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Doctor: "Obsession not weird enough"

Let me ask this: Does anyone else try to avoid getting interested in things because you know that there's no such thing as "just a little interested"? If it's good enough to be interesting, it will be an obsession.

I hear about TV shows, games, book series, all the time that sound interesting. But I know that if I like it, I'm going to be in 100%. So, I approach anything new very cautiously.

There use to be hundreds of books in the Star Trek universe. I read one, because I got it free, and it was a disappointing read. I was relieved, because I knew that if I liked it, I was going to read all those hundreds of books.

There is a list of TV shows and book series that I want to watch sometime, but I won't let myself start one until I feel like I have time in my life to watch the whole thing in a short time.
One way to stop it is if there is a TV show coming out and it’s based on a book watch the TV show first as it’s always much worse than the book
 
One way to stop it is if there is a TV show coming out and it’s based on a book watch the TV show first as it’s always much worse than the book
That is because the TV show (or movie) is a condensed version catered to NT tastes (to sell more commercial time or tickets).
 
Let me ask this: Does anyone else try to avoid getting interested in things because you know that there's no such thing as "just a little interested"? If it's good enough to be interesting, it will be an obsession.

I hear about TV shows, games, book series, all the time that sound interesting. But I know that if I like it, I'm going to be in 100%. So, I approach anything new very cautiously.

There use to be hundreds of books in the Star Trek universe. I read one, because I got it free, and it was a disappointing read. I was relieved, because I knew that if I liked it, I was going to read all those hundreds of books.

There is a list of TV shows and book series that I want to watch sometime, but I won't let myself start one until I feel like I have time in my life to watch the whole thing in a short time.
Just thought of another way if you get interested in something try to connect it to something you really really dislike or find extremely boring like when they say did you know this person was in this movie but also does this
 
That is outdated thinking because it is misinformed and comes from the study of little boys who are obsessed with subway maps. If you read or listen to Tony Atwood he specifically expresses that girls especially will have very 'normal' interests but that it is the intensity that makes them different from their peers. Or it could be the way they collect rather than play with something. I am sure it is inaccurate to think that only applies to girls. What distinguishes autistic special interests from the hobbies of allistics is the intensity, the time spent on them and the tendency to talk about the favourite topic extensively. They may or may not be topics that seem unusual to others.
 
I agree with the comments above, 100% ! :)

That said, when I was a preteen travelling to school on the bus, I would be sitting alone just imagining the lazers coming out of my head on either side which, as the bus moved along, would chop the tops off all the buildings and trees either side, and passing buses and the passengers inside. I'd just be inside my head imagining this effect going on, every morning, to pass the time. :)
 
Let me ask this: Does anyone else try to avoid getting interested in things because you know that there's no such thing as "just a little interested"? If it's good enough to be interesting, it will be an obsession.

I hear about TV shows, games, book series, all the time that sound interesting. But I know that if I like it, I'm going to be in 100%. So, I approach anything new very cautiously.

There use to be hundreds of books in the Star Trek universe. I read one, because I got it free, and it was a disappointing read. I was relieved, because I knew that if I liked it, I was going to read all those hundreds of books.

There is a list of TV shows and book series that I want to watch sometime, but I won't let myself start one until I feel like I have time in my life to watch the whole thing in a short time.
Yes, I do - mostly it'll involve computer games.
 
My spouse was interested in snakes, by the time he was eight or so he could identify every known snake in the world. I was interested in plants from a very young age, and I still am. I had collected every edible or medicinal plant in the area I grew up in by the time I was twelve and pressed and dried them. I knew all their latin/greek names, I knew what they were used for. Is that an obsession? For me, it's a true interest. Is the fact that I read Lord of the rings over one hundred times an obsession?

I didn't think of it as unusual that I carried around an enormous dictionary as a child, because I liked words. Or that my spouse read the entire enclopedia britannica by the time he was in his teens. Both of us didn't think that there was anything unusual about it. I think accepting people for who they are is good.

I've been digging things up since I was little. Used to be pieces of pottery now it's fossils and interesting looking rocks. Most people have collections of something. It's likely more usual than people realize. Growing up and going to friend's houses, many of them had collections of some sort, one mother collected local pottery, another dolls of the world, there were coin and stamp and postcard collections that people kept. I liked all of those collections.
 
