Does anyone else have passing obsessions?

[Probablier]

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

I do this too. No ASD traits at all. It's just my personality. Fulfils my love of intense learning and the possibilities are endless.

At least we are useful in the pub quiz people!

This is definitely me! Like a PP mine tend to sway towards what could be considered morbid, like plane crashes, serial killers and human crushes. I have read about 50 books on the Holocaust - that's one I've been interested in for years. I think I'm just interested in the darker side of human nature and understanding how people react in extreme situations. WW1, WW2, the French revolution and 9/11 have also been previous interests of mine.

I don't know where the line is between obsessive and curious though. Although I read up a lot on a topic I'm interested in, it doesn't impair my functioning or cause me to spend excessive amounts of money, so I'd like to think I'm okay

I have been there with the holocaust. I watched hours and hours and hours of survivor testimonies on netflix. Definitely recommend if you haven't ventured to that side yet.

Youtube not netflix.

Me too. If I have something wrong with the boiler or car I will spend hours googling for a solution and it can just take over my thoughts for ages. When its resolved I can relax but then usually get a headache and have to sleep. It's bizarre

Yes, I do but I was diagnosed with autism aged 40 and this is very typical for autistics

I have ADHD and I do this. The time I’ve wasted on stuff makes me feel sick!

And money too.

Yes, I've been doing it since I was little. There are many random subjects I'm an expert in my mother and father think I have Asperger traits too. Socially I can be a little brutal and unaware without realising it but my husband and friends are luckily very kind. It's only when I go back over things in my mind later I realise that something I said might've been a bit too honest.

Glad I'm not the only one obsessed with the life of Diana!!

@FredAstairesChair

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.

When you say MLMs do you mean how they work or actually being in them? I always found chain letters fascinating as a kid and now I feel the same about MLMs and it’s the same sort of thing. I would really like to read a proper book about how they work and the history but haven’t found one (but haven’t been obsessed with it in a while so haven’t looked recently)

@BraxtonChic

Yes I do this!

This lockdown it has been YouTube documentaries on a couple of specific periods of history. Lost interest about a week ago. May come back to them but I feel I've satisfied my desire to learn about them iyswim.

I have decades of unfinished projects behind me - learning languages, instruments, cooking techniques, craft projects. They don't hold my interest for long enough to really be prepared to do the hard work, as soon as they get tedious and effort-y I'm onto something new.

OH thinks it's funny but he's a bit like it too.

Yes I’m the same with not being prepared to do the hard work. I like the idea of having done the hard work already...

Meant to say on my other posts, i don’t know if I’ll ever go to a professional about it but the last few months I’ve begun to strongly suspected I have ADHD

Not being in one! I mean the whole way they work, there are some excellent youtubers on them and obviously Elle beau. Have you read Merchants of Deception? I think It's free to download as an ebook.

This thread is a proper revelation to me! Hadn't heard of enneagram but have now taken it and (unsurprisingly) I'm a type 5

I love the scanner analogy, I've always found that i can turn my hand to most things and always thought it was just because I didn't ever give any time to stuff I'm crap at 😆

Also, I didnt know about the Elliot Smith doc on prime, so thanks for that, I'm off to ogle watch now

Interesting that a few of you have suggested autism/adhd, I don't have either, but have a child that's being assessed for both, and their obsessions are waaayyy more fixated and a totally different kettle of fish to mine. Mine generally only occupy my headspace when I'm otherwise idle, but my dc becomes all consumed.

@ladybee28

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.

Came on here to recommend exactly this :) it's my ironic specialist subject and I'm in the middle of writing a book about it 💙 this thread has made me so happy!

(And yes, I also strongly suspect I have ADHD although I don't think that's always a link)

And I get the 9/11 obsession too, every year around the anniversary, and will rewatch all the docs and reread the same old articles and obsess over the enormity of it for a week and then poof, gone again til next year 🙈

@FredAstairesChair

Not being in one! I mean the whole way they work, there are some excellent youtubers on them and obviously Elle beau. Have you read Merchants of Deception? I think It's free to download as an ebook.

I haven’t, thank you! I agree it’s so fascinating

Over the last few years I've had a number of obsessions
; Teeth - having work.done and making sure they were always super clean and white.

The.phone cases I have about 35 in total

Mascaras I research A LOT before I buy a new mascara.

Then good I eat something for age and then suddenly don't eat it for weeks.

Yep. I have adhd and hyperfocus on things exactly like this.

Am also autistic and have some interests which don't die.

But it's the ones which die which cost me money. I get overinvested. Then when it's dead, it's absolutely completely dead.

I recently watched a 2 part documentary about Japan by Sue Perkins. I am now learning to read Japanese on Duolingo and planning a trip ( including figuring out how to fund it).

@HappenstanceMarmite

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet is obsession with researching virtually ANY new product I may need/want to buy. The more expensive the product, the more research goes into it. And I don’t mean the usual reading up of reviews etc. Latest example - needed a new cordless vacuum cleaner and I have read that many articles, watched so many YouTube videos to choose between the two that made it to the shortlist, my head wants to explode. Down to researching the merits of a direct drive motor head vs torque driven! 🤦🏽‍♀️

Yes!! Me too and I love every minute of it , I don't understand why others don't do the same 🤷‍♀️

I'm so glad you started this thread I always thought I was the only one who did this and saw it as a bit of a character weakness but I know it is a family trait- interesting a number of posters note an ADHD link

I do this but I don't have adhd.
I love buying something new and researching it to the nth degree. I have a Which subscription!
My latest obsession is learning to cook vaguely authentic Indian food. This has involved many cookbooks, spices, equipment and googling!

I get like this too. My username is from my obsession with the show Reign and things related to Mary Queen of Scots, and my other username from an anime I was watching at the time. I'll get really interested in something, maybe after watching a TV show or reading a book or because of the date (e.g. 9/11) and delve really deeply into it. Then I'll get a bit bored and lose interest. I think it's driven by curiosity and a need to know things. Thank goodness for the internet!

I'm still fairly obsessed with genealogy. I think it's because I'm always discovering something new to study. I'd like to blog about early emigrants to the us from England and where they settled etc as I have ancestors who did this.
Crafts.
Skincare
I love the research . I think I'm really nosey.