Suddenly obsessed with a project then over it again

[flower_girl1]

Hi

sorry i know I started a lot of threads on here, I just have a lot of questions and it was easier this way.

Does anyone else become so obsessed with a project that it like hijacks their whole brain for a while? I don't know if this is actually a thing or if I'm just odd (I mean special really).

for example we have an aviary filled with budgies and sometime in spring I suddenly become obsessed with it. I buy all new breeding boxes, some new birds, clean it all out and then just sit there and watch and I am so impatient I swear I am mad at the birds for not breeding and having 20 chicks in a day. I really hate the impatience that conea with it I swear it's almost painful. 

I do this with all sorts of things like art projects or cooking or collection things. All of a sudden I will desperate to have the whole of a set of something. Right now it's my bookcase and I am fighting ridiculous urges to go and buy copies of boons just so I have the whole set of everything, even if I don't like the book. It's stupid, I hate it, it's uncomfortable and I can't stop. 

I waste money on stuff I don't need or want and I get over it in a week or less and hate myslelf for it.

Do other ppl do this? Is it normal? Is it actually a thing? Can I stop doing it?

again sorry for the fifty million threads 

flower_girl

[Zeal]

Hello again flower girl,

I can relate to becoming obsessed by a project, or by a specific topic or activity. Being able to focus on projects can be a real advantage. It becomes unhelpful when it dominates your thoughts so much that you are unable to focus on other daily tasks because of it. Do your projects dominate your thoughts when you are at work?

I know a number of people who get really involved, or even obsessed, by projects. My Dad is very anal when it comes to cleaning his cars. He also loves collecting wine and storing it neatly. He keeps a list of every bottle of wine in his cellar, and ticks off the ones he uses. He doesn't drink too much, and never has. He just enjoys appreciating and tasting different varieties of wine. He is a successful businessman, has many friends and contacts, and lives a very full life despite getting very involved with hobbies. He is fortunate in this way.

A few years ago, when I was recovering from an eating disorder, I would collect beautiful photos, magazine images and articles and other bits and pieces to create collages. I would do this on most days. It was actually a nice and relaxing activity. It distracted me, but I needed that as I wasn't working or studying at that time. I still have the A3 folders full of collage sheets - about 9 of them. Some of them are really great to look at still. I know people who are obsessed by a TV series, book series, and people who collect things. However, as long as the intense interest doesn't negatively impact other aspects of their life, then it's not an issue. I don't currently have any major projects. I mostly read or catch up with friends in my spare time now. I am studying second year psychology this year, so that takes up most of my time, as does volunteering and babysitting.

It's great that you have so many interests and activities you really enjoy. The spending and collecting can become a problem though. My Aunty had a problem with this, but she's improved a little. If you feel you have little to no control over your urge to collect and spend, you could mention this to your doctor. There's a slight possibility you could have OCD, but I don't know enough about you to make a judgement call. Ask your doctor about this.

Good luck with everything.

Best wishes,

SM

[Glassy]

Yes I get this too! 

I was completely obsessed with my axolotl's tank and cleaned it out and refurbished it and wasted heaps of my money on that... 

 Same with my dogs, I spend ages finding training schools for them and gathering up expensive tools to train them to do Specific things and working with them... Then all at once I just lose all my motivation and just feel to lethargic and useless to do anything I was so focussed on wanting to do just before -.- 

[geoff]

dear Flower Gi, I see that you have posted and /or replied a few times which is good of you, plus I'm so pleased that SM has replied back to you, as she is a young intelligent lady who has suffered from OCD and studying psychology at the moment.

I too have OCD and have had it for 54 years, and as soon as someone mentions the word 'obsessed' in their comment, my ears naturally prick up, cause to me it means that they may have OCD.

I'm no doctor or psych and am not qualified to say whether you have it or not, however from experience we may be able to give you an indication.

OCD can control us in many different ways, it's not just about cleaning our hands on a continual basis, although this is certainly what some people do, but it can change over time, such as when I was young my obsessions I don't do any more, which I am just so pleased about.

I would say that you do have it because if you desperately need the whole set and then can't get it then you will search everywhere to find the whole set, and if you can't full fill your need then you go into overdrive performing more habits or rituals.

It's similar on checking locks, not once twice or three times but when and only when you feel comfortable to stop doing it, because if you get interrupted you get annoyed and have to start doing it again.

By saying this may not be a good analogy for those that don't have OCD, but if you do have it then it's easier to understand.

