How intense is your special interest?

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As many of you probably know of my interest in Psychology by now LOL! I was thinking of the past and how deep that interest is (or it was in College anyway not as much now) I'd question the teacher daily which later lead to her telling the school "I feel this student has crossed the teacher/student line and needs a Psychological Evaluation before returning on campus." This comment still devastates me to this day and outside of finding WP and the explanation of my behavior through learning of AS I don't know how I could change.

I've asked teachers questions SINCE KINDERGARDEN!! !! !! !! !! and I question if I've truly gotten help (IMO no all I've gotten is oh you're depressed take a pill or just go on and get over your problems. So that begs the question I ask today of you on WP how intense is your interest or Aspie interest in general? For me not questioning the teacher WOULD DRIVE ME CRAZY!! !! !! !! !! (Sure the debate bring your Ipod/DS etc.) but IMO I'm there to learn and how I do that is BY QUESTIONING THE TEACHER! and IMO you should know your field inside and outside (Psychology,law etc.)

So I'm lefting questioning after all I've learned from WP and about AS and in turn myself can I truly change my behavior? I also had issues at my job I'd obsess over a coworker (jumping on her back don't ask why.) and within 3 months she went to the boss (the topic of sexual harrassment got brought up and I was in tears thankfully nothing was done.) So we have College kick out WITHIN a year of getting my GED and my job 3 months YES AN ISSUE WITHIN 3 MONTHS!! !! !! ! My only idea for change is sadly be a zombie go in do my work (school/job) and that's that. I can't come out of my shell or anything!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! ! I'm totally lost any tips?

I'm not sure what specifically you're asking for advice about, but I've been told many times that I ask too many questions. I don't see how that can be possible My organic chemistry teacher got so fed up with me asking questions that half way through the semester she refused to answer any more and I had to go to the TA instead.

Pretty intense. I'm thinking about two of mine right now. I ask a lot of questions but people around me don't know the answers so I turn to Google or Wikipedia instead. I'm into a lot of fact books too so sometimes they hold the answers.

I have been told I have strong obsessions but I don't have so many Benny & Joon. I can't even look at the photos or else I will ruin them from touching them too much. I still need to buy photo frames. I have pictures printed from online but I don't look at them because I have looked at them too many times and Benny & Joon online, the information is old, the pictures are old too and I haven't found any new information so I stopped reading about it. The stories at fanfiction are old and I have read them all. But every time someone posts a new B&J story, I will read it.
I have three B&J posters up in my apartment and I still have the shirt I need to get. Jeez I thought if my obsessions were that strong, I'd have everything in B&J and spend my whole day with it.
Only way to get new B&J information is going to Spokane and talking to the lady who lives in the house and talking to the people who live in Ruthie's building to see if they know about the movie being shot there. Or going to the car shop and talking to the owner or talking to the neighbors in the B&J neighborhood and where Ruthie's building is at. I have already done the diner. I can't think of anything new to ask to know about the place. They didn't know the shooting dates there sadly but it was closed for two weeks and so was the block when they filmed the scenes. Then they started to make changes to the place in 2003 and only did the work on Mondays and at nights when they be closed. The owners have owned that place since 2000 and the place was empty for two months before they bought it. That was when he also got those three movie posters to put up on the wall. They just painted the place again this past spring and moved the movie posters to the front entrance and made it a movie area.

I am always hesitating to ask people in Spokane about B&J when I see their neighbors or the owner of the house. I don't want to disturb them and I am not sure how they treat me if I decide to talk to them about Benny & Joon. I don't even stop at the auto shop to see if the owner is there so I can talk because I do know he has work to do. Yeah I do keep wondering about those locations and what it was like and how long the shop was closed, if anyone was living in the ugly apartment before they made it look nice, and wondering if the studio was added on to the house and then they took it down after the movie and how long it took for them to shoot all the scenes there when they used the exterior of the home. I did have one chance to see the inside of an apartment in Ruthie's building because these four people were moving out and I wanted to talk to them but couldn't get nothing out. I even wanted to go inside and see the inside of their apartment but I wasn't sure if I could go inside or not. The place is secured. I was in the building once because my parents said I could go in so I did. Someone left the front doors open. I got to count all the unit s and see it was two per floor and there were ten units. Two are in the basement. Last time I was there, they had a for rent sign and I could have called the number to ask to take a look at it and pretend I was looking for a place to rent. I should have called the lady on the phone too who left that sign at her B&J house but I never did just to see if those numbers are real. I didn't know what I was going to say is why. Then the sign was gone when I went there again last time. I think it's too late now to call.

It seems that some don’t distinguish between special interests and obsessions but for me they’re completely different:

A special interest is an interest I’ve always had (since nursery or elementary school age) and always will have. Like animals (especially turtles), astronomy, some aspects of medical issues, science fiction, horror, means of transport (air vehicles, boats and some trains and cars) and paleontology.
I’m interested in everything concerning turtles, I read about them and collect pictures and figurines. Whenever I come across something new about them I wanna know all about it. However, I don’t think about turtles 24/7.

When I’m obsessed, it’s really an obsession. I’m interested in planes, and Concorde is my favourite. When Concorde met her end of runway in 2003, my interest in Concorde turned into an obsession. My first thought as I awoke was of Concorde and the plane continued to be in my thoughts throughout the day, and I would keep day dreaming and thinking about Concorde no matter where I was and what I was actually supposed to do, I’d doodle planes, too. I read the same texts about the plane over and over. Concorde was the last thought on my mind before I fell asleep and I’d usually dream about her. When I say that Concorde was on my mind 24/7 it’s very nearly the literal truth. It’s like being in love, except that the object of my thoughts is a field of interest.

That’s the big difference between special interest and obsession for me. I’m always interested in my special interests, but I can also think of other things, and they will always be there.
Obsessions either last from hours to days or from months to years, and in that time it’s an exception when I think of something else. Obsessions can be related to a special interest (like Concorde was), but they don’t have to be. If they are related they’ll go back to being part of a special interest. If they were ”stand-alone” they’ll fade and usually become something I don’t really care about at all anymore.

When I’m feeling poetic I usually compare them this way: An obsession is like an intoxicating infatuation that flame up and make me giddy, but that sooner or later will fade away quietly and die. A special interest is like true love, it warms me and is always there, I will never tire of it and I’ll always feel the same way about it and return to it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say about 8. More recently, they have been causing me a great deal of stress and anxiety when I hit a roadblock with what I'm trying to accomplish within my interests.

My life is a collection of special interests.

Other people do not know, a teacher might have a ten year old degree in the field, never worked it, and is more focused on teaching than keeping up. Often they have a degree in another field, but took the job.

Questions are for grad school, the higher you go the less rote learning, and the more questions.

Rather intense. My SpongeBob obsession has gotten to the point where everybody knows I watch it. I've even got a huge collection of about 130 SpongeBob SquarePants stuff.

To the exclusion of nearly everything, whether mental or physical.