obsession or addiction?

Hi pinklaces34

Our Helpline team have passed this information on.

People with autism can have obsessions or intense interests and so an obsession can be something that turns into an addiction where the person spends most of their time /energy on the addiction and cannot stop themselves from spending time on the addiction.

Our information about obsessions would be worth reading: http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/understanding-behaviour/obsessions-repetitive-behaviours-and-routines.aspx 

We are not aware of any books or specific research into addiction at this stage but this may be something that will be published in the near future.

However we have a small database of counsellors with experience of working with people with autism and counsellors often have experience in supporting people to manage obsessive behaviour. People with autism find it helpful to see a counsellor with experience of the condition. Counsellors can help with issues such as obsessions, anxiety, anger management and relationship difficulties which are all common issues for many individuals with ASD and can have a lot of impact on their lives. Please find more detailed information about counselling and choosing a counsellor at these links:

http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/strategies-and-approaches/counselling.aspx

http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/strategies-and-approaches/counsellors-and-psychotherapists-guide.aspx

Some counsellors can do NHS work. GPs can apply for NHS funding for the counselling to be free of charge.

I hope the information is helpful.

If you require any further information or support, please do not hesitate to contact us again, either by email (autismhelpline@nas.org.uk) or by telephone (0808 800 4104, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm).

Hohner - As well as risk aversion you have high moral code.  It is just SO depressing to hear of such corruption, but where you have money and people thinking they are more important than most people you get corruption. They think they are so clever thinking up these little schemes to get more money out of people. If you had to work in that environment it is no wonder you do not have a high opinion of people. They didn't corrupt you though, I think you paid a high for it. I am also very risk averse.

I think less than an obsession even, just a fad.  Gambling survives because people lose money at Bingo, casinos, lotteries etc.  Well done, for moving on.

Great point Silver100, fear is primary emotion of Autism for me, especially in the people context as well, change and movement. I trust no one, sad :(,,

Risk adversion is a high trait of Autism, this was a good trait when I worked as a surveyor for 20 years. I saved "millions on budgets",, but at the end the day, it broke my heart, because all my work was in vein,, because the blue chip development company I worked for,  fixed the market with other blue chip housing developers as a cartel, via buying land by rigging the underpricing of auctioned government mass land parcels  and then fixing the sales revenue valuations of the developments via the bank corrupt over-priced valuation reports and guaranteed credit to unsustainable market value and mortgages of the clients holding the asset long-term, the housing bubble and crash was based on corruption by overvaluation of final product and undervaluing of land pricing, using governmental PUBLIC assets. Basically corruption tying in a rigged market a cycle of Government/Councils/Blue Chips/Banks, forming a proxy structure cartel....  

So what I am saying, is risk adversation is no use in this world of corruption and greed. I should have been a rocket scientist, designing primary, secondary and tri systems, but even the space agencies undercut design and overprice budget, which is the corrupt tower building until the market can not sustain the corrupt capacity and then the economy collaspes, be it banks, housing, manufacturing, dot.com,, and then they cut,, cut what,, just going back to the true market value baseline.

Sometimes, I just think I am just German in lieu of Autism. I just hate inefficency and corruption in people.

I agree that OCD is usually motivated by fear and the need reduce the fear, and I think fear plays a major role in Autism. I know that fear is my primary emotion when in contexts with people.

Is it important to make the distinctions? Obessesions, compulsive and addictive behaviours feel very similar, and in everyday life people use the words interchangably. I think it probably is important to know if it is motivated by fear or reward, but it may not be clear cut.

Someone may start on an activity that has a reward out of a need to escape. I am thinking at the moment of a 14 year old boy I knew 20 years ago, who put £40 a day into gaming machines because he wanted to escape life. He had deep frustrations and no way to deal with them, the games were both thrilling and a means of escape. He was stealing in order to pay for his addiction to the gaming machines.

It sounded like Pinklaces34 got intersted in bingo and became very focused, obssessed with it for a while, but it had negative financial consequenses so gave it up, but became a bit concerned to know if this was not "a gambling addiction". Is that about right?

I have OCD, I feel that I have things that I need to touchbase each day with the object or subject.., it is a security thing for me. The object can be quite positive, or negative depending on the cycle I am in. On the positive,  I garden, plant, plant, plant, so I have a beautiful garden, although,  I KNOW I spend to much time there. On the negative OCD, I have a negative attachment to my parents house, which leaves me stressed.

It is a very good question, as I FEEL my Autism is rooted in OCD, insecurity and fear.

I always thought OCD was an addictive trait, without the stimulas factor, only motivated by fear,, not reward.

Funny how the NAS never gives an experts reply and save us all going around in circles ? It is as if we are all down in 3rd class, were no one around the captains table or crew comes to visit ? Every new passenger(member), just joins the BOAT OFF NO ANSWERS... hell we DON'T KNOW ! that is why we joined the forum so we can find out that we can not find out.. bah !

I would say that obsessions can be considered harmful if they take over your life. 

Addictions are usually very difficult to give up because they involve a need for a chemical in the case of gambling addiction, a chemical naturally produced by the brain rather than an external administered chemical.  If you found it fairly easy to give up then it was probably an obsession, which can be difficult to give up too, but you don't go 'cold turkey' and have chemical withdrawal symptoms which you would have giving up a gambling addiction.

I would say an addiction is harmful, an obsession is not.

As it seems to have caused problems in your life and probably cost money I would say addiction is probably the best word.

I think the two words mean much the same, addiction has more negative overtones and implications of lack of choice or willpower.