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

All of my life. Films, people, characters etc.
I am better with it now but it could be quite all consuming when I was in my teens.

Yes I do this. Have always wondered if it is normal! I have dyslexia and score highly for ASD and ADHD but never sought further diagnosis.

I am like this too. For me it's sparked by reading a novel or watching a film that deals with a certain topic, or is set in a certain place and then I'm off! Just read the Grapes of Wrath and now have spent a good few weeks obsessed with the dust bowl and then onto the pioneers, and finally onto Laura Ingalls Wilder. Thank God for Wikipedia.

I could have written this OP!

So glad I’m not alone with this.

I dream about the subject of the obsessions too. I exhaust myself, burn out and move on.

For this and other reasons I have considered ADHD and/or high functioning Asp as a pp mentioned.

Yes me too. Mine are often quite bizarre things as well and extend to characters from films/games etc. It can become all consuming at times and have a negative impact on my life as I get caught on a loop of thinking about something over and over until I can barely think about anything else. Since I have been this way since I was a small child, I don't expect it to change anytime soon.

@MotherQueenXeno

Yes me too. Mine are often quite bizarre things as well and extend to characters from films/games etc. It can become all consuming at times and have a negative impact on my life as I get caught on a loop of thinking about something over and over until I can barely think about anything else. Since I have been this way since I was a small child, I don't expect it to change anytime soon.

It’s a nightmare isn’t it? I am freelance and it’s all too easy to indulge an obsession at the expense of my work and earnings.

Just some of mine:
Tudor life
Ancient Greeks
Celts and Picts
Silent movies
Pre-code movies
Golden age of Hollywood
Hippie movement
Missing people never found
The Wests (nightmares - had to pack that in)
Edmund Kemper (horrible horrible)

One thing I find is that I need time to think about them and if that gets interrupted I get very stressed. So for example it's a Saturday morning and I'm still in bed. I'm thinking about whatever and I keep getting interrupted. I need 10 minutes to finish my thinking or it really affects my mood. Doesn't happen every morning of course but if I've been able to allocate time then I have to finish it.

Not sure that makes any sense but I know what I mean

And yes, also score extremely highly on autism tests and DH is convinced I am autistic.

It's fairly well written, although I admit I flicked thru a bit toward the end as it had become a tad long winded and I was more interested in the middle bit, how it all develops rather than the outcome. But it's fascinating, and very,very sad. I assume you've watched 'Bettting on Zero'? There's a fab young woman who does a YouTube channel about MLMs. I can't remember the name of her channel but if you search 'Kiki Mlm" on YouTube she should materialise!

@Rockbird

One thing I find is that I need time to think about them and if that gets interrupted I get very stressed. So for example it's a Saturday morning and I'm still in bed. I'm thinking about whatever and I keep getting interrupted. I need 10 minutes to finish my thinking or it really affects my mood. Doesn't happen every morning of course but if I've been able to allocate time then I have to finish it.

Not sure that makes any sense but I know what I mean

And yes, also score extremely highly on autism tests and DH is convinced I am autistic.

Oh my goodness yes, the not wanting to be interrupted! I like to get lost in a reverie and get annoyed when it’s time for dinner or some nonsense that in my opinion could wait.

A number of people have asked if I am neuro diverse because of my obsessions with things. I too research something before I buy it, watch YouTube reviews, read reviews ..... it can get really bad.

For those who mentioned MLM and pyramid schemes - me too. I can recommend the book 'False Profits' by Robert L Fitzpatrick (it's on Kindle). Very interested in any book recommendations others may have.

I am also a researcher buyer, but even worse I sometimes research things I have no intention of buying just out of interest - 'if I wanted an x which one would be the best to get?'

The 'scanner' theory is interesting.

I sometimes find it difficult to 'position' my knowledge of a topic in conversation because people who aren't like this will think the level of detail is weird, whereas people who are more 'depth' than 'breadth' think it odd that I know nothing about a related subject, or aspect of a subject, that someone for whom it was a lifelong passion or area of academic research would be expected to know about in similar detail.

A few years back I was planning a trip to see a show. It was a UK trip involving a flight and I was going on my own. As it happened I got to the airport and didn't go because DD2 (who was only little) was distraught.

But, I had spent hours on google earth researching the city to the point where, although I've never been there, I could tell a visitor exactly where everything is down to bus stops and street names. Apart from not seeing the show, I feel like I went.

Google Earth is an absolute gift to me.

@LApprentiSorcier

The 'scanner' theory is interesting.

I sometimes find it difficult to 'position' my knowledge of a topic in conversation because people who aren't like this will think the level of detail is weird, whereas people who are more 'depth' than 'breadth' think it odd that I know nothing about a related subject, or aspect of a subject, that someone for whom it was a lifelong passion or area of academic research would be expected to know about in similar detail.

Yes, also this.

So imagine I'm having a huge, in depth conversation about one of my obsessions, say, the conflict in the Balkans: what led up to it, pivotal moments, battles, dates, the various generals and paramilitary groups etc.

Other person, clearly assuming I'm a military history buff: it's similar to what happened in the break up of the USSR isn't it?
Me: I have no idea, sorry.