To ask, do you ever get obsessed with something (hobby, book, film, TV show) to the point it's too much/all consuming?

[lovv]

Do you ever get so obsessed with something like a hobby or a film or TV show that it is utterly all-consuming?

An example of what I mean is when I was a teenager, I read through all of The Hunger Games books in a very short amount of time - any spare minute I had was spent reading them. It was prioritised over eating and sleeping. I remember during in school I would feel really irritable with friends and couldn't wait to get home to carry on reading. It triggered this really intense obsession afterwards, it felt like I was grieving finishing the books and the characters and plot was all I could think about. It probably only lasted 2 weeks or so before I relaxed.

I have recently being going through something similar with a TV series. I have become obsessed with this romantic relationship between two of the characters. I get such a rush when watching the programme, my chest will literally ache from it, I feel like how I used to as a child on Christmas Eve. It's bizarre, unhealthy and I know sounds weird. I'm trying to work out why it's had this effect on me and I'm really not sure. It's made me question my relationship and my sexuality because of how drawn I am to this particular (lesbian) couple.

I am just wondering if others go through this? I have read that it's pretty common in those who are neurodivergent (hyperfixations and special interests), but I'm neurotypical as far I am aware.

Yes. I get completely obsessed with things all the time.

I don't but have always kind of envied amd been intrigued by people who do. They seem to get so much pleasure from it.

Yes, me. Lots of short obsessions as long as I can remember. I spend ages on google, takes up lots of headspace. Then I move on. Am neurotypical.

Cough ADHDhyperfocus 🤣

Yes - this happens to me sometimes. It can be a book or a film/tv series. I get super-invested in it and have trouble thinking about anything else for a while.

In my case I think it's a stress response. Like a way to distract myself from or escape from something in real life that is bothering me. It can be inconvenient but it always goes away eventually. I find it helpful to look for practical or creative tasks to do. Art/craft projects, DIY and baking seem to help ground me in reality again.

Yeh I've always done it and it gives me huge pleasure. I often bore my friends and family with my numerous obsessions, they humour me 😄 I sometimes get annoyed if they don't show quite the same interest but you can't have everything.

Yes. Completely obsessed. My daughters say it's more of a teenager thing but I don't care!

-out of curiosity - what TV show?

MN is my obsession . Hate to miss a day and scroll several times a day . No logic to it at all.

And yy to it being a lovely distraction from real life. Why would you want to fight that?? @HearMeSnore

I get obsessed too. Sudokus literally every spare moment for a month, then I suddenly get really bored of them and switch to word puzzles for a few weeks. And I'll watch back to back episodes of a TV show over a weekend - not edge of your seat dramas where you have to watch to find out what happens, but really odd things like 80s police shows. Even I know it's odd but I can't seem to help myself. Plenty of other obsessions too.
I suspect that I'm ND but don't know if this is one of characteristics.

Yep.

Had it with lots of things.

Currently Yellowstone.

Sometimes you just need to break the habit and go other stuff and it'll fade a bit)you'll get perspective.

Yes but then I have autism and hyper focus / specialist interests are very much a part of that for a lot of people. I am fascinated by true crime and spend a lot of time watching court cases / googling things / reading old court transcripts etc. If a new case I haven’t heard of peaks my interest I’ll spend hours and hours absorbed in reading everything I can about it.

Historical dramas

I look up who's who in books (not even a quick google ) and do family trees and go down massive rabbit holes

Thanks all, glad to hear I'm not the only one.

The issue is I'm not enjoying the intensity of it. I know it sounds silly but I've cried several times over how uncomfortable I feel about it. It is like nausea and butterflies constantly. My chest aches. It makes my life seem so sad and bleak in comparison. I expect it is a form of escapism - the obsession starting coincided with when I lost my job. I know I will eventually burn out from it and probably never watch it again, and that moment couldn't come quick enough.

Every thing I do reminds me of it. Music I listen to is now linked back to it, other programmes, etc. Any time I think of it my heart skips a beat. All my social media keeps showing me clips and fan edits from the show, I've tried to block keywords from appearing but some still slip through the net.

