orgasmatron
June 14, 2012 2:22 AM
Is there a name or pathology for this kind of behaviour (in psychiatry)? Basically, it feels like I'm falling in love all the time - with human knowledge - and I keep on pushing the lever because it feels good.
- I get interested in stuff- by 'stuff' I mean any part of human knowledge
- I devour everything about the subject
- it feels good and important and exciting - feels like romantic love
- I do basic minimum on all the other aspects of my life - here is where it becomes maladaptive
- interest fades away after few months, or stays, but it's less intense
- new interest comes
- wash, repeat, for years and years
Questions:
1. In psychiatry, What's the name for this kind of behaviour (or personality trait)?
2. Can I learn to be less passionate/more balanced in pursuing these interests? How?
- I get interested in stuff- by 'stuff' I mean any part of human knowledge
- I devour everything about the subject
- it feels good and important and exciting - feels like romantic love
- I do basic minimum on all the other aspects of my life - here is where it becomes maladaptive
- interest fades away after few months, or stays, but it's less intense
- new interest comes
- wash, repeat, for years and years
Questions:
1. In psychiatry, What's the name for this kind of behaviour (or personality trait)?
2. Can I learn to be less passionate/more balanced in pursuing these interests? How?
People with Asperger's syndrome often have intense interests in one field for a period of time - could it be something like that?
Also could it be some variant of obssessive/compulsive behaviour? Do you have an "addictive personality?"
posted by EatMyHat at 4:58 AM on June 14, 2012
Also could it be some variant of obssessive/compulsive behaviour? Do you have an "addictive personality?"
posted by EatMyHat at 4:58 AM on June 14, 2012
1. In psychiatry, What's the name for this kind of behaviour (or personality trait)?
There isn't really a name for what you're talking about, per se, in psychiatry. There are a couple of possibilities for how shrinks might talk about it, partially depending on theoretical perspective. As described, it sounds like avoidant behavior. This could be theorized as something called an ego defense, specifically either sublimation or dissociation (depending on how the process actually works for you.
Again, depending on how it works in practice, it might also be mild obsessive compulsive behavior, although given your description that seems less likely.
It could also just be personality.
posted by OmieWise at 5:04 AM on June 14, 2012
There isn't really a name for what you're talking about, per se, in psychiatry. There are a couple of possibilities for how shrinks might talk about it, partially depending on theoretical perspective. As described, it sounds like avoidant behavior. This could be theorized as something called an ego defense, specifically either sublimation or dissociation (depending on how the process actually works for you.
Again, depending on how it works in practice, it might also be mild obsessive compulsive behavior, although given your description that seems less likely.
It could also just be personality.
posted by OmieWise at 5:04 AM on June 14, 2012
This behaviour creates problems for me because:
- I feel like I'm walking around with half of the brain missing (think absent-minded professor or someone who is in love)
- I neglect all other relationships, I have to force myself out of the house to see my friends, and when I see them, I can talk only about what interests me at that moment - that's not fun for them because my interests are kind of obscure
- my interests are obscure because I'm attracted to the concept of seeing beauty and importance in unimportant or ordinary things, or things we take for granted.
- this is a lonely pursuit. I'm generally not interested in discussing my interests online, because I already spend too much time online.
- I get interested in things I don't have formal education in (like some parts of medicine), just because I find them beautiful and important
- I am not able to specialize in anything and profit from it - I invest a lot of my time and energy into things that are little or no influence to my life
- I do basic minimum on my job, in my relationships, I have to force myself to eat, groom and get out of the house to do other things.
- it feels like I'm too extreme in pursuit of my interests, and I'm not sure if this is healthy because I don't see it in other people. It could be a sign of some disorder I am not aware of.
posted by leigh1 at 5:05 AM on June 14, 2012
- I feel like I'm walking around with half of the brain missing (think absent-minded professor or someone who is in love)
- I neglect all other relationships, I have to force myself out of the house to see my friends, and when I see them, I can talk only about what interests me at that moment - that's not fun for them because my interests are kind of obscure
- my interests are obscure because I'm attracted to the concept of seeing beauty and importance in unimportant or ordinary things, or things we take for granted.
