What do you do when your obsession is too specific?

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Lerena
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20 May 2011, 9:49 pm

Most Aspies can become focused on their special interest without another person, but in my case my obsession is so specific it takes another person to keep it under control.

For instance, it's like having a specific food obsession and the only person with the recipe dies without having it written down. Then you develop anorexia without that food item available on the shelves.

How do you work with that? I hope I've described what I mean accurately. It's a bit difficult to talk about what I mean by this, because I don't know the mechanics of why I'm obsessed with my special interest.

See, I'm obsessed with an anime character, and everyone's moving on. When someone role-plays that character for me, I become better functioning. When I've gone on for so long without my "fix" that's when I start becoming barely functioning and psychotic.

Why though? Is there a way I can control this or at least move on as well? I've tried everything I can think of that doesn't involve another person, and nothing works. I feel a bit trapped.

The length of this obsession is 4 years and counting.



Last edited by Lerena on 20 May 2011, 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mindslave
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20 May 2011, 9:55 pm

Maybe there is someone on here who dated someone and lost them to the point they couldn't function. I sort of had that, but I have other interests that helped displace her, even though it took a couple months of agony.



emac
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20 May 2011, 9:55 pm

find a life partner who loves to role-play that character.



Lerena
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20 May 2011, 9:56 pm

@emac: Easier said than done, I'm afraid.

@Mindslave: I'm going through that situation now too.



IdahoRose
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20 May 2011, 11:08 pm

Maybe you could adopt that character as an imaginary friend, and role-play conversations between them and yourself. If you have a strong imagination and a flexible enough suspension of disbelief, you can trick your mind into believing that you are actually friends with the character. I have obsessions with specific fictional characters too and I find that that's what works for me.



Lerena
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20 May 2011, 11:37 pm

That doesn't really work, though it can be a source of amusement for me and it helps me fall asleep.