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Original poster

Does anyone else have passing obsessions?

115 replies

Probablier · 21/02/2021 22:20

I do, for as long as I can remember. It can be any kind of subject- true crime cases, a specific period in history, an iconic figure who has passed on. I will spend a few weeks where the topic in question will occupy the front of my mind when it is otherwise idle, and I will seek out information about it and learn as much as I can. And then one day, BOOM, interest gone and I move on to something else. Often times, this will all have occurred without me even mentioning the topic in question to another living soul.

I'm currently obsessed with Elliot Smith, I had heard his music in passing and knew vaguely of his death but never thought any more of it until a few weeks ago when I came across an article about his life, and I've been hooked ever since.

Do other people get like this, or am I an obsessive oddball? I'm very level headed in all other aspects of life, so always find it funny how invested I get in random things Grin

OP posts:
Loggerino · 22/02/2021 06:24

Yes i do this and suspected ASD/ADHD/maybe both.

I have long standing obessions, some i might loop back to, and others that never get revisited.

I've really come a long way in controlling it the older i get and have successfully turned my biggest/oldest obsession into a career Grin.

PrimeraVez · 22/02/2021 06:38

Mine aren't obsessions as such, but I had 'fads' where I get really into a new hobby, buy all the kit, and then lose interest completely.

In recent years, I've had piano lessons, ballet lessons, sailing lessons, taken mindfulness classes, run half marathons, attempted to write a book, tried to learn Arabic.... they all just fizzle out as quickly as they start!

DH always teases me about it but I actually think of it as a positive thing. I just like trying new things and I'm an enthusiastic person. There's nothing wrong with 'giving up' or 'quitting' a new hobby - it's fine to try something and then move onto something else!

FredAstairesChair · 22/02/2021 06:43

I'm definitely like this! But I keep my obsessions. I just focus on one at a time for a bit but I never totally lose interest in them
Mlms is one of mine
Certain crime cases
Certain youtubers
Historical figures
How certain things are made
Bees definitely

I'm not diagnosed with anything although cant be 100%sure I'm totally allistic or free of conditions. I've been lie this since I can remember.

SucculentChinese · 22/02/2021 06:57

Yes me!!! I’m currently obsessed with 9/11, I’ve watched every documentary I can get my hands on, listened to podcasts, watched YouTube videos, reading survivors stories, spent hours getting lost on Reddit. I have no idea why or where it has come from. I think maybe with it being the 20th anniversary this year but it came out the blue. So strange

Botoxtime · 22/02/2021 07:31

I get obsessed with people Blush

Cherrypi · 22/02/2021 07:37

I do this. I'm currently obsessed with the enneagram and it says type 5s do this. Obviously take all personality tests with a big pinch of salt. I think it's a personality type not necessarily a disorder.

LApprentiSorcier · 22/02/2021 07:55

Yes, I do this regularly. Natural and man-made disasters are a particular thing that's likely to grab me, also abandoned and shut down places, but sometimes it's a person or a crime case or a phenomenon - I spent ages a couple of years ago obsessed with coastal erosion, particularly in the UK.

I don't lose interest in any of these passing phases although they move from the forefront of my mind when I have exhausted the initial 'research and ponder' stage. When I am bored and without a current one I will sometimes revisit a past one.

I've occasionally astonished people with my level of knowledge on what seems to be a completely random topic, if any of the things I've researched comes up in conversation.

CeeceeBloomingdale · 22/02/2021 07:57

I do with hobbbies, throw myself into them for a period of time then give them up, never to revisit again

LApprentiSorcier · 22/02/2021 07:58

Some of mine (there are many)

The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The introduction of 'New Coke' in America in 1985
The former Disney resort 'River Country'
The Summerland (Isle of Man) fire

Docketpuo · 22/02/2021 08:01

@PrimeraVez
Me too!

cuddlymunchkin · 22/02/2021 10:24

I do this too, Agatha Christie was one for a while, it takes over and dominates and then at a certain point it feels like the information / research has hit the right spot and it becomes an interest not an obsession then. I'm not autistic as far as I know.

unmarkedbythat · 22/02/2021 10:38

MY DH does, but they last longer than a few weeks. Whilst he is in the grip pf them they become almost all consuming and he is utterly boring to be around because he has no wish to do, talk about or pay attention to anything else.

I get song obsessions and want only to listen to that song over and over until one day I just... don't. I can pretty much track my mood and life events by looking though my spotify liked songs list and seeing what I added when.

