Getting caught up in stories

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Whenever I watch a movie, read a book or play a game that manages to grasp my full attention I become completely engulfed in it's story. Immediately I feel this intense need to know more, more about it's world, more about it's characters and more about it's history. I begin to fantasize and dream about it. I pretend to be a part of the story, interact with the characters, submerge myself in the endless directions that living in this fictional world can offer and figure out how my life could be played out whithin it's boundaries.
I can spend hours talking to myself, imagining dialogue, adventures, tragedies, etc. for weeks, sometimes even months. I search for information online, anything to help me piece together how this fantasy world works. I daydream about it constantly, playing out scenarios while I go about my daily activities, barely aware of what's happening around me. It's almost as if I'm in a trance, my deep desire to escape the restrictions of this existence fuels what can almost be described as hallucinations.

An example of this is when I discovered the story of Legacy of Kain when I was 15. I wasn't very interested in the actual games (I still haven't finished some of them) but I imagined myself being one of Kain's brood under the banner of the Zephonim. I'd find secluded places where I could act out my scenarios, away from judging eyes. I'd try to slip my persona into the story, altering as little as possible of the original events and finding segments of the lore where my character could fit.
As new games were released and the story expanded I adapted my scenarios accordingly. Over the next 4 years I was completely captivated, my life revolved around little else and that's when I started to separate myself from the outside world, becoming more detached as I let my fixation engulf me.
Eventually, the game series stopped, without a conclusion to the story and I slowly began to lose interest. Then I discovered World of Warcraft...well, let's not open that can of worms.

While it doesn't happen often that I come across a story fascinating enough to capture me like this, it has happend several times in the past and I wonder if others have experienced something similar.

Isn't that a special interest?

I also am fascinated by some books or films, spend some time on them, am a fan for months/years (though usually I have no desire to re-read any of it) but I don't day-dream about it and me liking the books doesn't interfere with my daily activities. That's why I don't have the special interest things, but yeah... I thought your post sounded like typical strong AS special interest.

I'm like that with the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. I go so far as envying that fantasy world for having daemons and pretending that my cat was my own daemon.
I have not imagined up scenarios where I was a part of that world. I might do that. I do sometimes imagine myself on something that I watch on TV. Last night it was a game show.

I see, that's something I've had trouble identifying from the beginning. What classifies as a "special interest" and what's a normal interest, heh. So feeling completely detached from the outside world is part of it too, then? Because I'm still not over that.

Man, I've had an imaginary daemon since I was like 13. XD;;; That was a decade ago. I kind of can't believe I STILL talk to him. I guess that sounds pretty gay but actually it's really weird because he kind of has way better judgment than me. D: D: D:

I am definitely like this as well with fiction. I think it's one of the reasons I don't read it very often; too much work.

I used to be like this when I was younger reading fiction. Almost exactly as you describe it. I loved His Dark Materials too, pensieve.

Yes.

When I was around 11, I was really into Sonic. Well, not Sonic, Knuckles. I was completely obsessed. I will go as far as to say it was probably my AS special interest. I would play out scenarios in my head, I would dream about his world. I wanted to know everything about it. My friend was slightly obsessed, too, and we would often write fanfics and draw pictures etc. I'm not sure if she felt as strongly about it as I did, but it was really nice for me because I had someone to bond with other it. We would act out scenes and research Sonic/Knuckles characters in our spare time, along with playing the games and reading the Archie comics.

Actually, I think I still do this. Even with real people. For example, I met someone a long time ago from America and I would ask him very odd and insignificant questions about how and where he lived. I would go on Google Maps everyday and look at where he lived. He lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere so it was easy to navigate around...

Of course, this is how I got my reputation at school as a stalker

Diagnostically speaking, a normal interests becomes a special interests as mentioned in the criteria if it is narrow interests in one or several areas that is a 'encompassing preoccupation' that is pursued with 'great intensity' and often results in the 'exclusion of others activities'.

Which basically means, it's something that's in your head the majority of time, determines what you think about and you spent time on it rather than focussing on everyday things like everybody else.

It is also often source of 'considerate disability' because the special interests strongly influence your thoughts and interfere with your ability to function (for example at work or school, at home, in relationships).

Some with AS disagree with that definition though and explain that their special interests are normal; not narrow, restrictive or interfering with their ability to think and do all others things.

Although I don't know why their interests are 'special' interest then or why they consider them a symptoms when supposedly theirs are the same way as the interests of all other people.

I do assume there's the possibility to be able to outbalance thoughts about your special interests and having to function normally with age a little, though I also imagine that this would always be hard when I hear about how AS special interests can be like from others.

Yeah, that took some time for me, too. Basically, it appears to be a normal interest to you because of your perspective and your enthusiasm for it. We have a tendency to define "normal" as the way we are, until we're told and it is demonstrated to us otherwise. For instance, I thought it was normal to be able to identify the names of musical notes whenever and wherever I heard them (i.e., out of context). This is certainly not "normal" but you don't know any better until you find out that very few other people can do this.

Personally, I can mostly put aside my special interests when the real world calls, but then when I have spare time, I immediately get an itch. It's like I never can take the pot off the stove completely; it's just on the back burner.

I do this, too. I usually vent it by writing fan fiction for the series. I'll go through months at a time when I'm writing story after story, some of them quite long. According to my reviewers, I'm good at them, but I have trouble finishing the longer ones. Then, the urge will be gone and another of my interests will take over. Right now, I've got four different works in progress (WIPs) out there but I'm starting to spend all my time with knitting again. I don't know when I'll get back to the stories, although I may be able to write some shorter ones from time to time, but the thought that I need to finish them both makes me feel guilty and irritates me.

Regards,

Patricia

Yep, that seems about right. I have definitely been there, done that. Especially with Babylon 5, but also some others. As for special interests becoming less powerful with age, well it hasn't happened to me yet.

I can't really say that I get more detached, though, as I'm fairly detached by nature.