How do you deal with your special interest?

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Being super interested in something (book, learning a topic psychology,programming *insert topic*) is seen as "weird" "not normal" Sadly NT's don't want to hear about *insert topic* all the time and I get the line "that's all you talk about is blank" Then I feel bad why should I even have a special interest or be interested in anything? If it isn't an academic topic it's obsessive with a video game which I'm starting to think causes stress (gotta beat this level beat this boss) spend all day get nothing done.

The opposite end is obsessive towards an academics topic is seen as weird or not normal. I can never win! Can anyone relate? Sure you shouldn't "care" what family etc. think of your interests but it makes you think "am I weird am I not normal?" Do others not get obsessively interested in *insert topic?*

I used to get accused by my friends of relating everything to economics and politics lol

I wouldn't say that my special interests are as specific as that though. I am intrigued by systems, and I view everything as a system, from the circulation of money to the running of trains on time and everything in between.

I don't think there is anything wrong with special interests. The human race is probably much better off for those of us who have them.

Well I hate using the term "special interests" because I feel the is stigmatizes aspies but ya I couldn't tell ya how how many times I've heard "that's all you talk about".

It's hard but I just to pull myself out of my head and put in the moment, and I can usually carry on "small talk" type conversations, for the sake of the people I'm with. It sucugh because I feel I'm always stuck having to try so hard to get on the NT level, I'm just getting so tired of it honestly.

I don't mind having aspergers but I wish there was some sort of medication to help with socializing, if there was something that made me feel comfortable in socializing, I'd be content.

I refrain from talking about the things that really interest me, unless the person I am talking too has expressed a lot of interest in the same subject. Then I restrain myself from talking about anything but the surface of the topic, unless the other person goes deeper.

I also check to see how often I am talking and how often the other person is talking, because I know I can monologue if I don't watch it. When I feel I have been talking a bit too much, I just ask questions and only supply information when asked directly.

I have a few very close people who sometimes encourage me to really get into it and this tends to be a sort of ecstatic rhapsodizing by me... such bliss.

Yes I get obsessed with things I create or work on and it happens periodically. If I let myself too much into it, I am out - I don't sleep, I don't eat, I just work on it and make sure that every detail is perfect and to the best of my abilities. All of these obsessions are my interests and as I get through life I get more of these interests, knowledge in particular areas etc. I feel like a walking library sometimes. But I put it to a good use and mostly finish my projects so the fruits of my work are out there and benefit others.

The most curious project is a scientific book I am working on, because I find myself only able to work on it when I am in obsessive period and particularly interested in it. Because of all the breaks in between when I commit to other things, I have been working on it 6 years now, in intervals. When I don't get enough time alone I find myself unable to go through all journals and books, then these start piling up and stressing me.

I think NTs do get obsessively interested in a certain topic, but they know when to stop talking about it and when people aren't interested, we do not. It just seems like the people you're talking to is just as interesting as you are, but that may not be the case.

I used to talk to my friend on the bus about my topic of interest until the bus arrived at his house, he would just put his head in his lap and I was confused. I'm still not sure if he was interested in what I was talking about.

Yeah, this is what I do as well.

....which annoyingly usually leads to me simply never saying much of anything. The entire family, including most of the huge extended family, has no interest whatsoever in my own main interest, which is gaming, and even my friends, who themselves are gamers, tend to be interested in *exactly* the sorts of games that are the direct opposite of the sorts I actually at all like. Hell, I havent even talked to any of them in.... probably 2 weeks now? I'm not sure anyone's noticed. I gave up trying to get them interested in anything new. THEY, however, will unendingly ramble at me about whatever damn stupid RPG is the big thing in gaming right now. They are not on the spectrum, mind you. Just me.

As it is, nearly all conversation, and I really do mean almost all of it, about my own special interest is restricted to the (usually very slow) gaming section on this very forum. As you might imagine, I find this a bit irritating.

I aint good at the small talk, either; it tends to be *very* obvious when I just dont care about something, particularly as I just get more and more sarcastic and abrasive as that continues. Usually just try to avoid it.


All in all.... these days, I mostly just keep to myself. And try not to go insane from boredom.

Well, most of the time I just go along with it, Most of my interests tend to be scientific and/or academic, so my friends are most often glad to let me ramble and glad for the education (at least I hope so).

It can backfire, however, as when I in grade 10-12 had an obsession with vikings and the viking age. My grades suffered a bit since I A: preferred reading about said topic to doing actual homework and B: because any assignment that could be awkwardly mangled into being about said topic was going to be, leading to convoluted, broad-strokes interpretations of assigned tasks with predictable results for the finished product.
This worked fine for history and literature, but perhaps not quite so stellar when given the long-term assignment "project" with no further instructions. The theme was given from the start, and then it kind of waffled for three years, and I think back to the end result of what was supposed to be a three year effort with no small measure of embarassment.

For the most part, I have to hide my special interests from my coworkers as they are basically textbook thinkers only and my topics lie outside their knowledge range. It is sad to see that they limit their ability to understand by choice. I did not expect university professors to be that way, but it is what it is. My immediate family understands that my special interests are important to me, even though they do not understand them. I have only a select few friends who I can really relate to on those topics.

My special intrest is very strong. How I deal with it is I learned to talk about other things. I still get stuck on topics in conversations but it's not just sonic. I'm still very obsessed with sonic but now I'm easier for NTs to be around.

Why is it that endlessly gossiping about the Kardashian's is not considered weird?

I definitely talk about my special interests a lot. It's hard for me to turn it off. I try to find friends who share the same interests, but it is tough. Luckily, my dad lets me talk about Doctor Who as much as I want because he is a fan too. The rest of my family tends to be bothered by my obsession, and it hurts me personally when they say "shut up!" to me for some reason. I try not to let that get to me though, but I do struggle sometimes.

LOL....I still get kicked under the table by my wife for wanting to talk about something like meteorology.

It's pretty lonely--most people really aren't interested in what I'm interested in!

When I was a kid, all I seemed to want to do is show off my knowledge of geography. I really didn't care what other people thought about me.

I am always getting into trouble with the weather hobby.

Always getting into disagreements.

Partly because, I don't like people stepping on my toes, who they are less knowledgeable, and also that I not able to impart information with confidence, and ending up saying it nervously and agitatedly, so it sounds as if I am aggressive.

Because derp, that's why.

Or at least that's my sarcastic interpretation of the reason. I'm sure it makes sense somehow to them. Though really, I dunno why anyone watches stuff like that.

I used to get intense special interest before I got by OCD treated. The way I dealt with it was by enganging in them alot & not talking about them offline much.