Hyperfixating on something and the depression that comes after

[AprilR]

My special interests atm are cdrama and novels, mainly wuxia/xianxia ones. But even before that, it was always stories.

I am not sure if it is right to call this a special interest or hyperfixation, but from the time i learned how to read i was always reading books, i brought books to school, outings everywhere. Whenever something hurt me or i felt overwhelmed i distracted myself by reading. I got so engrossed in stories while reading, and it was an escape from real world that always felt overwhelming. However, when inevitably i finished a book, or series or movie i always felt overwhelmed with anxiety, and unable to deal with real world.

I noticed this as i grew up, and at some point i stopped reading books. I was also afraid of being called out for reading too much instead of socializing. But of course, then i moved on to anime and asian dramas, specifically xianxia dramas as i mentioned.

But my problem still persists. I feel very depressed when i get too much into a story and it ends. I also feel overwhelmed with anxiety when i return to real world. Because of this i am now trying to balance my drama/reading time with doing chores/taking walks etc.

I was just wondering if there are others who get too attached to fictional worlds and characters like this.

 

[Shamar]

My special interests atm are cdrama and novels, mainly wuxia/xianxia ones. But even before that, it was always stories.

I am not sure if it is right to call this a special interest or hyperfixation, but from the time i learned how to read i was always reading books, i brought books to school, outings everywhere. Whenever something hurt me or i felt overwhelmed i distracted myself by reading. I got so engrossed in stories while reading, and it was an escape from real world that always felt overwhelming. However, when inevitably i finished a book, or series or movie i always felt overwhelmed with anxiety, and unable to deal with real world.

I noticed this as i grew up, and at some point i stopped reading books. I was also afraid of being called out for reading too much instead of socializing. But of course, then i moved on to anime and asian dramas, specifically xianxia dramas as i mentioned.

But my problem still persists. I feel very depressed when i get too much into a story and it ends. I also feel overwhelmed with anxiety when i return to real world. Because of this i am now trying to balance my drama/reading time with doing chores/taking walks etc.

I was just wondering if there are others who get too attached to fictional worlds and characters like this.

I spend half my time in a fictional fantasy world (actually, several). Fortunately, recognize them as such and can leave whenever needed.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Reading and immersing myself into fictional worlds - books and TV series - has always been a huge thing for me too. It can easily be said that I spent the majority of my childhood with a book in front of my nose - while eating, walking, car rides, when I was supposed to be sleeping, even during school lessons. Now, I still am an avid reader, and it often leads to my brain spinning and me feeling super wired and almost hypomanic about a certain current obsession, universe, or character. Usually, it's fantasy, sometimes sci-fi.

I understand the crash you describe after a world I immersed myself into ends. For me, it's not as bad as you describe it. I usually spend a few more days thinking about barely anything else, wired and needing it to get "out of my system" - by drawing scenes from it, writing out scenes from it, listening to music associated with it, watching videos about it. After a few days, it naturally fades out. I don't feel like it's something negative for me. However, I have a friend who says that she feels too detached from the real world when she's immersed into a book, and that that scares her, so she limits her reading to avoid such deep immersions. To me, it's kind of the opposite - it makes me feel more alive when I ride such a deep interest-driven wave. I usually crash after a few days of it, though, because it seems to exhaust my mind and body quite a bit, leaving me tired and easily overstimulated for a few days.
It can be tiring but I love it too. Sometimes it makes me sad though that certain characters don't exist in real life.