changing obsessions?

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My obsessions tend to change every 6 months to 2 years. In the past, I would power through an obsession until one day I would realize that I was getting bored of it, and then I would transition into something else. It was a relatively smooth process as I recall. But ever since the age of about 18 or 19, I find that transitioning from one obsession to another is becoming increasingly difficult.

It's because I tend to become highly emotionally involved with my obsessions - I give myself imaginary friends based on them, and I feel that if I were to transition away from them and become interested in something else, then I would "hurt their feelings". Another reason transitioning is becoming more difficult is because I feel like if my interests change, then I will disappoint the people who shared that interest with me as well as people who have bought me gifts based on that interest.

I sometimes get temporary ones but I don't know if they are just obsessions or fixations. I know even NTs will get curious about something and look it up and read about it. I can jump from one obsession to another. I know with me I get intense focused on it and I will keep looking at it on google but I have too much of a short attention span to read if it's too long.


The longest obsessions I have ever had lasted 11 years and it's still here but I don't go really reading about it except forums and Benny & Joon lasted seven years and my other obsessions had lasted for nearly a year and 101 Dalmatians lasted 2-3 years and London lasted longer until age 15.

I have had some obsessions I didn't bother reading about because I was too embarrassed and didn't like that obsession.

I was fixated on Life After People for a while until they stopped making new episodes so the interest faded.

I remember I got obsessed with pregnancy so I was on the computer reading about it and my doctors acted impressed about it. I thought wouldn't any woman go online and read the information? My own mother told me I was way too obsessed with it and my husband told me I was extreme about it. Other women say on Babycenter they are obsessed with pregnancy too so they keep watching shows about it. I guess mine isn't the same as theirs. I remember I was obsessed with miscarriages for a while so I kept reading about them and talking about it here. I wonder if that's normal for any woman?


If I have an obsession I don't like, I ignore it and don't bother with it and it goes away on it's own eventually (usually) and my mind finds something else.


Sometimes my old ones come back.

I'm interested in a lot of things and always have a few "sub obsessions" among my main fixation that I'll likely move onto when I've grown bored of it. Sometimes my old obsession will come back after I've been away from it for a while.

Hmm, basically what everyone else has said.

Please, I've had this for ages now, and don't know what it is. I'm new to this website as well. Please any replies would be fantastic.

My obsessions change smoothly. I'll very gradually begin to lose interest - sometimes so gradually I can only pinpoint the time that I began to lose interest a few months later - and then something else will just pop out of nowhere. First I'll like it, then I'll like it a load more, then I start talking about the new obsession non-stop. Finally I'll realise I haven't done my old obsession in a while and have just moved on.

Once I deliberately ended my obsession. I gave up Star Wars for lent 3 years ago and it was weird not having any obsession at all for the first time since the age of about 10. I filled the gap with loads of short things that only lasted a few weeks each, or sometimes a couple of months, then at the end of 2011 I got obsessed with Laser Quest - which I now compete in at national tournaments!

Without my obsessions I would have a very boring life.