Do you have to read everything you see

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Sometimes when I'm eating breakfast I read the back of the cornflakes box. I find my eyes drifting towards it, and although I've read it 100 times already I will read it again. I have to because the text is there. I can't help it. Sometimes I do it subconsiously and it doesn't bother me. But some days I drive myself mad having to read things.

A friend gave me a bottle of shower gel and it has the most random extract written down it, something about if there were no apples would there be mint crumble. It's nonsense, but if I am in the shower and I see it I automatically start reading it and then I realise I'm doing it and get annoyed and have to move the bottle so I can't see it.

It used to happen to me a lot more than it does now. Had to read anything I saw but it made me happy for some reason. Don't know why it happens less now or why it made me happy sometimes though.

Was this Dr.Bronner's Soap by any chance? That soap is legendary for the nonsensical text written in fine print all over the label. I used to be mesemrized by it. These days I need glasses to read fine print and I'm not wearing those in the shower so I'm saved from getting sucked in to a Dr.Bronner Soap text wall.

I do this a lot. It's not so bad as it used to be, but even when I do tear myself away from a piece of text, I still get a worried feeling, as if I might be missing something important.

Perhaps it's something to do with this "start-stop" problem that Aspies are said to have? It could certainly be called perfectionist. And maybe the inability to remain mindful of the "big picture" while engrossed in the detail has a part to play here? Whatever it is, it's very similar to the way I do almost anything - I start at the beginning, and don't stop till the end.

It's Nirvanna Spa soap. It's just nonsense written on the bottle. the Bluberry Pie soap carries the warning "do not eat".

It's hard to not read anything I can see it just happens so naturally to read and analyze.

I find my eyes going to the text all the time. I cant stop reading the cereal box or other things around the house. When Im driving I sometimes stare at street signs or bilboards. Sometimes my attention is so focused on something Im reading I get honked at for not going on a green light

when i am in the bath, i read all the shampoo, conditioner, bath foam, shower gel, face wash etc labels. i read them every day and rarely do i change the brand that i use so i have been reading the (more or less) same labels for years.

Uh, so you mean that some people don't read everything they see?

I don't. Probably because a lot of things I see are things with ingredients and such listed-like shampoos and stuff. I mean, there is the bit about "how wonderful it is" and all that, but I might skim over it. But, if someone asked me about what shampoo I use, I would get an image of the bottle, where the text is and all of the details of shape, color, etc. in my mind.

I'm not very drawn to text generally, unless it's something I'm interested in, or seeking out. If it has an image with it, then I'll read it usually. I'm drawn to cartoony type images, or just very colorful images in general a lot more than I am to text.

I used to read a lot of things when I was younger, but when I start hitting words and have no clue as to what they mean (like quite a few things I see in ingredients of things)... I might look it up later to find out, or it just goes out of my mind, because I'm just not all that interested in it.

I cannot help it, I read things automatically.
Even when I am trying to count in my head and visualise the numbers I get distracted by my voice which is naming the numbers in my head.
I do it when writing, too.
Right now I am reading this in my head.
Odd.
I cannot remember anything I read like that though.

I used to do this, but over the years, as my vision has deteriorated with age, I'm less compelled to do it, as I'd have to go to another room and find my glasses first.

Now, I can't read the cooking directions on a food package without corrective lenses.

i feel compelled to read things i see too. seems very normal behaviour to me.

Yes, even the small print advertising ringtones. I have several things to read in front of me, including pens, water bottles, writing pads, sound speakers, blockbuster coupons, etc. Well you get it, I read everything. I even find myself reading the same article that is stuck up on my wall over and over again.

I find I have to read everything I see because I *need* to know what it says. I just thought it was me being intensely curious.

Yeah, I do this - I can't have a poster or shirt with something written on it because I'll read it about ten thousand times. I used to be really bad about cereal boxes. I know the ingredients in my shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, everything I eat, you name it. There's something about a box, too - must read. My favorite is a bottle of chinese herbal antiseptic (like herbed alcohol). I love reading it.