Autism and obessions

[motionless]

I was diagnosed with autism when I was a lot younger maybe about 11 or 12...
I've always had obsessions with things, such as TV shows, a range of toys, all sorts of things really. But they never really seemed to last long, I'd tend to go onto one thing to the next about every 3 - 6 months and I had been told that this is very normal in people with Autism. However over the past 2 years I have had a new obsession which has lasted a lot longer than all the others. Now this wouldn't usually be a problem but this particular thing is a very dangerous obsession and also very detrimental to my mental and psychical health.

I have no idea what to do or how to change it to a more healthy one. I never really know what causes my obsessions to shift, and wondered if anybody here with Aspergers or Autism can shed some light on methods to shift obsessions. Or could provide some advice on how to dampen it down and not be so lost in it.

Finally is it possible to be obsessed with people too? I'm currently not but have been in the past and this is also not good. Can anybody relate on this one? It makes me feel like such a bad person even thinking/knowing that I have had this in the past. I would like to add that I have never acted or done anything about these obsessions with people, I have just ignored the person and cut all contact and stayed well away until it passed.

[Amaranth]

I did used to have a lot of obsessions, generally as you've said things like a tv show or object or book series. As I've grown older I've found I don't really have them anymore, and I do kind of miss that total absorption.
I can't really offer any practical advice, as an obsession would normally only shift for me once a new one was starting; I just wanted you to know you're not alone.

[Buttons.]

My experience is limited re autism, however I find when I am slipping into something obsessive which is also destructive writing down all the things I'm interested in/want to know more about and looking into the one that most grabs my attention is helpful in shifting the obsessive focus.

[Kleiner Angsthase]

I'm also autistic and get obsessed with things. I personally usually have like a "primary" one that lasts years (at the moment it's fishkeeping), and then some secondary obsessions that last less time.

I find they just change when I find something new, so if that's the case for you, maybe you could look around and learn about a lot of other things, to see if anything else takes your fancy? I find my local library to be quite good for that. Also, to sort of dampen them down, I find it's sometimes useful to restrict the amount of time I can spend researching or thinking about my special interests, which I do when it's getting in the way of my uni work or something. That's usually quite difficult to stick to though. :s

I can also definitely relate to being obsessed with people, and I've found it quite distressing too. As I'm usually obsessed with people who are close friends, I tend to try to regulate contact if I get too obsessed, so I don't "come off too strong", even if that means not talking to them for a few weeks. Luckily my friends at the moment are quite understanding about these sorts of quirks though!

I'm not sure there was any useful advice there, but you're definitely not alone :)

[not_so_insig]

I can relate as I have obsessions too - atm it's northern soul. It is a bit of a grey area whether I have aspergers my ex psych diagnosed me with it but my current psych disagrees with him and says that I don't have it. I do struggle with groups of people and anything that's not one to one.

I am also very noise sensitive and I freak out when people accidentally touch me.

[Steel Maiden]

I have classic autism and I get severe obsessions. Not just psychopharmacology and medical textbooks taking up several hours of a day, but also detrimental ones to the point that I've been diagnosed with OCD.

If I'm reading a textbook and someone disturbs me, I scream at them. If I get a text or a call, I don't repsond or put my phone on silent.

Often I can't get to sleep easily because my head is full of numbers and calculations (mathematics and numbers have been a lifetime obsession for me - my first few words included counting numbers).

I cannot control my obsessions. I can be trying to go to sleep when suddenly I need to run to a textbook and read it while half sedated.

People laugh at me because I read things like "Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Code of Practice" and I do things like learn train maps and things like the Human Rights Act verbatim.

OP - are you on any meds to help with strong obsessions? I have tried antidepressants but all my trials made me go hypomanic. I am considering asking for PRN haloperidol or chlorpromazine as well as my daily olanzapine (I have PRN clonazepam but I need something I can use more often than benzos).