Intense periods of special interests

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I have noticed over the years that I can get an idea, then I pour my heart and soul into that project for 2-3 weeks until it simmers down and it never gets completed. I've had all these "brilliant ideas" for websites I've seen lacking out there, I start to work on them, and I usually get stuck on a detail for a week or so before I just give up.

The last time I did this, I got stuck on optimizing some downloading/conversion/filtering script and optimized it 98% eventually, but then all my "juice"(read power) had been used up, and I really didn't have the urge for completing the project anymore.

This is a very annoying part of who I am. I get all these ideas which I never get completed(never is a strong word, I did complete a successful website once, which I managed to maintain for a year).

Anyone else have it like this? What do you do to keep going? Is this ADHD? Is this Aspergers? Is this bipoler manic periods(I never experience reduced need for sleep, so I do not think it is)?

Last edited by Blownmind on 20 Jun 2012, 7:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

In my experience it involves several external factors too including:
-Availability of time for regular work on projects over a substantial period
-Amount of effort you know is required to get back up to speed when resuming a suspended project (prevents you from just doing an hour here and there)
-Changes involving whatever prompted the project in the first place.

Perhaps get screened for OCD?

I do it too.

Aspies tend to be very into special interests.

But, mania also can lead to *intense* periods of activity.

As in, you can't sleep, eat, or focus at all on anything else other than that with mania. And usually mania leads to grand ideas (well, you think they're grand, but in reality, they rarely are... it's a grandiose way of thinking/perceiving yourself.) Mania doesn't require you to not be able to sleep, I don't think. Mania is a way, way more intense "interest" in something than general Aspie special interests.

Or, it could be plain old getting tired of a project and becoming "lazy and tired of a project." It's like having "senioritis" in school-- everyone does it. Most people lose will-power at some point, just like most people can work hard and focus on a project. Most people can work hard, but still function... with mania, you may forget to eat, shower, sleep, etc. for hours (or days).

I can definitely relate to what you go through. I compose music and feel like sometimes, it's a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. I used to write lyrics to my songs but I would go through COUNTLESS nights where my mind just wouldn't let me sleep. I would have to change any lyric or word I didn't like in the song and/or complete the entire song immediately.

This how I fixed that... well, sort of...

I put myself on a very strict music schedule and unfortunately stopped writing any music with lyrics. In order for me to finish a song, I write down the exact days and times that I would be able to have what I call Music Time. The trick is that I would have Music Time between two other times. For example, if there was a tv show/documentary that I REALLY wanted to watch, I would plan to do it directly after my designated time for music. Usually, I would compose my music after I get home from work.
This way, I'd be too busy at work to think about music until I'm actually working on the song. And then after my time was up for music, the documentary would be able to take my attention away from music. The neat thing was that after the documentary was over, I wouldn't be thinking about music (which was EXACTLY what I wanted). I love music but I hate when the desire to pursue my interest begins to take over and I just can't control it. I use my desire for strict schedule and my ability to get distracted easily to kind of counteract the "music mania".


I hope this helped.

I was actually about to write a similar post just now...

I too have intense periods when I become obsessed with something, only to loose interest in a week or a month. Never to the point of forgetting to eat or sleep or work, but still.

My brand of special intrest are different types of crafts/arts, however I have absolutely no talent or artistic bone in my body, which Annoys me to no end.
Usually I shift from say, knitting to soap making, to embroydery, to tatting, to leather tooling, to jewlery making, to writing, to drawing, to baking, to sewing, to photography, to writing... The list goes on and on... After a while, I'll take up tatting again, because I have a new idea or inspiration. I never actually finish anything, sometimes I don't even get around to starting, I just research different techniques and methods, before moving on. Usually it's because takes too long to get the gear to start up a new intrest, and it's too expensive. I have only recently learned not to start buying things until after at least a month of obsession, unless it's cheap and fairly easy to get a hold of locally or very inexpensively through ebay.

I don't believe it's normal NT behaviour, because I literally don't think of anything other than knitting for three weeks, constructing patterns (I can never use a ready made pattern, I always have to come up with everything myself; re-inventing the wheel over and over and over again, so to speak) and learning different techniques from books and online, gauge needles and yarn and so on, then I knit on every free moment of my time, on the commute to work, during lunch break, from the moment I get home until I get to bed. When I was into macrame, I even worked on it while relaxing in the bathtub... (It is not suggested to attempt bathing while doing origami, says the voice of personal experience and lack of common sense... )

I think of it as the obsessiveness of being aspie combined with the restlessness of ADD. Might be manic or OCD as well, but I don't believe so since it's not debilitating. I still perform my general responsibilities such as work, eat, sleep, care for my cats, and so on, without anxiety or stress.

Yes I get intense periods of special interests........and it does get to the point where I forget to eat enough and don't sleep ect. Sometimes I'll neglect my school work for periods of time because of a new (short-lived) fascination. What I think is really disturbing though is the feeling that I sometimes have which is that all I care about in the world is X (say, a new series of novels). At these times the fact that I'm an adult in my late 20's and have life goals means nothing........ it's the I'd give up my life goals......who cares if I can;t look after myself and hold down a job......no consequence is too great that it must be avoided.........I will read these books and I will read them all ....right now.....non-stop.....no matter the cost......mind set that I get into. For example I've dropped summer courses and had to take longer to finish my degree so that I could pursue these interests and then they are short lived- after a few weeks or months I'm on to a new series of novels which I may not be as intensely fascinated with. I'm very fickle because I can be very self disciplined and goal- oriented for periods of time -I was an A student in university-I just graduated- but then because of a temporary intense interest I can just let it all go. I'm such a ridiculous person.............

I read what you wrote, when you wrote it, but it really didn't dawn on me until now that perhaps you meant Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder(OCPD)/Anankastic personality disorder ?
I will indeed ask to get screened for this within the next two months(abit of a waiting list), however, it is common that people with Aspergers meet the criteria for OCPD.

That sounds like the way my interests work. I always lose interest eventually and switch to something else, often resulting in projects I start and never finish. Sometimes interests of mine can last a few months. Normally 3 weeks to 3 months is about how long my interests normally last.