those whith aspergers/autism, what is your obsession........................?

I usually have a few special interests at a time. The main ones at the moment are animals, psychology, neurology, languages and certain parts of natural science. My special interests usually last for at least a few months and up to several years. My longest lasting one is languages, which I've had for 19 years.

I spend a lot of time on my special interests and am almost always thinking about them, although I don't usually talk about them much.

I'm very good at languages and linguistics. I speak 8 languages and know a lot in many other languages and I've studied linguistics as well. I love learning and analyzing languages.

I'm also very good at analyzing, organizing and dealing with animals for example.

I tend to flip around and barely have anything easily defined as an obsession, despite having OCD as well as AS. However, others may disagree, and cited cases would have included Myspace in 2006, Yahoo Answers throughout 2007, followed by Facebook, and then from 2009 onwards, I have been logged into the Internet Relay Chat protocol 24/7.

However, common themes emerge, including religion and seeking a definition for myself in as many different ways as possible. It is indeed interesting to me that after having fallen out of the habit of being plugged into the R&S category on here, I created my own religion, and then went onto the trail of being diagnosed, which brought me into an online community of fellow aspies on IRC (I have no patience for forums, as I have a habit of reloading every few seconds and getting frustrated at the hours passing by just reloading and waiting for responses), where i've stayed since.

I have many labels, no matter where I look. Although each and every one fits me like a glove, I still think there's more to be found. I guess a human being just cannot be defined.

Other things I've been told I obsess over are the moon and the sun, the seasons, geology and charity work that I do. Well, the latter did have me visiting the European Parliament and meeting with some of the MEPs, so I think that's more pride than obsession.

((((hugs))))

~Loving Light~

I am currently interested in Finland and Scandinavia, especially the history and mythology. Finland is my primary interest - I like reading about it, painting landscapes, learning Finnish words, telling people random facts about Finland - but I ended up extending it to Scandinavia because my library has an unfortunate shortage of books on the subject.

Most of my special interests are short-lived. They can range anywhere from a couple days to a few months at most. I don't have special interests that last years, though I do have many strong but less obsessive interests: autism spectrum disorders, synesthesia, psychology, memorization, linguistics, geography, history, etc. Every so often one of these interests will take a turn at being the special interest.

This is really strange, but I have a fascination for foreign languages; I also have an obsession with different cultures and customs, especially that of the UK, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Russia and Japan.

Furthermore, I love swords, old cars and antiques, especially outdated warfare weapons. I also have always loved museums and historical monuments.

Animals, The twin towers(it's not so much of an obsession I just love staring at them, I mean the old ones that were destroyed) Rhythmic Gymnastics, music, boy bands, cultures, history there is lots and lots to mention :)

I'm not as extreme as some.

(people viewing me from the outside may differ!)

"Special interest" is a more neutral term.

For some of us, yes, it can be an obsession that almost literally cannot be put down, a sole topic of conversation.

But for others other interests and topics exist, alongside an awareness that not everyone shares our enthusiasm for whatever it might be.

Well, for me:

Using English well, which comes with a spin-off delight in English absurdities and mistakes, and word-play humour.

Philosophy and cosmology: trying to find the "rules of the game" for life, the universe and everything

(Yes, Douglas Adams was a great help!)

That spins off into a love of history, and seeing how divergent popular understanding can be from detailed facts.

Oh, and model railways for light relief, but done in a peculiar way which has got me an international reputation in a tiny niche field.

Edit: I take it that the borderline to obsession has been crossed when an individual can't choose to put it down, or register any other sense of priorities.

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Sir Winston Churchill

Black Shoes Go With Anything You Wear, Sounds Like It Would Look Very Nice To Me And I Would Wear It Together

They have changed several times in my life, but they seem to just diminish and blend in with my new one. At first it was the field of medicine(mostly the aspects that affect me or those around me, then tv,(but i usually watched medical shows), I guess now it is the internet. I watch tv and research medical topics on the internet. I've had a strong love of music throughout my life, it hasn't changed other than the genre of music I prefer. I also went though a patriotic phase when I was about 10. That went away, though.

Well, i have always had a pretty good talent for remembering songs by heart. If i like the song i usually know it by heart after hearing it no more than 5 times. I also know ALOT of music trivia, and when it comes to witch band sang that song i am pretty mutch like a dictionary. I also LOVE roller coasters and have quite the factbook stored in my mind in terms of tallest fastest ect. I also give AWSOME foot/backrubs and have quite the talent for telling jokes. You see, i remember jokes the same way i remember songs. People like me for that because that makes me fun at parties. They hardly remember any jokes themselves. I can`t read music, but in my country (Norway) it`s common to wright something called "Festsanger" "Party Songs" when somebody has a birthday or bar mitzvah. These songs are written to a tune so famous and well known that EVERYBODY at the party knows it, the song is usually about the person in center (Birthday Boy/Girl ect) and the song is copied up and given to everybody at the party. Then they sing it to honor the person. Usually (If it`s a big party) there are several of theese "personal songs" written. I have heard i am pretty good at writing those.

PARDON MY SPELLING, I AM NORWEGIAN!

Traveling. Reading about countries isn't enough, I need to go out and travel, do some sight-seeing.

It's an expensive obsession.