Does anyone not have a 'special interest'?

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My interests change from time to time, for reasons that I might have educated myself enough on one topic and feel like jumping onto a new one. I never feel like I have any real ongoing 'special interests', because out with the old and in with the new.

If you do have a special interest or just a temporary interest, what is it?

I get obsessed with British TV series shows I have on DVD, usually one at a time. I got really obsessed with Outnumbered, then the Inbetweeners, and now it's the first few series of Grange Hill. I'm not sure I would consider it a special interest, but I am writing my own stories about it, using the same characters but my own storylines.
But I don't have the urge to talk about it to others. I just watch the episodes a lot and I've read the books, and I write stories about it, in my free time.

I have intense interests but no special interest.

When something catches my attention I will hyperfocus, obsess and talk about it (for any amount of time from minutes to months or even years) till I solve the problem/know all there is to know about it/get pissed off by it/get pissed by people expecting me to find a job related to it/get pissed by being considered an expert but not considering myself an expert(I make mistakes, I am not sure about some stuff and there are people who know more about the topic than I do = I am not an expert so people should stop call me one and expect me to know everything).
Then I drop it and sit idle(doing whatever, browsing the net, playing random games), ready for a next prompt.

That sounds a lot like me, except my obsession usually wouldn't go on for more than a few days or weeks, in most cases.

When I just started getting back into dyeing my hair again (after a long break of letting it be), I began researching on multiple products, product reviews, beauty supply stores, and tutorials of hair bleaching/colour mixing on Youtube.

Thus leading me to my current blonde hair colour, but now I feel like reaching for platinum (which will be a new struggle of maintenance).

How long is a special interest supposed to last anyway? Until you die?

Everything Kiriae said, really.

Also, some research binges are responses to perfectly normal problems, like buying a house or solving health problems - it's just that I research it in much more detail than most people do.

Is there really a difference between special interests and intense interests? Like maybe your interests may shift from time to time but isn't that normal? The same happened to me. When I was a little kid, I was a bookworm. As i GOT older I shifted away from that to watching Youtube videos, making my own videos, and doing various types of drawings on different mediums like Photoshop or on paper. My mom says I don't like anything but I think it's just that I like doing things that let me go at my own pace and the things I like to do lowkey don't usually involve a lot of social interaction. A lot of them just involve me sitting on my computer all day and like others said being hyperfocused. I might not eat brush my teeth, or take a bath until I get my video editing done for example. Recently I was working my way around CSS on my Tumblr blog and I stayed up all night, much to my parent's chagrin. I kind of enjoy it because I've been tapping into my creative abilities and sometimes depending on the mood, I might write poems or learn a language. The thing is that if someone asks me "what is your hobby?" I have a hard time giving a straight answer because they are kind of fluid and I'll feel out of place because I'm worried people will think "what's so productive about x, y, or z?"

Somebody here on WP pointed out to me that the diagnostic criteria about interest requires that they are special in either intensity or focus - and I guess what they mean by intensity is how much they mean to you on a personal level, and how much time you spend on it, whereas focus means the narrowness of a topic, as in being interested in only Maseratis instead of being interested in sports cars in general.

I've seen a lot of sources saying that special interests in girls tend to be less conspicuous than in boys.

Also, I wonder how co-morbid ADHD influences special interests - I suspect it would lead to a wider range of topics, or shorter duration - does anyone know?

I've several in my life. The last one lasted over 10 years. I no longer have it and losing it hurts like losing a family member. I'm lost without it

I have never had the stereotypical perpetual single special interest.

I have my routines, but they tend to morph from one thing into something else. Most of them involve my computer though.

So I guess in a way doing this and or that on my computer daily could be called my main special interest.

Another might be my need to be taken out for a walk everyday.

Grange Hill? That is amazing!! How is Zammo getting on btw?

I have several interests which cycle that I can probably spend days doing nothing apse and not feel bored. Usually there is one main interest and a handful of sub-interests which are usually related though not necessarily. I can remain on one main interest for months but occasionally slip into one of my sub-interests at random intervals usually lasting a couple days to a week.

I also occasionally fall into really narrow repetitive interests that I will just repeat over and over in my head and I won't want to think about anything else. For example, the other day I spent hours and hours watching videos of Chinese tea ceremonies on YouTube even though I wasn't really getting any new information.

(Supposed to be a hipster, not an AS person, per se.)
https://twitter.com/iknowthatfelbro/sta ... 7818135552

As I watched the different ceremonies, I realized that most of the table settings had a natural feel, so was learning how they were made from scratch -- sometimes, in different languages.



The wooden joinery is particularly-involved. I realized that something as simple as mud, or a reclaimed tree limb, could become sophisticated, after enough refinement. If you get fixated-enough, you can stop 3min of video, word by word. Each moment contains an infinity of detail. Each object represents a skilled trade, which could take a lifetime to learn well.



The domestication of useful plants, with a particular interest in extreme conditions.

In part, I have been learning to make microclimates, like small biomes, out of simple materials. All of the chemicals affecting plant growth, can be found in nature, from humble sources.

This is VERY similar to my own experiences.

I've enjoyed quilting for nearly 20 years. I do a moderate amount of research, and enjoy many aspects of quilts, such as making them, looking at them in museums, buying them, and talking to others about techniques and sewing machines. Is this a special interest or a hobby? What's the difference?

I also enjoy art, painting, drawing etc. I enjoy many aspects like I do with quilting. I have a bachelors degree in art. Again, is this a hobby?

Both of these come and go through the years. I haven't made a quilt in 3+ months. But I will pick it up again when inspired. Currently, I paint several nights a week.

I do tend to do rather thorough research on whatever current topic. I research it in many ways. It seems more intense than NTs.

No one is ever really interested in what I have to say. Who wants to hear about a quilt pattern from the 1800's? The other thing I like to talk about is animal observations. I never hear anyone else mention these types of things, but you can see a hundred videos online about weird things animals do. My life is fairly boring and uneventful.

I'm liking everyone's replies so far, and I don't think general interests or intense hobbies have to be labelled as a 'special interest', as everyone has a passion for something to some extent.

I remember when going to some social anxiety group for a few months (never gone back, UGH), people were asked to bring in some type of special interest to show and talk about (what is this, kindergarten?), and I found that I didn't really have anything to show for that- and found it kind of a forceful and unnecessary thing to expect from the group.

It seems like a stereotype to HAVE to have a special interest that you have no control of oversharing to others. I did not like the group counsellor at all for making everyone do that, and for other reasons too. I really cannot stand the majority of counsellors available, a lot of them seem to undermine the intelligence and diversity of others.

Hmm, I don't think he appears until series 5, and I haven't got that far. This Zammo sounds like a great character like Tucker, maybe I'll read up about him on Google.