AS and "excitement"

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I have been thinking about both the behaviors in my self and others that I know that have AS or possible AS. One thing I have noticed is that we all seem to be chasing things and events that are highly publicized, have loads of drama, or have an element of excitement.

One of my friends, who is a amateur radio operator has a tendency to drive by a police, fire or ambulance call when it goes out. He also gets a big kick out of being a amateur radio operator when severe weather or emergency situations happen. I have another friend, who gets a big kick out of firefighting and being the mayor of his community after a devestating flood hit it. I have immensed myself in involving myself in the same flood situation and going to meetings, volunteering, activism, etc. Tranverserly, when the excitment wears off, and returns to routine the same things that we seem to engage our interest in, wanes. My one friend could care less about the amateur radio when nothing is going on, my friend who was the mayor seems to have lost interest in his community and his attendance at council meetings and related events is sporadic. I am losing interest in my flood related work.

Do other Aspies seem to go head first into an exciting situation, and lose interest once the excitiment wears off?

I can't think of an exciting situation for an example, but I do go 'head-first' into an interest when it strikes and often they sort of pass over and I move to a new one. Once I got really interested in motorcycles. I took a class, got a license, bought equipment, got a (inexpensive) bike for my birthday. I think I put less than 200 miles on the bike. Good thing my dad rides it now...

NO, NO! Definitely not! Too much stimulation and chaos. I do dive into my obsessions and interests which merely involve research, study, etc. But police incidents, fires, etc, no!

Not physcially exciting things, mind you, but mental challenges... absolutely! When I really get into something, it's hard to think about anything else, and it even gets tough to sleep. Then, once the problem is solved, I may mull over the solution for awhile, but eventually I will almost completely lose interest unless I find a facet of it which presents a new challenge.

It's kind of like burning the wick of a candle without the paraffin to regulate the consumption of the wick. It burns brighter but goes out much more quickly.

I've been like this about most of my special interests (though my interests in education, the brain, and learning disabilities have continued since childhood and high school, respectively, and hopefully they'll last for life). For example, I obsessively followed the news using publications of every political viewpoint in high school, and now I can't bear to hear, see, or read anything about politics. I agree with dyingofpoetry, there's no way I would be like this about disasters. It would be overwhelming emotionally as well as sensorily.

The way I explain it is, my brain is chronically understimulated (thank you ADD) and yet demands an absurd level of intellectual stimulation because it's wired to process a lot of information at a high level very quickly. (Because of the "use it or lose it" principle, the more information your brain is capable of processing, the more it also demands in order to just tick over). However, it's difficult to give myself that stimulation, because I also have a limited amount of attention and working memory (thank you again, ADD). Special interests are the most efficient way to a) focus that limited amount of attention and working memory, instead of having it be scattered all over the place, b) stimulate my brain, and c) keep my brain working at its optimum level.

Most of all, though, they don't just engage my brain, they engage my emotions like almost nothing else. With my special interests in dinosaurs, prehistoric people, and various animals as a kid, I used to imagine what it was like to BE all of those creatures. My current psychology-related interests have huge implications for how people see themselves, educate their kids, and live their lives, at least in theory. The feeling I get from pursuing special interests is a mix of energy and the most intense happiness imaginable...it's like pure essence of vitality. Csikszentmihalyi refers to the experience as "flow," (although he associates it with more than just special interests), and believes it's one of the keys to happiness. ( Here's a link to the book I'm talking about, because it's amazing: http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-O ... 298&sr=1-1) I totally agree with him about this.

I am definitely one of these people.

I don't care much for such things. But I did stop to look at a dead squirrel earlier.

It's more about fascination than excitement for me. Excitement is something I rarely feel, and not something I seek.

I feel excitement often, but it just feels unpleasant to me. I just get tense and horrible. I suppose some people must enjoy that tension.

I love excitement.

Most people are like this, which is why marketing hype for new products works so well.

It's also possible that us Aspies become obsessed with the current publicised thing, too. I had a little obsession with swine flu when everyone was panicking about it

I actually wonder if this type of behavior has to do more with my ADD than my AS.

I also agree, people seem to take more of an interest in something, especially if there is a little excitement with it, or it is on the front page.

I tend to get overly excited sometimes. Whether or not I'd want to go out and take part in the excitement depends solely on the situation and what kind of mood I'm in. I do enjoy going out to look at the fireworks on the 4th of July.

I like the excitement that I get, when I hear one of my favourite songs on the radio, or the excitement of buying a gift that I know, that a family member would like. That reminds me...Father's Day is coming up.