When you don't like your special interest??

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I am completely obsessed with autism spectrum disorders right now, to the point that I cannot think about anything else and am not interested in anything else, and it's really irritating me. I would like to go back to the special interest that I had previously, which I really enjoyed. I'm hoping this one will blow over soon and I can go back to being interested in the last thing I was obsessed with because this is less fun. Even if I could balance both of them, it would be more tolerable ... but my brain doesn't want to do that, apparently.

I have had some obsessions or interests that really bugged me - like for a while, I was totally obsessed with feminine products and it was almost the only thing I thought about or talked about (which other people thought was really weird). The only way that that special interest ended as quickly as it did (I guess it lasted a couple of months?) was that there wasn't really that much information about it and so I read it all.

Umm ... have you ever had a special interest that you didn't want? Is there a way to get rid of one, other than just going through it?

I was really interested in the UK 70s punk movement, for a few years. Last summer in 2009, it got to the point that I didn't like that special interest, anymore. I've decided to face reality and be myself, as you know me on WP, today.

Last edited by CockneyRebel on 01 Oct 2010, 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I usually dislike it upon acquiring it. Sometimes I can't fathom how I could have become obsessed over something randomly literally overnight. Then I just cave in. There's no changing it. I might adapt a different attitude if I develop an interest in feminine hygiene products however...

I don't think there is a way of getting rid of one. It's even more sad when you lose interest in one that you don't want to. How do special interests work?

Lol. That was the weirdest one, I swear!



I don't know. Sometimes I also wish I could become obsessed with a particular thing that I find mildly interesting, but I just can't make it happen. I would love to hear a scientific explanation of all this.

I lost interest in the special interest that got me my career. I'm a little panicked about it, I need it back to get my work done. Is it time for a new career or is it going to come back in time? I'm really not sure, but the clock is definitely ticking...stupid clock.

I get way too obsessed with autism where after a while I won't come here (including lurking) for a bit because it really fuels my obsession to the point I have trouble with other responsibilities. I find if I force myself to eliminate or even just reduce my resources to learn about my obsession something else will replace it. Like right now it's nutrition. I like that better because I use that information to help me while my autism obsession can depress me.

Yes, but can you see how turning that obsession into your way of making a living could not only benefit the field of research, but you as well?

Yes and I have and am considering it.

One of my special interests is politics and current affairs which - unless you're to the right of Himmler- is a thoroughly soul destroying and depressing business. I have often wished i have no interest in these matters whatsoever.

In the last 6 months my interest in Australian Rules football is to point of view to be illogical these days.

But I do like my special interest... very much, in fact.

That game seems to inspire fanatical interest (I speak as an outside observer) in all its followers though so an obsession could be considered normal?

Haven't had a special interest since the age of 6 (from then it's been several on/off interest and daily interests), but I feel really guilty about unproductive interests like tv series, gaming etc. Sadly, those are often the ones I like the most. I'd like to focus on whatever I'm good at, like natural sciences, drawing and music. Basicly something that I could earn a living off. I've had a mild interest in genetics and histopathology, which are somewhat mentioned in our curriculum. However, studying feels like a chore sometimes, and I'd be more interested in a topic if I happened to stumble upon it. In highschool, I had no interest in math for this very reason , I'd study more interesting topics like galois theory, group theory (contributions of sylow in particular) and topology . So regardless of
whichever medical field I end up in, I'd probably end up hating my job anyway , while loving my sparetime hobbies.

Very good question. I wish researchers would study special interests more, because they are both fascinating and mysterious. But it seems that the only research out there is on which categories of special interests garners the most followers.

Luckily, I've never had a special interest that I didn't like or didn't enjoy. But last year, I still had a primary special interest in a person, and this type of special interest is hard to deal with. I was very thankful when my current primary special interest took the old special interest's place, because my current one is a more typical special interest topic, one that you can memorize lots of trivia/information about. People special interests are hard to be in your control, and that's why it wasn't nearly as fun for me.
-OddDuckNash99-

Last year (or perhaps even the year before that), I was obsessed with Asian Ball-Jointed Dolls (BJDs). I hated it because they're extremely expensive (they cost as much as, or more than, a new video game console). I knew I would never be able to get one, so I forced myself to quit obsessing over it. It still flares up every now and then though, much to my chagrin.

Yes. Recently I feel like I've lost interest in Tim Burton films - which is what I've been obsessed with since January. I could already tell that I was getting tired of Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the only reason my interest in Sweeney Todd stayed for as long as it did was because of Helena Bonham Carter's role as Mrs. Lovett.

But the one film that absolutely breaks my heart to lost interest in is Alice in Wonderland. It had so much sentimental value for me that I was certain I would be in love with it for years to come. But I had learned everything there was to learn about it, and one day when I woke up, my passion for it was gone. Just like that - an obsession that I expected to last for years was gone overnight, and its actual duration was only about half a year.

Last edited by IdahoRose on 02 Oct 2010, 10:30 am, edited 2 times in total.

That would be extremely frustrating. I hope you are able to figure something out. Can I ask what the interest was?

Last edited by PangeLingua on 02 Oct 2010, 12:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.