Please go to your doctor who can diagnose you and would then give you n appointment with a psychologist. L Geoff. x

[Beltane]

Hey Flower Girl. Yeah ive done this lots of times.
For me, its more often than not a feature of my bipolar type 2 (the hypomanic/ manic phases are marked by creative flights of ideas, and sudden inspirations/ obsessions with doing certain things, spending money, or taking up new hobbies etc. people in manic/ hypomanic phases can spend a lot of money in ill-thought out ventures, and then deeply regret it when the phase passes and they're thinking rationally again)

Sometimes i dont mind this- by nature, i'm a creative and imaginative person, i love thinking up new creative pursuits, i have several interesting hobbies, and can do quite a few creative things- play guitar, sew patchwork quilts, sing, dance, fire-twirl. Lots of random talents i picked up because one day i got inspired to do it, but those are the things i actually stuck with. There are 4 times as much things i didnt stick with, and instead wasted precious time and mostly money starting but then not sticking with or finishing.

Often i spent money i didnt have. noce i spent 2000$ enrolling in a course on a "whim" and then it was too late to get my money back when i "got over it" (or more accurately, the hypomanic phase passed and i returned to my normal self).

Ive done the same thing like you mentioned with the books- got obsessed with stupid stuff like, i remember going nuts about harry Potter, because you know how there are different versions of the covers? Well out of the full set of 7 books, i had like 5 books with one version and the other 2 books with the other version. it drove me mental for ages. Other times, if i dont like the book, ive had to be very tough and just give it to the opshop rather than stare it until i go and buy the whole set.

So yeah, you might have a touch of OCd, or even a touch of that bipolar hypomanic thing. In my case, i have a bit of both. But you can learn to control them. I've put in rules for myself, for exmaple when i get that random urge to go and buy stuff, or start some new hobby or venture, i'll do my research, what it costs, how it'll fit in to my life, what the pros and cons are- everything. I'll write it all down, then put it in my bedside drawer and concentrate on other stuff for a week.

A week is usually long enough for my mind to settle down, or to snap out of a hypomanic/ ocd mood. Most of the time, a week later, i no longer am interested in the venture. Rarely, i am still interested- and those are the things i tend to stick with for a long time

[Songbird]

Hi Flower Girl,

 I was researching short obsessions on the web for myself and found your post.  I too have this problem. I ususally become obsessed with a project or topic and it always ends suddenly, usually before I have finnished or reached my goal which maddens me.  Its amazing and intense, it makes me a more interesting and knowledgeable person but it does have some down sides that need to be managed.

I joined this site just to reply to your post becuase there is another reason for this behaviour which you may not have concidered and you might like to explore.  Female Aspergers (very difference to the sterotyped male version so don't let that put you off).  I was diagnosed last year at 36 and so was my 3 year old daughter, but I have long been treated by psychologists for anxiety and depression and never one did anyone in those 20 years suggest Aspergers.  I reasearched myself and found amazing information about female aspies and thier traits, then followed up and got formally diagnosed.  Its been a life changer, I finnaly understand why I behave the way I do!

I have not read any of your other posts, I have no idea if this train of inquirey will help you but I hope so.  Even if there are only a few aspie traits you can relate to you might find it very enlightening.

 All the best, Songbird

[mrkd1991]

Hi flower girl, some people wouldn't call it "normal", but it recurs in many peoples lives so to us, it's "normal", and very much a thing.

I've been told it's called being impulsive, it happens to me a lot. This week I will spend a good portion of my time here on the forums, next week I won't even turn my computer on because I'll be in the shed building something, or buying something "super important" that I'll never even use.

The sort of impulses that I suffer from, which sound similar to you, impact everything. From my driving style, my smoking, spending and daily activities.

In my life, it's a part of mania (one half of bipolar) so I don't have to deal with it every day, but it sounds like maybe you do?

Anyway, in my experience there is a lot you can do about it. Simple things like not taking any money with you when you go out helps prevent impulse buying. Then there's monitoring yourself, getting a feel for what's going on and what different feelings mean. Identifying that your impulsiveness has returned and fighting it, telling yourself no, talking to your self and explaining why it's not important or why you can't do it.

 But sometimes impulsiveness can be helpful, like when you actually need to do something, and that can be tricky.

[Sina]

Hi Flower_Girl

I get this as well! I get it for school things, I am very intrigued and eager then I am bored or don't do it as much as I should and then sooner or it affects me. (I am talking about extra curriculums for school). It bugs me so much! I think what I did was set plans and guidelines. i.e no Facebook unless I finish my assignment etc.

For you I recommend having a budget and safe money, this mean that you may have $300 and you keep $50 as safe emergency, $150 as savings for future non hobby products such as clothes or shoes maybe food or over all savings, and then leaving $100 to splurge and spend on whatever. 

 Thats my advice, I hope it helps!

Sincerely, Sina x