Am I alone in always seemingly being obsessed by something...?

[moonmanic]

This is something I have had since I was a teenager. I can psycho-analyse myself and come to the conclusion that it is a way for me to stop thinking about difficult things happening in my own life. It has been a defence mechanism I guess. Its flared up big time since Christmas because I have had quite alot of stress going on and it seems more enjoyable to google stuff rather than trying to sort stuff out happening in my life. Sometimes they very much get in the way of my life, for example, I am a student with loads of studying to do but I find myself doing loads of internet research on stuff totally irrelevant to my course and daydreaming about whatever it is that I am obsessed with.

I'll give some examples. Sometimes, I might become obsessed with a person in the media - perhaps an actor, musician, whatever, sometimes it might be a historical event, or something going on in the news. Sometimes a spark of interest can be quite random but I seem to spiral into this obsessed person who spends AGES googling said person/event/country. I spend fortunes on books reading about it. I fantasize a lot about whatever it is that I'm obsessed with.

Then usually what happens, as quickly and as randomly as the spark of interest set off - its gone. I look at whatever it was that I was obsessed with and sometimes I'm like, meh, why was I so into that?! I then have loads of half read books in subjects that I'm not really that interested in anymore and in most likelihood have moved onto something else.

Was just wondering if this was normal, or if anyone else has this?

Oh My GOD yes!! I do this too! I often think it's a way of escapism. I have done it since I was a child I think.

Now days most of the obsessions tend to be really short lived. It can be sparked by anything. A while ago it was the Chernobyl disaster. Then for some reason DS was playing with a car racing game that has a Tokyo race track and there was a tower on it that looked similar to Blackpool tower, I researched what it was and became obsessed with towers and the date certain towers opened or what height they are. I know it sounds really boring now.

I can do it with actors, actresses, musicians or anything really. I need to know pointless facts about them which inevitable I forget and grow bored of anyway. I am not sure if it's normal but I am pleased I am not the only one!

It sounds to me like you have a lively and satisfying inner life.

Wouldn't life be more dreary without your obsessions? And just think how well informed you'll be.

I do this too, altough this has calmed down along with a lot of the other weird things I did, as a side effect as my mood stabilising medication :-)

I do this too.

I have books on soap making. Abandoned jewelery making stuff, knitting.

I google all sorts too. Definately escapism.

This is me.

I assumed it was part of my OCD.

Oh wow, at least I'm not alone then! Yeah I also have loads of books on hobby stuff too - jewellery making also being one of them! I get all excited about something on a whim and then abandon it pretty soon after but not before I've spent time and money on whatever it is I'm interested in.

At the moment I'm interested in anything to do with Russia. This started by accidently stumbling upon a clip of a Russian classical musician (not usually that into classical music, but hey ho) on Youtube, getting totally obsessed with him for a while - needing to read every article or interview of him. This then spawned an interest in other Russian musicians and now I'm reading up on as much Russian history and politics that I can get my mits on. 3 book I've ordered from Amazon on Russian politics has arrived this morning, I'm reading stuff on the net about the Magnitsky case and can't get enough of the Bolshoi ballet acid attack saga! All the while I've got an essay that was due last friday to complete and an exam to study for in 2 weeks!!!

Your totally right MeAndTheBoys about it being escapism.

Mrs Wolowitz - my Dad has actually banned Les Mis from his house since I spent a few weeks there :-) twice in the cinema, several times watching the pirated copy, endless playing of the soundtrack, teaching my slightly obsessive 5yo the songs, using it as a reference point for all discussions and asking him for his opinions of different sheet music interpretations of the score and he got fed up...

In my defence, I was there because I split up with XH and was looking for my iwn house, so I was stressed....

Oh you are definitely not the only one. I am terribly obsessive. I have some long term obsessions (like musical theatre), but I also have short term obsessions and they are more difficult. I tend to get completely fixated on something, and everything else suffers as a result. A big one recently was university. I decided I was going to go to university to study Psychology, and spent so many hours reading through all the websites. Not just the major points, but the tiny details. The course, the accommodation, the campus, the societies, the funding - all in minute detail. I then made a spreadsheet of all the information, and scored all the universities on various points. I contacted all the admissions tutors. I spent hours looking at property in the surrounding area on right move and deciding where I could live in Yrs 2 and 3. I told everyone I was applying. I did this for a month or two, really obsessively. Got fixated on one course in particular. Found out that realistically I would be unlikely to get a place there without doing an access course first. There were other reputable, RG universities that were very encouraging, but by that time it was no good because I was only interested in the one that had become my obsession. And I didn't apply there because I thought that I probably wouldn't get in, and so I then also didn't apply anywhere else either.

The really ridiculous thing about the university situation is I've done it all before. When I was 19 I did more or less the same thing, through clearing (although I have refined my obsessing since then and now do far superior research!) and went off to university, and ended up being hospitalised within a month and having to leave.

I've done similar things with jobs - not suitable, local jobs. Jobs that would involve me moving to London and working full time, whereas I am currently claiming ESA. I applied for loads of jobs, got lots of interviews, got offered a couple of jobs, looked at flats. Then decided the whole thing was ridiculous.

I do it over and over again. Sometimes it is purely obsessive research, but other times I attempt to make these enormous life changes out of nowhere. Bad.

Yes, I have this as well. I get obsessed with people, events, countries. I don't see it as a bad thing these days. I enjoy my obsessions and they don't tend to get in the way of living a normal life.