Obsessive interest

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Can you manage a longlife obsessive interest?
The problem is that my previous interest are now my religion, or they are all useless since my back to the church. I want to have normal interest in other topics. What can I do?

Don't fight it; just go with what comes natural to you.

Pro wrestling has been my religion since 1978.

I am not sure that you can, I certainly can't. It's almost like they choose me. My current interest has lasted over 10 years, others have lasted several years at a time. Let's be honest, that's what obsessions are like and believe me there are plenty of times I would love to stop thinking about my interest like at 4 am when I have already spent the last 20 hours thinking, reading or researching about it.

Have you considered studying ALL religions? Comparative religion is a fascinating subject. Understanding the different ways that humans from various remote parts of the planet and widely dispersed epochs in time have perceived and attempted to communicate and interact with their creator(s) is a compelling field of study. Joseph Campbell's 4 volume set "The Masks of God" is a comprehensive overview, but it might be a bit challenging to start off with. Try "The Power of Myth" or his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" first.

Robert Graves' "The White Goddess" and Frazer's "The Golden Bough" are invaluable works on the subject, too. Jung also did several books on religion, mythology and the symbolism of the subconscious.

Be forewarned, though - studying along those lines may also branch you off into subjects like the paranormal, as well as myriad historical conspiracy theories, but it's all interesting reading, just the same.

Yep, that's what it's like for me, too. That's why I call them "obsessions" instead of "special interests" - because for me, that's what they are. My inability to control them definitely caused me problems in college - of course it never happened to be anything class-related, so I'd spend my time on my obsessions when I should have been spending it on school work, but there was nothing I could do to get my mind to focus on other things other than give it what it craved in hopes it might be satisfied. And yeah, it definitely seems to me that my obsessions choose me, not the other way around. I've been obsessed with things I don't even like before - for example, I don't really like Slayer that much, but for a while, I still felt compelled to listen to their music all the time. Or I'll want to know everything there is to know about a movie I very much don't want to actually watch, like The Human Centipede - never actually liked it at all, but I was still obsessed with it for a few weeks (I'm so glad I managed to get through that without actually watching it). But for me, obsessions can last anywhere from a single day to over a decade. There isn't really anything I can do about it except try to distract myself with other things - sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

Could you clarify the question please? Are you asking how to not have obsessions & just have noraml broad interest in topics, or are you asking how to handle obsessions and also have other interests added into your free time? Is this post asking how to stop being obsessive or is it asking how to manage your time so you can have both your obsession & a normal life?

I am fortunate to have the disability label, because it allows me to keep my obsessions as a way of life (taking college classes at a significant discount). I need school for 3 reasons:

1. helps me have a predictible schedule
2. lets me learn as much as I want about my interests
3. it gets me out of the house

I would be a shut-in if I didn't have school, because no one will hire me at a living wage salary, even though I have 2 science degrees & nearly enough credits for 2 other degrees (4 yr undergrad degrees). This is because of my poor social (soft) skills.

It took 3 years to earn my 1st degree & 1.5 yrs to earn the 2nd, but overall I've been taking college classes since Aug 2002 ... 15 yrs, but not consecutively. There are 5 years total I wasn't taking classes, that means I've taken 10 years worth of actual college classes in the majors of biology, anthropology, geology, computer science & minors of physics & math. I've added engineering this year.

If only my job was my obsessive interest so I could keep my mind on my work instead of thinking about other stuff.

My longest abiding interest has been animals, particularly cats.

I personally think you can add/remove a special interest if you want to, but it is about as hard as adding/removing an OCD obsession (which is probably the most difficult thing in the universe ). If I were you, I would probably just "go with the flow" and wait until something else spikes your interest. It's okay to have "useless" interests (i.e. you think that your time could be better spent on something else)- I have a lot of those ! I could never manage a lifelong special interest, but my interests do tend to last quite a while.

Slayer and the Human Centipede? Could it be due to the violence presented in the band's music as well in the movie (never seen it)?

I don't know, maybe. I'm fascinated by body horror type things, that's probably what it was with THC. I thought it was going to be a "creature feature" with a human combined with a centipede. Boy, am I glad I looked it up before I watched it, it isn't at all I can't even understand the lyrics to anything by Slayer until I've looked them up and listened to the song several times, which is part of why I'm not a huge fan of them. But you could be right, I might have a subconscious thing about violence.

I tried to remove an obsession once, because I objected to it for religious reasons. It was extremely difficult, but eventually, after a year or two, I managed to replace it with something else.

While my primary interest has changed over time, the facts I have learned from studying about my interests have been retained in my long term memory. Right now, my interest in Spain has been kicked into overdrive again because of recent events and watching my favorite tennis players from that country-Nadal, Ferrer and Garbine Muguruza. Juan Carlos Ferrero is now coaching Alexander Zverev.

Yeah. It is possible, but it is extremely difficult.

Resistance is futile.....

No, honestly it is...totally

I have successfully removed three interests in the my life. One was a permanent removal (eating disorder obsession with food and eating); the second was a permanent removal of my unhealthy obsession for the painfully depressing manga, Loveless; the last was a complete obsession with Kingdom Hearts that I needed to take a break from for a while. All of this was for religious reasons.

I just go cold turkey. Like, I tell myself, no more. I delete files, stories, sell games. I don't allow myself to be around it. It's hard at first, but worth it in the end.