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If a NT person is interested in something, it's a hobby, but if it's an autistic person, it's an obsession.:rolleyes:

In the 1990's, before I was even diagnosed, my life basically revolved around troll dolls and Disney, and after I was diagnosed, those were listed as being part of my being aspie.

When my interests began to wane in the early 2000's, people thought that was good because I was being "less autistic". But is wasn't because it was getting harder for me to cope with life and my special interests were things I liked about myself. It gives me nothing but frustration and anxiety.:(
 
My spouse was interested in snakes, by the time he was eight or so he could identify every known snake in the world. I was interested in plants from a very young age, I still am, I had collected every edible or medicinal plant in the area I grew up in by the time I was twelve and pressed and dried them. I knew all their latin names, I knew what they were used for. Is that an obsession? For me, it's a true interest. Is the fact that I read Lord of the rings over one hundred times an obsession?

I didn't think of it as unusual that I carried around an enormous dictionary as a child, because I liked words. Or that my spouse read the entire enclopedia britannica by the time he was in his teens. Both of us didn't think that there was anything unusual about it. I think accepting people for who they are is good.

I've been digging things up since I was little. Used to be pieces of pottery now it's fossils and interesting looking rocks. Most people have collections of something. It's likely more usual than people realize. Growing up and going to friend's houses, many of them had collections of some sort, one mother collected local pottery, another dolls of the world, there were coin and stamp and postcard collections that people kept. I liked all of those collections.

This is a great post. The world greatly admires people who become deeply absorbed in a subject. Was Albert Einstein "obsessed"? Or Marie Curie or William Shakespeare? We recognize these people as geniuses, not as victims of a disorder.
 
I don't believe "obsessions" make a person a "victim" of a disorder or are seen as that way. They are just seen as commonly found components of a disorder. I don't think the implication is negative. Albert Einstein is commonly thought of as autistic and, yes, he may be considered to have been obsessed. Being a genius and being "obsessed" often go together, I don't see it being said otherwise.
 
Was Albert Einstein "obsessed"...?
Some of them could have been auties, so I am not sure that they are good for comparison... Before the DSM-4 made us Aspies, we were nerds, geeks, eccentrics, inventors, engineers, etc. Those who excelled in the analysis of their respective subjects were likely either autistic, gifted or both. Such were largely responsible for human innovation, as we know it.
 
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If a NT person is interested in something, it's a hobby, but if it's an autistic person, it's an obsession.
For those "in the know," it's a perseveration, thank you. ;)

We are not "mad scientists...!" (Irked or somewhat agitated, maybe, but not mad.)
 
Actually, I love rocks - always have - and have quite a collection and assortments of rocks all around my house. And I'd probably hang onto them closer than I would most things I own. lol I do remember a little box of labeled rocks that I got for Christmas one year because my mom knew I loved rocks. But I never became a geologist and I never owned a 'pet rock.' (Not sure who will remember those.) :)

I dont collect rocks but I collect other things. For a little while it was legos and comics (this is just recently)

But I am a HUGE collector in video games. I like just about any game but if it’s a game that involves collecting (stardew valley and pokemon for example) like omg I get crazy with it. I guess this isnt just an aspergers thing because there are people who like collecting in these games and dont have aspergers but I get too obsessed. I can’t think of anything else and want to play that game non stop for hours and hours until I’ve collected everything.

A lot of people I know think I’m crazy for wanting to 100% in games. Like they think its boring going over a whole map to just get all of the “feathers” for example in assassins creed but I love it
 
Different doctors are ... well different.

I can't quite speak to doctors and ASD, but I have lots of experience with other kinds of doctors and they typically don't know everything, even about the condition they are specialists for. I have Cystic Fibrosis and go to a clinic, which means I see three different doctors who are all specialists, and they are all very different, and it depends on which doctor I see as to what they'll decide is going on and how they will want to handle it. They don't agree on the particulars of CF, they don't agree on what the medicines are for, they don't agree on the best course of action for treatment or when to be worried and when not too. So just because this person was a specialist doesn't mean they know it all or that another doctor would agree with them.

