depressed without special interests?

[Lydia Z]

Do any of you get depressed if you don't stumble upon new special interests? my special interests/obsessions change from time to time and when i am without one, I get depressed and start questioning my existence altogether. Is this normal for any of you?

 

[Mattymatt]

Do any of you get depressed if you don't stumble upon new special interests? my special interests/obsessions change from time to time and when i am without one, I get depressed and start questioning my existence altogether. Is this normal for any of you?

Mine also change from time to time and I've found them to be very helpful in staving off depression. Our minds were meant to work and be challenged so the idle mind can start ruminating. Our biological inner voices start saying we're not good enough or smart enough. I've found that my special interest is also a mediation.

 

[BraidedPony]

I HAVE to have a special interest or I feel empty and depressed. Even if it’s just looking up something that is sort of interesting and I know it will only be temporary like Mount Everest, parakeets, DIY floor cleaners (non toxic), altitude sickness (this was an off-shoot of Mt Everest interest), misc autism spectrum things...etc.
I don’t wait until I stumble upon an interest, I actively seek special interests. (Cheaper than therapy!)
Now that there is the internet it is so cool because we can research anything anytime.

 

[Autistamatic]

For me it's the other way around, i.e. depression can reduce my ability to focus on and enjoy my interests. It can even make me lose interest in almost anything that brings me joy or comfort. I see depression as being one of my greatest enemies since I first realised I was suffering from it in my 20s. Now when it rears it's ugly head I seek treatment as soon as I'm sure it's taken hold again.

 

[Lydia Z]

I HAVE to have a special interest or I feel empty and depressed. Even if it’s just looking up something that is sort of interesting and I know it will only be temporary like Mount Everest, parakeets, DIY floor cleaners (non toxic), altitude sickness (this was an off-shoot of Mt Everest interest), misc autism spectrum things...etc.
I don’t wait until I stumble upon an interest, I actively seek special interests. (Cheaper than therapy!)
Now that there is the internet it is so cool because we can research anything anytime.

How do you look for special interests? Do you just research random stuff and wait for one to grab your attention? where do you even begin? I usually get curious or interested in something and then i obsess about it. I have never looked for special interests actively as they just come on their own. but now that i have realized that it makes me depressed to be without one, I need one fast before i go crazy.

 

[BraidedPony]

I am just naturally curious, so that’s where it begins. I have the tv on all day so something in the news or in a movie will be just a bit interesting so I’ll look it up online. Nothing can become very interesting until you know more about it.
For example, right now I’m wondering if ‘curiosity’ varies in people, and if so, why.
I had never thought about how to find a special interest and had assumed everyone was like me in their level of curiosity or how they respond to curiosity. Is it something that gets encouraged or stifled in childhood? So your post has made me wonder about this and want to learn a bit more....
Living alone or at least having alone time helps because you can’t follow a road to an interest if others are giving their opinions about it, which a guarantee will be negative and discouraging.
I’ve noticed that my special interests haven’t been the same as anyone else’s on the forum. So, you have to go your own way....an adventure!

 

[Judge]

Do any of you get depressed if you don't stumble upon new special interests? my special interests/obsessions change from time to time and when i am without one, I get depressed and start questioning my existence altogether. Is this normal for any of you?

Did you ever ponder that depression itself may be impinging on your ability to enjoy much of any special interest, whether new or not?

Over the years in my own case, I've been able to sense my own cycles in and out of chronic clinical depression primarily in how I either do or don't relate to my special interests/hobbies. That sadly can last days, weeks or even months.

In essence, that you are without special interests because you are in a state of depression.

 

[Xerces Blue]

I've found the points where depression is a danger is when I experience a paradigm shift.
When I realize something I thought was true is not. For example when I left my religion, when I change political views and the like (usually on specific issues)
I've found New special projects help me get out of the depression.
I have some long standing obsessions, Tactics, Space and science.
When I fall out of an obsession it leaves me feeling empty and I know I have to find something else to learn about or things will get bad.
Military History has been a good one for me - has a lot of connections to other topics to explore

 

[Lydia Z]

I don't have a long standing obsession to fall back on those dry days and that makes it difficult.

 

[Xerces Blue]

I don't have a long standing obsession to fall back on those dry days and that makes it difficult.

Have you tried looking into history there are many things there that I find interesting.
Economics are also interesting when you combine them with History shows the drive for many actions

 

[Xerces Blue]

My friend likes sports for the strategy and the psychological warfare(not quite the right term) he's not an aspie but I see the appeal though I don't share it

 

[Lydia Z]

I like history and that is worth exploring. Thanks!

 

[texkag]

Do any of you get depressed if you don't stumble upon new special interests? my special interests/obsessions change from time to time and when i am without one, I get depressed and start questioning my existence altogether. Is this normal for any of you?

I couldn't agree more. I have been through a period of over a year with nothing to obsess about. During this time I did try to return to playing the guitar and keyboards but this has caused a massive flare up of arthritis in my hands. Everything I have tried to get into seems to cause one problem or another. I have found it increasingly difficult tot leave the house, although this is exacerbated by being a carer which is isolating in itself.
However, I can cope with it if I have a central obsession but right now I feel as if I am drifting through my days with little to look forward to. It's a deep rut to get out of.

 

[Anonym]

I do think depression makes it difficult for me to get into the zone on my special interests. Although sometimes, something new (or usually a new idea within an existing area of interest) will strike me and I spiral blissfully into weeks or months of intense, productive focus. I’m not sure if it snaps me out of the depression, or just serves as a way to ignore it, but I think I have experienced both. As I have recently become aware, I’ve struggled with chronic, low grade depression for most of my adult life, in addition to being alexithymic, so I’m still sorting out the nature of their relationship and how they influence each other.

 

[hannahhannah]

I think I always have one... It would be weird not to have some obsession I can annoy other people with (I actually try very hard not to) but it's so hard not to talk about what's so interesting. I usually don't get why other people are not passionate about what I am passionate about. Anyways, I'm getting off topic. I think I would feel utterly lost without an obsession, even if it's just a TV show that for a while I watch exclusively and every day and google stuff about the actors, the places, the characters etc.... I do get depressed when such a show ends though...