Obsessive special interests taking over your life in adulthood

I have a special interest which consumed my life when I was a child but I managed to refocus my priorities when I was about sixteen. I finally started to commit less time to it/ spent less time talking about it and my social life improved dramatically.

Six months ago (ten years later after this change), I fell back into the all-consuming fantasy world of my special interest and the obsession is worse than it's ever been. I spend every waking moment thinking about it/reading about it/engaging with content on it.

I think part of the reason I stopped in the first place is I had become embarrassed by my special interest. My boyfriend at the time made jokes about it and I learnt to suppress it to impress people and fit in.

Last year, I became single for the first time in 7 years and it's all come flooding back. 

The problem is, I can see my family getting worried. I don't go out, I don't see my friends, I don't talk about anything other than my special interest. Personally, I'm having a great time. I haven't fel this free and happy in years. But I can see by the reactions of the people around me that this isn't normal and I'm worrying them.

I'm not sure if it's symptomatic of a decline in my mental health, or if I'm actually just embracing a part of myself I tried to ignore for too long and it's coming in a huge wave cause I've put it off for so long. 

I know I want to manage it so I can stop people from worrying, but I don't want to give it up again because it makes me happy- in fact, it's the only thing that makes me happy at the moment. My life is empty without it. I genuinely don't know what I was doing for ten years not paying it the right attention. 

Can anyone relate to this? Or does anyone have any guidance?