On the other hand ... assuming this person had a valid point, what they might have been pointing too is that simply being obsessed with something doesn't necessarily qualify it as an ASD obsession. It might be an ASD obsession, but it might not. Other conditions can cause obsessions, such as OCD. And even NTs can become obsessed with a topic or a thing, learning everything about it and/or amassing a huge collection.

Not everyone who collects coins, comic books, movies, or music and knows everything about those items has ASD. Not every star trek or star wars nerd knows absolutely everything about that stuff has ASD. Of course, a person with ASD might take it to another level, like one of my friends with ASD who has Star Wars as a special interest and not only knows which light saber combat styles each jedi master uses but has serious opinions about the merits of each one, and he takes that as seriously as NTs take debates about civil rights.

However, because a lot of star wars nerds know a lot, when he starts talking its not immediately obvious his interest is deeper than average. He just sounds super nerdy until you spend more time with him and realize just how deep it goes and how much it matters to him. So if he told that to a doctor trying to diagnose him, the doctor might not be certain right away that his level of interest is really that much more than your average star wars nerd and just say "I'm sorry, that doesn't count". Not because it isn't an ASD obsession, but because it would really take more time than is available during a test to determine if it was at the level of an ASD obsession.

So, instead of focusing on the obsession itself, which can require significant analysis to determine if it really is an ASD type obsession or not, its easier to focus on the subject matter. One thing about NT's and other conditions like OCD, their obsessions tend to be socially acceptable. The same kinds of things other people are interested in ... but people with ASD can develop interests in things no NT would ever be have an obsession with. Like a boy I read about who is obsessed with movies that have horses in them. Not movies in an established genre like sci-fi or movies with a specific actor (which is the kind of interest/collection a NT might have), but movies with horses.

So the doctor probably meant more that your obssession wasn't applicable to his test. It could not be used to determine if you had ASD or not, because it might be an ASD obsession or it might not. If you had an obsession with something unusual that no NT would be obsessed with, then that would be clear and could be marked as a yes.

So really the answer is both.
 
Different doctors are ... well different.

I can't quite speak to doctors and ASD, but I have lots of experience with other kinds of doctors and they typically don't know everything, even about the condition they are specialists for. I have Cystic Fibrosis and go to a clinic, which means I see three different doctors who are all specialists, and they are all very different, and it depends on which doctor I see as to what they'll decide is going on and how they will want to handle it. They don't agree on the particulars of CF, they don't agree on what the medicines are for, they don't agree on the best course of action for treatment or when to be worried and when not too. So just because this person was a specialist doesn't mean they know it all or that another doctor would agree with them.

On the other hand ... assuming this person had a valid point, what they might have been pointing too is that simply being obsessed with something doesn't necessarily qualify it as an ASD obsession. It might be an ASD obsession, but it might not. Other conditions can cause obsessions, such as OCD. And even NTs can become obsessed with a topic or a thing, learning everything about it and/or amassing a huge collection.

Not everyone who collects coins, comic books, movies, or music and knows everything about those items has ASD. Not every star trek or star wars nerd knows absolutely everything about that stuff has ASD. Of course, a person with ASD might take it to another level, like one of my friends with ASD who has Star Wars as a special interest and not only knows which light saber combat styles each jedi master uses but has serious opinions about the merits of each one, and he takes that as seriously as NTs take debates about civil rights.

However, because a lot of star wars nerds know a lot, when he starts talking its not immediately obvious his interest is deeper than average. He just sounds super nerdy until you spend more time with him and realize just how deep it goes and how much it matters to him. So if he told that to a doctor trying to diagnose him, the doctor might not be certain right away that his level of interest is really that much more than your average star wars nerd and just say "I'm sorry, that doesn't count". Not because it isn't an ASD obsession, but because it would really take more time than is available during a test to determine if it was at the level of an ASD obsession.

So, instead of focusing on the obsession itself, which can require significant analysis to determine if it really is an ASD type obsession or not, its easier to focus on the subject matter. One thing about NT's and other conditions like OCD, their obsessions tend to be socially acceptable. The same kinds of things other people are interested in ... but people with ASD can develop interests in things no NT would ever be have an obsession with. Like a boy I read about who is obsessed with movies that have horses in them. Not movies in an established genre like sci-fi or movies with a specific actor (which is the kind of interest/collection a NT might have), but movies with horses.

