Anyone here "loose" their obsessions?

[adamindeltona]

Like most here, ever since I was little, I've always had my interests that I was obsessed with learning everything about. But lately, it's like all of a sudden, I have no motivation to dive myself into my interests. I feel like I just don't have the energy anymore for those topics.

Anyone else ever go through phases where all of a sudden you lost your interest in your obsessions? Maybe my brain is in search of a new interest, and hasn't found it yet.

 

[The Penguin]

I lost interest of the model railroad club when my life was going down hill.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

I lost interest in pretty much everything during the worst years when I was depressed, I regained an interest in things as I recovered.

 

[May Black]

Just one or all?
Do you feel like you're interested in other aspects of life? Have you suffered from depressions?

I can't really relate, though I can be deeply interested in things, I don't think I get as obsessed as Aspies.

 

[King_Oni]

Oh, I have, but it's probably more a motivation issue.

 

[Cerulean]

I'll occasionally go cold on something really fast. Mostly when my interest is a new skill, and I feel like I've learned it thoroughly, almost like the thrill of the chase is gone- now I can do that thing, so I don't care to anymore. For example I've been sewing for about 17 years and have made all kinds of stuff- daily wear, purses, stuffed animals, jackets. I abandoned it all with record speed when I decided to learn to crochet and have been doing that obsessively since last winter. However I just had a friend finish a quilt, which I've never done, so now I'm back to sewing, but learning to quilt instead of making garments.

 

[Rocco]

Depression has the tendency to reduce my interests drastically. My special interests also tend to vary seasonally. I am "obsessed" with coins / nickels, but in summer and during less than profitable times, I go cold turkey on the entire hobby, I switch to painting, reading, or some other fancy.

I get bored with some interests, and have been through several diverse obsessions.

 

[Axeman52]

Depression has the tendency to reduce my interests drastically. My special interests also tend to vary seasonally. I am "obsessed" with coins / nickels, but in summer and during less than profitable times, I go cold turkey on the entire hobby, I switch to painting, reading, or some other fancy.

I get bored with some interests, and have been through several diverse obsessions.

I'm not sure if my special interests vary seasonally but I think they do vary with my mood.

Of course, I have random obsessions which are very intense for a little while and then fade away, like they are just phases. Angry Beavers springs to mind. These just come and go almost unpredictably.

But I have had a very long term obsession with music which seemed to disappear while I was very depressed due to having a horrible time at school - It didn't "re-surface" until I was 15 and realised I only had another year of school, which was nothing compared to the amount of time I'd already spent at various schools hating being alive.

During that time at school, I was obsessed with Final Fantasy, collecting retro video games and consoles, and video game programming, at different times. These have both become sort of "secondary obsessions" that keep coming back for a little while every now and again.

 

[adamindeltona]

I guess I could have come to the end of what I wanted to know. So maybe I am in search of a new obsession

I don't think I'm a depressed person, like most here, I have my bouts with depression. But usually after some alone time and rest, I'm better again.

 

[Spiller]

lately, it's like all of a sudden, I have no motivation to dive myself into my interests. I feel like I just don't have the energy anymore for those topics.

I agree completely!
Might I gather you're suffering depression at the moment?
I've fought all my life to, well.. have a life, really and by the time I'm now in my late fourties I'm so tired of trying, so dispirited at the lack of help from GP/NHS I've almost lost hope; I've had no interest in interests at all for the last 6 months or so; it all seems so pointless.
Oddly though, I seem to be wired such that I can't give up.. no matter how low and lonely I feel I always seem to find a way back.. walks along the river, getting stoned, staying in bed for days playing minecraft.. anything that helps, really.
I can't shake the conviction that something's gonna change for the better.. I guess I have faith in a benevolent universe.

 

[adamindeltona]

I think I'm always waiting for the next good thing to happen too

 

[Judge]

For me that's a rather effective "barometer" on my depression. When I lose interest or focus on something that I consider to be a "core interest". That's when I know my depression has me by the throat. When it robs me of whatever creativity I have. When it passes, I become once again emerged in things I enjoy.

 

[grapesicles]

Just going through the grieving process has made me lose interest in what I'd consider my obsessions - I just think "what's the point" and that it won't make me happy as it normally does. And I need to save money because my future is uncertain now. I've been spending more time on Pinterest and Youtube as it's a distraction, but I wouldn't consider them obsessions as I'm not passionate about them, just pleased that they offer a bit of a distraction.

 

[Daniel]

I'm relating to this... I have my core interests that suffer depending on mood, and then I have secondary, fleeting interests that I'll be into for a time, then not.

My brother would get into big, involved projects that involved investing in materials, like building guitars or remote-control airplanes, do them for a while, and then abandon them. He could probably make a living building custom guitars if it wasn't dependent on his mood. He's really good at it!

 

[Structrix]

I find that I only have the energy to do my special interests in short bursts. I used to spend hours on my special interests but I think that is also partly because I don't have the time that I used to the pursue them so sometimes I just give up on getting too involved in a special interest of the moment.

 

[Owls12]

I'm currently in that position at the moment. I know how it feels. I was so motivated towards sketching and games development, but now... that motivation suddenly vanished with no trace. However, I always act patient and think to myself that my interests will one day return, but it usually takes weeks or even months for me.

 

[atrocityexhibition]

Yes. I focus on something I'm obsessed with so hard that even I get sick of it--even though it's MY obsession.

 

[Etzelaire]

I get obsessed about many things but I cannot keep up with them because I neither have the time nor the money to sink into it.

 

[GoofKing]

I guess I cycle through obsessions and lose a couple of them but every once in a while I'll go back to one like the Titanic for example, which I used to obsessed over the whole event and the ship itself.

I remember having the soundtrack to the movie on cassette tape a long time ago lol

Now I'm mostly interested in computers and technical/electronics as well as history and different languages ...

 

[DogwoodTree]

I have a couple of obsessions (God/spirituality, psychology, homeschooling, relationships, worship/music) that have been long-running topics for me. They wax and wane from time to time if they get crowded out by other things, but they always come back.

Then there are dozens of others that come and go, sometimes for just a few hours, sometimes for years, or anything in between. I love researching a new obsession, but when I start getting past the "new" information is when I tend to lose interest. These research skills serve me well in my writing...when I can get myself focused on the topic I need to write about.

Depression really undermines my energy for anything other than the most core obsessions. But when I'm feeling good, I pour a TON of energy into whatever's got my interest at the time. I purposefully delayed starting homeschooling when my kids were little because I knew that once I got started, my intensity might be overwhelming to them if I started too soon.