Biscoffaddict · 22/02/2021 11:36

I get like this, I become fixated on certain things and they consume all my thought for weeks or months and then I just move on. Sometimes I do comeback to them though.

Furgggggg12 · 22/02/2021 11:40

Yes Blush Constantly.

Kljnmw3459 · 22/02/2021 11:44

I do! And not just people or hobbies but food as well. Currently I'm on website design (yes, really.....) and jalapenos. Before that it was true crime and marmite.

wanderedlonelyasacloud · 22/02/2021 11:50

Yes OP I'm exactly like this!

It's very interesting that people on this thread have said they have ADHD as I have looked up ADHD in the past and felt like i was reading about myself.

Needhelp101 · 22/02/2021 12:56

Yes, me, definitely. I strongly suspect I have ASD (my father and my son also have it).

Makes life more interesting though. I once got obsessed with The Rock (actually think there's a thread on here about it!).

Christ, I watched a lot of bad films 😁

WhereDoMyBluebirdsFly · 22/02/2021 13:09

@SucculentChinese

Yes me!!! I’m currently obsessed with 9/11, I’ve watched every documentary I can get my hands on, listened to podcasts, watched YouTube videos, reading survivors stories, spent hours getting lost on Reddit. I have no idea why or where it has come from. I think maybe with it being the 20th anniversary this year but it came out the blue. So strange
@SucculentChinese Me too! My obsession was triggered on 9/11 last year and since that time I've watched every documentary, read every book (even ones that had to be specially ordered because they're out of print and not available on Kindle...), read all the oral testimonies and even the full 9/11 Commission Report. It's crazy. I can't tell people because they'll think I'm a weirdo, but I just want to know all about it.

I am an Enneagram type 5 too @Cherrypi so maybe there's something in that theory.

MondayYogurt · 22/02/2021 13:53

Poop poop!

Does anyone else have passing obsessions?
Thoughtcontagion · 22/02/2021 13:58

@fluffythedragonslayer

I get obsessed with CAUSES. e.g. I will.be big into the environment and everything I do is led by this. Then it calms down and suddenly I'm all about FEMINISM and how to smash the patriarchy.

My current obsession is bees. Save the bees. I've bought books and t shirts, planted bee friendly plants in my garden, donated money to bee charities.

When my obsessions fade it isn't that I don't care any more, I still recycle and use less plastic and care about the environment it just doesn't occupy as much headspace for me.

@fluffythedragonslayer have you seen these things from Beevive? You have a little keyring with sugar water in and you keep it with you and if you seen a bee that needs some help you give the water and help it.

I have obsessions, will listen to same band for weeks on end then change. I like to have little things to keep me occupied and happy 😊

theneverendinglaundry · 22/02/2021 13:59

I do this regularly too. Usually on a craft, or a particular thing like, say, decorating the kids bedroom, or finding eco friendly products, or finding a particular item of clothing.

By the way OP, there is an Elliott Smith documentary on Amazon Prime. I bloody love him too!

ladybee28 · 22/02/2021 14:00

You might be a Scanner, OP.

Barbara Sher coined the term –someone who's interested in lots of things, can turn their hand to most things, gets immersed in something and then moves on once you've got your 'fix'... People call you 'fickle' or unable to commit, but you're simply a magpie for interesting things, and once you've got what you came for you can move on. You get excited by breadth rather than depth, and can cross-pollinate creatively between topics...

Leonardo Da Vinci was a Scanner, so was Aristotle.

No bad thing, just not the accepted narrative.

Strongly recommend the book 'Refuse To Choose' by Barbara Sher if it's of interest - she talks about the different types of Scanners and how to harness your style to make the most of it.

Emilie Wapnick also calls us 'multipotentialites' - her business 'Puttylike' is a huge community of people like this doing lots of things at once.

noname55 · 22/02/2021 14:02

@wanderedlonelyasacloud

Yes OP I'm exactly like this!

It's very interesting that people on this thread have said they have ADHD as I have looked up ADHD in the past and felt like i was reading about myself.

Me too.
ladybee28 · 22/02/2021 14:02

Forgot to add - Sher talks about identifying your 'Scanner's Reward'.

Bumblebees don't stay on one flower forever - they stay until they've got their nectar and then they move on.

So figuring out the point at which you lose interest (it might be getting good enough at something to teach someone else, or understanding how something works, or solving a problem) can be a helpful tool in giving up the social guilt around letting go of something.

You're not fickle, you just got what you came for.

DaisyandIvy · 22/02/2021 14:09

I do! Something gets my interest and I dive right it.

I feel lost when I don’t have one and I scan about for new inspiration.