Do You Get Easily Obsessed?

[Matthew Dalton]

I become obsessed with things in waves. I'll discover something/someone music, artist, poet, clothes, a certain time, etc. new to me and go completely ga-ga over it. I research it, read everything I can on it, buy anything related to it, etc. then, I move onto something new. Not that I don't like my previous "obsessions" any longer but, I'm constantly wanting something new.

Rosie said it for me. I get interested in a subject or pursuit and think of nothing else for a while but then sort of burn out on it.[huh]

This is how it is with me. Getting a Fedora would be an example of a previous obsession. (Now it's getting at least a dozen of them.)

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Oh yes!

When I was not quite four years old, my folks took me to the Australian Museum and introduced me to the concept of dinosaurs. It was the first in what was to be a lifelong series of consuming passions. Some fade out, some lay dormant for years before flaring out again, some have endured since childhood. Discovering Anne Boleyn's story before I was six, decades later I still collect every source connected with her I can, from dodgy historical novels to the latest academic articles.

I've also had what I call 'concurrent obsessions' - I've never lacked the energy and focus to have more than one abiding passion/interest at a time. One might temporarily overwhelm the others, but it's quite possible for me to develop near monomania about a particular author and at the same time be highly focused on an upcoming dive trip. I remember sitting in a meeting once, drawing parades of mantas across my notepad in anticipation of an upcoming holiday that I could not get out of my mind.

Pretty amazing that we share such parallel experiences - especially concerning the dinos! My first trip to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and seeing the Tarbosaurus skeleton is what pretty much sealed my fate! All along the course of my life I've actively pursued dozens of passions with no let-up in sight. So many fascinating subjects, so little time . . . .

 

[Twitch]

We probably all have a small, hardcrore cadre of subjects that we remain obsessed with though which continue for long eras or even lifetimes. If obsessed is too strong a word at least we are deeply interested in them.

 

[GoldLeaf]

I too have intense interests that quite consume me.

For years I was in love with Arthurian lore. Its hard to get interested in that without Roman history being connected somehow .... so now for years I have been in love with the unintentional events that led to the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire.... Roman history inevitably leads to an interest in Greek history, which I have not had the pleasure to indulge in yet.

I also have developed this love of vintge style. I am sure that will expand to include more Golden Era things. The vintage style has led to a desire to sew, and I am learning that now, too

For a while I was obsessed with finding the perfect baby stroller. I didn't have much of a choice about letting that obesession go - I can't control biology. I will resume the obsession when I have a baby to put in it The whole baby thing led to knitting ....

I think I have too many things I am trying to love at once, I read Roman history during lunch, check the forums during breaks, knit in the evenings, sew on weekends ..... lol

Oh, and one that I am almost embarassed to admit .... I am a World of Warcraft player >_<

 

[staggerwing]

My number one obsession is civil aircraft of the 30s and 40s (bet nobody guessed that). I've also got a fairly strong WWII obsession. On a completely unrelated topic, I've developed quite an obsession with on-line poker. Thanks to this site, I've recently acquired an obsession for fountain pens, darn it!

Actually, I've always been more drawn to the period from the mid 20s to the late 40s than my own times. I'm pretty much obsessed with the whole idea.

 

[griffer]

Not really the venue to discuss fetishes, but then where is the line between a fetish and an obsession?

(Classic anthropological pun here people, not a Freudian filth allusion.)

 

[Girl Friday]

Easily Obsessed?

Why?... what have you heard?????

 

[Emmababy]

i get very obsessed by things - i think its my mania [huh]

 

[HadleyH]

Obsessed moi? Hmmm...sometimes.

 

[Phil]

Yeah, but there's a name for my kind of obsession, trumpet playing.

 

[Pilotguy299]

Do you get like this? If so, over what?

Yes. Everything to do with my daughter!

 

[LadyDeWinter]

Yes. Everything to do with my daughter!

Oh, you must love your daughter over all. You're a good dad.

 

[thebadmamajama]

The answer is a resounding YES. An obsessive yes, if you will.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

I don't get obsessed. I am consistent in my likes. I can put away a thing for years and pick it up again with the same interest. I have known people who were obsessed, especially when they meet a new flame. Suddenly they are mad about everything the other person likes, including using figures of speech the heartthrob uses. Ick, not me, to the point of being blase.

 

[Pilotguy299]

Yes. Everything to do with my daughter!

or Billie Piper

 

[koopkooper]

Yes I think obsession is a word that denotes a somewhat unhealthy mind.
People have called me obsessed as well, I prefer, as one other lounger said "to have a keen interest in......"

I must admit that for the last week I have been a little obsessed with finding a car. I just sold my 1957 Chrysler Royal and am now looking for another classic to replace her. My frustration is that I have plenty of cash to spend on the new vehicle courtesy of a nice profit on the Chrysler but ofcourse can't find a car that is not a "restorers dream". Looking for something someone has restored fully is hard, still I'll keep buying the mags and surfing the net till the perfect one comes along.

 

[Fletch]

I think obsession is a word that denotes a somewhat unhealthy mind.

Then The New York Times must be stereotyping the collectors, researchers, non-academic historians, etc., they write about. Practically every profile they do on such folks includes the "o-word."

It may be a subtle Timesian way of distancing the person (or their field) from the canon of Culture the paper tends to embody.

 

[Ruby Slippers]

I'm obsessive and I like it. I tend to obsess about learning things. For example, when I felt like learning to knit I kept at it relentlessly (I now own MANY scarves and am working on several sweaters and pairs of socks at the same time). However, part of the obsession is the love for what I am doing. I guess I don't like to do things halfway.

My greatest loves are drawing and painting so I tend to do that a lot as well (and I have hopes that the obsessive fixations I have will lead me to improve upon my technique and abilities). I also like that when I read a book I will obsess about it until I've finished the last page (I enjoy pondering things and using my imagination).

I suppose it works against me too, though, especially with the internet being so available. I'll look at patterns or paintings and forget the time, and realize I could have spent that time writing my own pattern or making my own painting! I have been told I indulge in too many activities. I argue that there just aren't enough hours in the day.

 

[koopkooper]

Ruby I think you summed it up, we don't do things half heartedly, we really throw ourselves into a subject!!

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Maybe I am obsessed, now that I am re-reading some of the responses. Being interested in old stuff my whole life might count as an obsession. I was originally thinking of an obsession as more of a intense interest, but fleeting or temporary until the next craze comes along, like Mr. Toad. ?? I don't know, I'm not going to obsess over it.