I lack special interests (help would be appreciated here)

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I've noticed that I can't be as focused on special interests as other aspies are, I have no idea why but I can never focus as intently as they can. I used to have deep focus on my special interests, but that focus just fades away usually and I end up just browsing Facebook mindlessly. How do I stop this and make myself interested in life again? I can't seem to find any pleasure in what I do anymore, it's just the same old blank, plain feeling, over and over. It really gets me down, to the point where I wonder whether life is worth living or not, because at least other aspies have the positive side of AS, but all I seem to have are the negative disabling symptoms. What the hell is wrong with me? How do I fix this, or who do I talk to? Or better yet, WHY don't I have intense special interests like I used to?! I feel like a complete and utter mess.

I used to have the same thing then i tripped acid and now i can truely aply my mind.

I didn't have any special interests until I was 15 years old. My step father tossed a book the size of a dictionary on my lap and said "Because I can't imagine you playing video games all your life..." It was Mastering Visual Basic 6, Now I program computers in multiple programming languages and in my spare time I enjoy programming my own custom video games xD ironic no?

You might already have a special interest, It's what you talk about all the time, it might be simple or it might be simply part of something nobody can understand.. For instance you could like trains, or alternatively you could be fascinated how a steam train's engine works and you only care for steam engines.

Even if you haven't found that special interest yet, you will definantly know when you find yours. It will be something that just clicks, you will read about it nonstop and know everything about it, how it was, how it came to be, where it's headed, who invented it, what year, time, date. Why it was created, to what purpose it's used and planned for use. etc. Most likely you won't be able to shut up about it either xD

I never realised I had a special interest until one of the microbiologists I worked with at the time told me I'm obsessed with bacteria/moulds. I think its more that you haven't found the right one yet.

You're bored and need to find something new.

I went through the same phase last year, though I think it had more to do with my developmental stage and lack of application and energy due to masturbation (like 6-10 times a day lol) and lack of work ethic and maturity level.

I noted that you said you have less interest in things than you used to and a loss of pleasure from life. To me, that sounds like a symptom of depression. I have the same issue with losing interest in things that I used to be able to focus on and I have basically traced it to anxiety and depression issues. I still find them interesting to an extent, but not to the point that I am researching them incessantly like I used to. In my case I tend to think some of it also has to do with maturation, but it is impossible to say due to the extreme activation of my sympathetic nervous system that I have been dealing with since I had an alcoholic roommate. He's since moved out but the anxiety has stayed (possibly PTSD?).

You know why I create? Because I have to. If I lived in a hut with no running water in a desolate village, I'd be spending all my time in quest of food and water. hose are needs. A lot of people nowadays don't "need' anything. Everything's been provided for them - food, shelter, water, a bed, clothing...everything. Nothing to struggle for. The overly sensitive ones, such as yourself, could start feeling worthless because their contribution is nil. I haven't achieved what I've wanted to in life, which is to make a living with my special interests, but the trying is what keeps me busy. I have a goal, no time to be bored.

This might be due to depression, especially if you used to have intense special interests some time before. If you feel life is not worth living and you don't find enjoyable the things that you liked to do before, then it's a red warning sign. Please seek some professional help, no need to let it get worse, for it can be treated. Has anything happened as of late that might be the trigger for a lower mood?

When I was depressed, I tended to lose interest in my special interests. After my mother died, when I was 14, I suddenly stopped enjoying almost everything I liked when she was alive. Most of my special interests faded away and were replaced with others. I was unable to fully engage emotionally in my new interests before I got over the depression. And when I did, it was thanks to falling in love with the music of a rock band. As I was healing, all sorts of new interests started sparking out of nowhere...

_________________
Probably 75% Aspie, 25% NT... and 100% ADHD

Aspie-quiz results:
Aspie score: 138 of 200 / NT score: 78 of 200 => Very likely an Aspie.

I didn't have special interests until I reached my teens. Even if it's a rather broad topic, psychology is my biggest one. It's the reason I read psych books that were geared for adults when I was a preteen. Even now I only read non-fiction about people with mental illness. Having this as a special interest for such a long time has helped me remain focused on pursuing psychology as a career.

Steven_Tyler77 is right - one of the biggest signs of depression is loss of interest in the things you once enjoyed.

I'm in a similar situation as you. I've been without a special interest for several months to about a year now, and I'm getting very frustrated that I still haven't found anything that has captured my fancy. I understand what you mean about that "plain feeling" - life without a special interest is very dull. I wish I could offer some useful advice, but I can't since I still haven't found the solution to my own problem yet.

I didn't have a special interest for two years at one point. I was getting frustrated in the Summer of 2004 due to the fact that I was without a special interest at the time. 2005 wasn't much better. That was the second year without a special interest. I found a special interest that lasted me from the December of 2005 right through until the 3rd week in the January of 2007. I became very depressed and I wasn't interested in much of anything. I was living life on the dark side. When I found that one thing that makes the 1960s seem magical to me, I got out of that black hole and I'm now able to enjoy a lot of special interests that have to do with 1960s London.