Special Interests: Need vs. Want

[mw2530]

Do people here believe that special interests are a need or a want for people on the spectrum? I think they are a need since often times they are a coping mechanism to live in a chaotic world full of NT's. When I am tired or stressed, I feel a stronger pull towards my interests and I typically become disinterested in almost everything else including relationships.

I have a few different special interests, and I'd say I could survive off of just one, but I don't know that I would have a desire to live w/out my main special interest. If I found out tomorrow that I could never again engage in my special interest it would be the most devasting thing that has happened to me. I would be crushed. I would have to replace it with another one, but that would not be easy to do either.

 

[Misty Avich]

When I was younger I had obsessions that were a need like my life depended on them. I had an obsession with men that drove the bus through my town and I had to get on the bus just to see them. The obsession was more important than anything else.

But for the last 10 years I haven't had any obsessions. I have interests but they're more of a want and are just casual. These days a need for me is just home comforts and being loved. That's enough to make me feel secure and able to cope - which is why I'm absolutely terrified of the thought of ever becoming homeless. Losing my security and home comforts would destroy me completely. I hope citizens advice would understand this in the future and do everything in their power to keep me in a secure apartment or cottage even if it requires government support. I'm sorry but I just cannot be homeless ever. It's my worst nightmare and fear.

Sorry, went a bit off-topic there.

 

[Crossbreed]

Mine are mostly "wants." If they were material to how I made a living --which they are not-- they could be considered needs.

Before I had better means, my special interest was figure drawing. All I required was a pencil and some paper.

My related interests like

• anatomy books for artists,
• custom lay figures,
• zoology reference material,
• art supplies & software, etc.

only serve to supplement my first interest.
I would miss them sorely if I lost them unnecessarily, but I would still be able to draw, as before. (As it is, managing my collections takes my attention away from the simple pleasure of drawing.)

When I worked as an electronic tech, electronics were also a special interest, but I only dabble in it since retiring. (I like/d programming more.)

 

[Gerontius]

They're a want that feels like a necessity, seems like,. and in many cases they've been a dangerously complicated compulsion.

I have a will to live, for some reason, and cannot figure out where it came from. There are plenty of other things here equally strange but I can tell you that I acquired some from scrap dealers and others off the side of the road or from a classified ad. But you can't get a will to live that way.

It is independent of a special interest. It doesn't have cool down periods either. I have to be careful because interests that offer a slim chance of profit end up intoxicatingly interesting--thought watchmaking would do it, and because I always liked watch movements and machines in general, got curious about it as a job. Calmed that down by telling myself, you don't even wear a wristwatch, you hate watch culture, why bother? Wear your Seiko 5 and shut up.

That interest then cooled allowing me to focus on survival rather than trying to apply to become a watchmaker, even though I would like to do that stuff someday.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

If you are an individual with a high degree of intellectual curiosity, I suspect you are going to take "deep dives" into whatever topic happens to interest you. In fact, you might have several special interests concurrently. I've lost count how many times I have taken those deep dives on all sorts of topics over the years. As one might say, "go big or go home" and I will, much to the huge dents in my bank accounts and my wife's frustration. My wife has given up trying to inhibit me and just rolls with it. Sure, I do have enough responsibility and awareness to self-regulate, but it is definitely a NEED. I can never let my mind become bored because I literally just shut down.

 

[Rodafina]

Without the ability to engage in my interests and follow my curiosity, I would have a very hard time understanding the world to the extent that my desire to be part of it would likely wither away as it has in the past. Curiosity and fascination create pathways for understanding a confusing world and offer a coping mechanism to process overwhelming feelings. My curiosity in certain things is a source of vitality and a a way for me to understand my teeny tiny existence in this great big universe. For these reasons, it feels more like a survival need than just something I want.

 

[Outdated]

I spent quite a while living a very minimalist lifestyle, even having to hunt my own food. No electricity, no running water. It taught me a very valuable lesson about the difference between want and need. I've never had any trouble saving money since then, and by not frittering my money away on frivolities I'm able to afford fun toys.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Playing through all of my interests, the only one which seems to be a need instead of a want are books, with no specification as to the topic. If I could never read books again, I would be devastated. I love audio books as well, so if, for example, I turned blind, I guess I could go on by listening to audio books, even though it would be an awful loss.
But if books in general (paper and audio) were taken away from me, I don't know how I'd cope with it.

Interestingly, I differentiate between the story and the physical book. The stories, I could somehow manage to get used to audio books (take the being blind example). But I NEED the feel of physical books in my hands. They soothe me. As a child and a teenager, I would always walk around the house with a book in hand, even if I wasn't reading, and I'd always take a book to school, despite not having time to read it, because it would be incredibly soothing to know it was there for me to touch and hold and smell and open. It would be devastating to lose that.

But I don't know whether my ASD is relevant in that case. So many people love books, NT and ND, and would be absolutely devastated if they couldn't access them anymore.

 

[MildredHubble]

My interests are like the oil in an engine. If you take them away it may look at first like nothing has changed. But give it a short while and I will grind to a halt. Just like an engine starved of oil, getting things moving again is very difficult, sometimes impossible. I end up with severe depression which makes it hard to enjoy anything, which makes it hard to concentrate, which makes it hard to spend time on my interests. So in a way it's like the oil in a self sustaining engine.

 

[gabesroom]

For me they frame everything else in my life. I think i'd just feel useless if i didn't feel i could pursue my interests, which in many cases are also the only skills i'm good at.