Question about obsessions to the formally diagnosed

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After discovering Aspergers a week or so ago, I'm quite convinced I have it. Almost all the criteria fits me to a T. However I am still a little cloudy on the "Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus". It seems a little broad to me, or maybe not broad enough? I'm not sure. I mean, I've never obsessed over just one thing in my life. Well, maybe except for words and grammar and such. Which I'm totally getting paranoid about now. And want to proofread this with everything in me, but I'll resist. Um. Anyway. I've always went through phases of intense obsession. I'll do it with any subject that interests me... I've gone from crocheting to sewing pillows, to deco podge, urban legends (Chupacabra, Loch Ness Monster), meditation, becoming psychic, seeing auras, conspiracy theories, different authors or philosophers, and absolutely everything in between. These phases would last anywhere from a couple days (a very intense couple days) to a couple months but very rarely longer than that. I would blab to my mom about these things all day even though she really could care less. I knew she didn't, but I wanted to talk about it so bad nonetheless. I found an old old notebook of mine the other day, and in it was all this information about the Loch Ness Monster, and I was a little freaked out and embarrassed by it because I thought it seemed a little... ret*d? If you'll allow my nasty political incorrectness I used to love making lists and arranging information about whatever it was I was interested in. A perfectly written list of things I'll need for my new craft project (that I'd never follow through with) or information for the new website that I'll never create.

I also used to write alot. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say it was an obsession (probablyacircle.co.nr, judge for yourself). I felt as if I had no drive in life other than to write down every single thought and feeling that came to me in the most detailed and logical way possible. It went on for years, though I don't have time to do it anymore.

I go through phases with music. An obsession with a certain genre, or song, until it gets old. Food too, does anyone else do this? I'll eat Golden Grahams religiously for like 2 weeks and then never want to touch them again. Or every night before work for like a week I'd want vitamin water. I'm over that now, what will it be next? Who knows! I'm excited to find out!

Basically I'd just like to know if it has to be more of a long-term thing or lifetime dedication type obsession to be considered an Aspergers symptom.

Anyway, not looking for a cut and dry answer here, I know WrongPlanet can't diagnose me. Just looking for thoughts, opinions, and hopefully your experiences and obsessions too.

I sort of go through phases too but they change less often. Can't really think of how to describe them right now.

I go through similar phases as well. AS obsessions can vary a great deal - some people with AS (the more focused types) get obsessed with just one or two things and stay obsessed their whole lives. Then there's me - I get obsessed with a lot of things in phases where I will obsess for days, weeks or months, but frequently move on to something else. Occasionally I will come back to obsessions later on for a second or third go-round Usually my obsessions stay in the realm of History and Nature/Science.

The only things I have really been obsessed with my whole life are cats, books, and stuffed animals. Cats are my favorite obsession


My stims have remained the same throughout my life though, and I consider them in the same category as obsessions.

I've been obsessed with diapers for over ten years now. I was obsessed with London for a few years and 101 Dalmatians for about two years. I was obsessed with videogames in my teens and Zelda when I was 16. Now I am obsessed with Spokane and Benny & Joon. Just came back to me a year ago when I took a trip to Spokane to see the house. Sometimes I slip back to my old obsessions if I happen to watch my old favorite movies again. I stay away from Jurassic park, A league of Their Own, and 101 Dalmatians. I've had short term obsessions too.

I'm not formally diagnosed (yet), and this has always confused me a bit, but things that might fall into obsessions:

-I'm not sure if my interest in computers/technology is an obsession. Seems perfectly natural that you'd want to know how stuff works, but maybe it is. (It just occured to me that some people mentioned organizing lists of an obsession...I didn't think I did, but I have lists of GPU specs going back to Nvidia's TNT1, so I can refer to it, not sure if that counts). I spend hours doing (free) tech support for people on the Dell forums for fun a lot of times.

-I get on a kick where I'll spend a few hours just reading everything I can on something that's caught my attention-but usually just for a few hours at a time (maybe I'll be up until 3am on Wikipedia or something). Not sure if that's long enough to be an obsession.

-I also sort of have a one track mind about some things that sort of seems obsessive when I think about it. Like I'll decide I need a new cell phone, and spend weeks or months researching every possible bit of information or whatever on it, to the exclusion of really focusing on more important things, because it seems really important. Did that with a TV, been doing that forever before getting a new computer, etc. Doesn't have to be about buying something, but I'll just spend weeks researching it from every possible angle and getting totally confused about what I should do. I feel like I need every possible piece of info to make a decision.

I don't know, for all I know none of those count as obsessions.

I got all hot and ecstatic when I stumbled on the relations between "knight", "knife", "knekt" and "kniv". The way they changed in pronounciation in almost exactly the same way... I almost wanted to have sex with someone at that moment.

Does my relationship with words qualify as an obsession, you think?

i hope you start feeling better soon

ive been obessed with sportscards and rocks, i think your allowed a few obessions and it may aswell change piriordicly throughout your lifetime.

I tend to really latch onto something and collect information about it.

My favorite obsessions are:

Cats (the biggest constant in my life since I was born). Siamese and tabbies are my favorites, but I love them all.

Roger Bannister-I admire his accomplishments in the field of athletics and medicine. He didn't let obstacles get in his way.

Various cultures around the world-I have studied many countries in depth, including Spain, Japan, the Ukraine, England and Ethiopia (probably because of my interest in track and field athletics).

Since you're new to self-researching AS, here's a traits list that might be more helpful to you than the DSM:
http://asdgestalt.com/viewtopic.php?p=16830#16830

As for your question, any "professional" who tells you that autistics only have a single obsession over a lifetime doesn't know autism. Sure, maybe there's a few people here and there who've had a single all-encompassing obsession. But the vast majority of people I've known have had many obsessions, sometimes lasting years, sometimes maybe even just an afternoon; it depends on the person, their life at the moment (stress can sometimes lessen our enjoyable obsessions, and so can meds).

Nonautistic people have interests and obsessions too. But for us, we're on the extreme end of the obsessional spectrum. So we're more likely to have more obsessions, for the obsessions to be more intense-- maybe even to the point of putting off bathroom use, foregoing or forgetting meals, etc.

So the real difference between autistic obsessions and nonautistic obsessions is usually the intensity. Sometimes even to the point we design our careers around an obsession.