To get obsessed so easily?

[Ansumpasty]

This is more of an ‘am I being abnormal’ rather than unreasonable. Just seeing if anyone can relate!

All my life I’ve felt things very strongly and get easily obsessed with things. If I liked a boy in school, he’d be all I thought about, etc. I loved the circus as a child and would go all the time and sob when it left and dream of running away and joining them, etc.
As an adult, I find myself getting obsessed with things/people/places more than others do. I will watch a series on Netflix and become obsessed with it, often watching everything my favourite character is in, researching things about it and feeling really upset when it’s finished or a character dies. I’ve had the death of a character upset me so much that it’s literally ruined my evening and been on my mind for days.

I’ve read books set in specific places/countries and then have to read others set in the same place, research the country and plan on visiting, etc.

There’s a place I go on holiday to quite regularly that I feel this strongly about. I feel upset to the point of tears when we have to leave, bring silly things like rocks I find there home and watch any programme etc about it.
I’m ‘normal’ in every other way, with a happy marriage and children and nice friends. Just wondering if anyone else feels this strongly about silly things and has these adult obsessions?
What do you get attached to?

I’m really like this! Once I find a subject I’m interested in i’ll obsess about it for ages! Research it, read it, watch videos on it everything. Find specific groups of that interest to talk more about it! My DP thinks I’m mad but he indulges me sometimes which is nice. I can also get really obsessive over people as well! I also deeply relate to tv shows/characters and the deaths of certain ones still really upset me till this day.

Wonder if there’s a name for this haha

OMG this is so me, I'm quite relieved to realize I'm not that only one. I get so into tv shows, films or books I feel empty when they are finished and research everything I can about them and the characters etc.
I definitely do have Maladaptive daydreaming too. I didn't know it had a name! I get so lost in my day dreams they consume me, when I get like that I just want to be on my own so I can get deeper into them. It's almost like I'm watching a film.
I can also stay awake hours just daydreaming but I'm happy to do so as I enjoy my day dreams.
I always thought that was normal until around a year ago when I asked someone IRL if they did it too, and they had no idea what I was talking about!

I do this with music - like I'll randomly hear a song by Snow Patrol and Martha Wainright, google her, then listen to songs by her, her brother, mother and aunt, and father. Then listen to songs by people they sang with, like Richard Thompson, then listen to songs by groups who've covered his songs, and then end up in a pub in Hendon to see the Whistling Donkeys perform, because I like their copy of Beeswing. I am nothing if not committed when I'm on a roll. Not autistic, just shouldn't be allowed have internet.

Do your obsessions gradually wear off before being replaced, or is there a sudden switch from one day being all encompassing to the next day barely giving a fuck?

Completely normal and on its own this wouldn't get anywhere near a diagnosis for a neurodevelopmental disorder.

These are common traits.

I've been like this my whole life, I'm greatly relieved to find that I'm in good company!

I'm not on the autistic spectrum- unlike my dh and dd- as only people who are on the spectrum are on the spectrum; the clue' s in the name.

on its own this wouldn't get anywhere near a diagnosis for a neurodevelopmental disorder.

I'm not sure anyone is saying having a obsessions alone is a neurodevelopmental disorder. PP have said it can be a trait of autism or ADHD. Also while it may not be at all rare to have these all consuming interests certainly no one else I close to has them, so it's quite nice to chat with people online who experience similar.

I'm not sure anyone is saying having a obsessions alone is a neurodevelopmental disorder. PP have said it can be a trait of autism or ADHD.

Just pointing it out because lots of people read something on-line, see it themselves but don't really understand what ASD or ADHD is and waste their time (and HCPs time) trying to get assessed for something they don't have.

I didn't mean any offence

I have ASD and get very obsessed

I get obsessed with all sorts of things and people. Actors I've seen in something - I'll then watch loads of other things purely because they're in it, eg I got completely obsessed with the BBC version of Jane Eyre so spent ages watching anything featuring Toby Stephens or Ruth Wilson. I do it with normal people to an extent too, eg I met someone at a music event I was helping to organise who was a very talented singer/ pianist and can't stop watching all the videos on his social media profile, finding out more about him. We're FB friends but in my head we're actual friends who would hang out, go out for dinner etc. In reality, he knows very little about me and probably wouldn't class me as anything more than an acquaintance! I'm happily married btw, don't fancy this guy, I'm just a bit obsessed with his beautiful voice

I've always been like this. Listening to same music/watching same TV series over again. Buying whole collections of series/films/books until I've completed the set/collection.

Ordering the same thing for weeks on end from takeaway restaurant. Buying dozens of products from the latest brand I've discovered...

I don't have any symptoms suggestive of ASD/ADHD/OCD/anxiety.

LikeIcare Well don't worry on my account I won't be attempting to get a diagnosis of autism (or anything else!) I was just commenting that I seem to have autistic traits, seemed relevant to the conversation that was being had.

*Theyprobablywill

Do your obsessions gradually wear off before being replaced, or is there a sudden switch from one day being all encompassing to the next day barely giving a fuck?*

After I’ve found something new to focus on, the past thing gives me what I call ‘bad vibes.’ I feel a bit ‘urgh’ about it. Please excuse my inarticulate description!

Not autistic, just shouldn't be allowed have internet

That was supposed to be in bold Tawdry, made me laugh!

Anyway I think it's normal. Say, for instance, you decide to get a new front door, then you spend a month looking at everyone's front door, looking them up online, etc. and are obsessed with doors. When you get your new door that goes away and you're on to the next thing!

@boopsy shall we PM each other about who our obsessions are? 😂👍🏻

@JaneJeffer

It’s different in the way that you don’t feel empty inside and melancholy when you have your door and have to stop researching. It’s not so much the researching etc that obsessive, it’s the desire to feel closer to something and somehow connected, then the sadness that follows because that can never be fulfilled.

It’s not all negative though- I don’t really have anything I’m obsessing over at the moment, so my mind starts to fall back into anxiety led thoughts, and I start worrying about things.

Like many here, I have to be ‘thinking’ about about something all the time. I can’t ever just shut off. I think of it like the expression, ‘the devil makes work of idle hands,’ except in my case, my devil makes work of an idle mind. I agree with others that having something to obsess over is a coping/distraction technique.

OP, I totally identify with the sense of loss that you describe. It's a really weird empty feeling.

@AddictedToSkittles

A few years ago, I was obsessed with Robert Pattinson. I watched every movie he was in and interviews on YouTube, etc. I would even look daily on this ‘Robsessed’ website and check for his name on the news. I even followed his sisters on Instagram It’s pretty embarrassing and juvenile. Thankfully, my husband would never check my internet history
After I moved on, it was replaced with a healthy ‘isn’t he gorgeous’ attitude, rather than needing to know what his favourite cereal was, then buying it ...

@Ansumpasty that is exactly the type of thing that I do, too! I think my current obsession is dying out a little now so hopefully it'll soon be replaced by the 'isn't he gorgeous' attitude too.

I too am glad my husband doesn't see my browsing history!

@AddictedToSkittles

It is, isn’t it? It’s like a low grade mourning for something, which then makes you feel ridiculous but hard to snap out of.

@Ansumpasty you've totally hit the nail on the head there!

I'm obsessed with my hobbies and films and YouTube. There have been various other obsessions in the past. I don't see it as a problem, it keeps me out of trouble.