it's been about almost 4 years now.

When I suddenly just stop looking at stationeries, crafting supplies, planning for projects to blow my allowance or my salary on...
Like what I've been doing ever since I was still young and still have my longest special interest.


Sure, I still have monotropism.
And that I can control it to an extent better than before but...

I still don't have a special interest. Or an obsession.

Ingrained habits don't count; it's consistent but far, far from deep and intense like any interests do, let alone special interest.

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