Yes. I used to speed read books when I was a child. In the summer hols I'd get through piles of books each week.

When I was a young adult I learnt how to knit and did this obsessively for years. More recently I did a Masters with the OU in my spare time and worked hard/obsessively... soaking in the texts as I was so interested in the subject matter. I barely noticed the extra work as I enjoyed it.

I am currently learning the piano. I started nearly 2 years ago as an absolute beginner and I'm now halfway though grade 4. My teacher says I'm a fast learner but really, I just do a lot of practice. I love playing and I love getting my grades.

I have ADHD, this is how it manifests. Hyperfocus!

Yes, I do this, have done my whole life, but then I also have ADHD and autism, so it's hyper focus from that.

Yes.
I strongly suspect I am not neurotypical but haven't sought a diagnoses.
TV, reading, mumsnet(!). I fall into almost compulsive reading/watching and it's not enjoyable, it's an obsession.

I do it with hobbies. Fixate on them, spend all my spare time doing them, actually get pretty decent at it then suddenly I couldn't give a shite anymore and I move on to the next thing. I do it with food too. I eat the same foods over and over again for weeks with very little variation then one day it's just like nope don't like that any more and have to find a new thing. Sometimes I barely eat in between finding a new thing because if I don't really fancy something I feel like I'm choking it back.

As far as I know I am neurotypical.

All the time. All sorts of things. Often to the detriment of other things. Rarely things I need to hyper focus upon. Aware of it, upset about it, try to stop it and it makes it worse.

Not neurotypical though.

Absolutely yes, OP. My current hyperfixation has been going on for well over a year. As with yours, mine is also a TV series with a romance at it's heart that at times is funny, heartbreaking, intelligent and beautiful. I still get that ache in my chest at certain scenes, it still makes me laugh and cry and I'm drawn to it in a way that I've never been to anything else. It has also been a catalyst for learning more about myself and given me the impetus to try and make some real changes in my life. I think this is an important part of why it affected me so much. The show really opened my eyes to things about my life at a time when I had the time to emotionally engage with it, and I believe that identification was critical to my fixation. It also means that for me, the show is still a positive. I talk to a few other people on here about my show and it's clear that several of us had something going on in our lives that triggered that level of intensive engagement, in a similar way that you believe your job loss did for you.

But it does sound like your show is no longer a positive in your life, and I totally understand it becoming too much. This time last year I did successfully cool my own obsession for a while by focussing on different things that I enjoy instead, both in and out of the house. It was an effort at first, but it worked and I now have what I think is a reasonable balance. I spend quality time with my family, have some outside and inside hobbies that I enjoy and even watch other TV shows! I still adore my show but now I feel like I can choose when to engage with it rather than it having taken over and being an intrusion. Maybe forcing yourself to focus on other things will also work for you and help you break your obsession? I hope you are able to find a balance you are happy with, or break away altogher if that's what you need.

I get like this with crushes, fixed on one for ages, spend hours thinking about the person, daydreaming, look forward to time spent doing it, and then once it's over, I just never think about them like that again.

I've come to the conclusion it mainly happens when I am stressed or under pressure in my daily life and it's a form of escapism so try to be kind to myself and know it will pass.

I don't start stalking them though, and that's the difference!

Urgh yes. I binged the entire 15 seasons of supernatural over a couple of months...then immediately started it again.

There's a particular song I can't listen to cos if I do it's ALL I'll listen to for days & I'll think about it constantly (and now I'm trying my best not to do it lol)

I've put 100's of hours into a video game about powerwashing dirty things. Powerwashing! I mean ffs

If a subject interests me I will read everything, EVERYTHING I can, obsessively till it will suddenly just wear off.

I get food obsessions - current one is apricot jam. Also the Seriously Spreadable chilli cheese stuff.

I went from no houseplants to more than 70 in about a year & a half. Not dinky little ones either.

And it goes on & on..