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Hyper-fixation/monotropism - pros and cons. To be or not to be, how to do it best and how to not do it best.

Phased

Hi all

Hyper-fixation as maybe a form of "monotropic flow" - that thing where something takes over and completely absorbs thinking, doing and being is something that I personally find part of my own autistic profile and from what i gather on the topic and from observing and learning from others is also something other autistic people experience too.

With the utmost of irony and realising just how daft it may be to do so i thought a possibly hyper-fixated/monotropic thread on it might be useful for me and others!

So for me it seems to be the thing my mind and my doing is at it's best when I'm deeeply hyper-fixated and into something but...

Then I can't get anything else done and I forget to do other things that are the basics of survival - things like eating and putting a jumper on when I'm cold.

And it gets in the way of doing the socially essential too... like working and keeping up friendships and stuff.

And I can get so far into something that like Alice in Wonderland I'm so far "down a rabbit hole" that reality has somehow been left behind until I "wake up and realise it was all a dream...

So at the risk of creating a similar self fulfilling adventure for myself and others on the topic I wonder what other good people have to say about this - validation from others that I'm not the only daft so and so who get like this? And tips for how best to balance the abilities and disabilities that seem to come with this maybe?

Thanks

Parents

  • It's a gift and a curse, truly. I can go years without ever tiring of the same topics, and yet newness can feel tantamount to jumping off a cliff. It's a self-rewarding loop, but it's hard to remember that the most soothing thing is not necessarily the most healthy thing. What I usually try to do is expand the comfort zone bit by bit using things I'm already comfy with—my special interest is star wars? I'll explore more space related topics, put space stuff on everything. Basically, I try to get my brain to say "close enough" and work from that. If something is truly far out of my comfort zone (paperwork, parties, routine changes), I'll bring podcasts or fidget toys or fun snacks along that make it easier to associate new with good. I'll allow myself to talk about my focus areas during social outings, but only for specific amounts of time, because truly I could go forever, but I know others couldn't. Alternatively, find new experiences that overlap! I've found lots of friends who share my interests, and thus we just prattle on about that for hours, while doing a task neither of us like.

  • in reply to maxlinger60

    You've good strategies there  thanks for sharing them.  Seems you're "in a good place" too with things. 

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