So the doctor probably meant more that your obssession wasn't applicable to his test. It could not be used to determine if you had ASD or not, because it might be an ASD obsession or it might not. If you had an obsession with something unusual that no NT would be obsessed with, then that would be clear and could be marked as a yes.

So really the answer is both.
Sorry about you having to deal with the CF. I know that's rough for you and it must be irritating to have all three doctors saying three different things - I do know how these doctors are. Yes, they all learned the same things in school and all, but they all put their own experiences and ideas with it.

As far as the subject of the obsession having to be something no NT's or OCD's would obsess over - I can't think of what those subjects could be because there's someone out there that obsesses about one of the subjects that would be acceptable. I know dinosaurs happens to be acceptable, but many normal kids and some adults obsess over dinosaurs. Movies with horses - maybe it's the horses and many people obsess about horses. Even though this doctor is a specialist on autism, I don't think he really understands everything about obsessions.

But he also asked me what is something that burns, melts and made with wax. My first response was chocolate - which was a correct response, but when I seen the funny look on his face, I thought and said, "Oh you're looking for candle, aren't you?" My response was supposed to match his to make it right, but chocolate melts, chocolate burns if you cook it too long, and chocolate is made with wax in it, but would not have been counted as a correct answer. I think these doctors need to realize that not everything fits what's in the books.
 
Sorry about you having to deal with the CF. I know that's rough for you and it must be irritating to have all three doctors saying three different things - I do know how these doctors are. Yes, they all learned the same things in school and all, but they all put their own experiences and ideas with it.

As far as the subject of the obsession having to be something no NT's or OCD's would obsess over - I can't think of what those subjects could be because there's someone out there that obsesses about one of the subjects that would be acceptable. I know dinosaurs happens to be acceptable, but many normal kids and some adults obsess over dinosaurs. Movies with horses - maybe it's the horses and many people obsess about horses. Even though this doctor is a specialist on autism, I don't think he really understands everything about obsessions.

But he also asked me what is something that burns, melts and made with wax. My first response was chocolate - which was a correct response, but when I seen the funny look on his face, I thought and said, "Oh you're looking for candle, aren't you?" My response was supposed to match his to make it right, but chocolate melts, chocolate burns if you cook it too long, and chocolate is made with wax in it, but would not have been counted as a correct answer. I think these doctors need to realize that not everything fits what's in the books.
What is the CF?
 
There used to be hundreds of books in the Star Trek universe. I read one, because I got it free, and it was a disappointing read. I was relieved, because I knew that if I liked it, I was going to read all those hundreds of books.
Oh, the dangers of book series...
There is a book series I like that consists of more than 200 books at this point (and new books are still published). It all started for me when I got one of the books as a birthday present when I was 11 or 12. I read this book and then some more from the library (unfortunately, there aren't that many of them available at my local library). I also bought some more books for myself, but not that many at once. My collection grows rather slowly and I own 78 books of the series as of now.

My focus of interests changes rather frequently, but I also re-visit some older interests later occasionally, which is an advantage for me when it comes to this book series as I only buy some new books when I come back to the interest and stop doing so when I focus on something else. This book series is one of my main "background interests" that often comes back at one point sooner or later.

What also helps me in this case is how I manage spending money on my interests:
I don't usually invest much money in my interests at all since I know they change a lot. I don't allow myself to do it because don't think it's actually worth it, no matter if I feel like buying the stuff at a specific moment due to my current obsession.
Instead of enjoying the purchase of something interest-related I rather overthink every buying decision and often end up not buying anything at all.
This could also be related to the fact that there is just too much available (though this obviously varies depending on the interest) and I couldn't buy all of it anyway and choosing is too hard and overwhelming.
So not buying anything is kind of sad since I don't own items related to my current interest, but also less overwhelming (no worries about what to choose) and it saves me money.
I tend to collect information rather than items instead, reading about my interests online, or watching videos and looking at pictures.
Even though I know that it is very likely that this book series interest keeps coming back as I mentioned above, this general guideline helps me not to buy too many of these books at a time.
 

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