- this is a lonely pursuit. I'm generally not interested in discussing my interests online, because I already spend too much time online.
- I get interested in things I don't have formal education in (like some parts of medicine), just because I find them beautiful and important
- I am not able to specialize in anything and profit from it - I invest a lot of my time and energy into things that are little or no influence to my life
- I do basic minimum on my job, in my relationships, I have to force myself to eat, groom and get out of the house to do other things.
- it feels like I'm too extreme in pursuit of my interests, and I'm not sure if this is healthy because I don't see it in other people. It could be a sign of some disorder I am not aware of.
posted by leigh1 at 5:05 AM on June 14, 2012
Nothing wrong with you. The problem is society, which defines our behavior as a "problem." Check out Barbara Sher's web site. Here's video to get you started: Youtube. Scanners typically have multiple interests which they enjoy thoroughly until they decide to move on to other passions. Unfortunately, scanners like Leonardo DaVinci (art, engineering, anatomy, art etc.) and Benjamin Franklin (physics, politics, banking etc.) would be considered "losers" in present-day society.
posted by juifenasie at 5:08 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by juifenasie at 5:08 AM on June 14, 2012
Benjamin Franklin also had Junto. I'm sure you can find likeminded people with whom you can share your fascinations, where your fascinations can come to fruition somehow. Maybe there is a hackerspace near you.
I really don't want to seem dismissive of your problem. If this is causing you angst, maybe a major part of the solution is to come at it from a psychological/counseling angle. I don't know much about that, though, and so I'm coming at it from other angles which could also be useful.
posted by victory_laser at 5:27 AM on June 14, 2012
I really don't want to seem dismissive of your problem. If this is causing you angst, maybe a major part of the solution is to come at it from a psychological/counseling angle. I don't know much about that, though, and so I'm coming at it from other angles which could also be useful.
posted by victory_laser at 5:27 AM on June 14, 2012
Given what you've written in your clarification, a few things stand out:
This behaviour creates problems for me because:
- I feel like I'm walking around with half of the brain missing (think absent-minded professor or someone who is in love)
- I neglect all other relationships, I have to force myself out of the house to see my friends, and when I see them, I can talk only about what interests me at that moment - that's not fun for them because my interests are kind of obscure
- my interests are obscure because I'm attracted to the concept of seeing beauty and importance in unimportant or ordinary things, or things we take for granted.
- this is a lonely pursuit. I'm generally not interested in discussing my interests online, because I already spend too much time online.
- I get interested in things I don't have formal education in (like some parts of medicine), just because I find them beautiful and important
- I am not able to specialize in anything and profit from it - I invest a lot of my time and energy into things that are little or no influence to my life
- I do basic minimum on my job, in my relationships, I have to force myself to eat, groom and get out of the house to do other things.
- it feels like I'm too extreme in pursuit of my interests, and I'm not sure if this is healthy because I don't see it in other people. It could be a sign of some disorder I am not aware of.
As written, these sound like possible symptoms of an obsessive compulsive disorder. I am not diagnosing you with that, nor suggesting that you have any type of disorder, general or specific. I am saying that, as you have written here, those items indicate a substantial disruption to your life, and it might behoove you to speak with someone about them. That person, not the internet, would be able to perform a more thorough assessment.
posted by OmieWise at 5:30 AM on June 14, 2012
This behaviour creates problems for me because:
- I feel like I'm walking around with half of the brain missing (think absent-minded professor or someone who is in love)
- I neglect all other relationships, I have to force myself out of the house to see my friends, and when I see them, I can talk only about what interests me at that moment - that's not fun for them because my interests are kind of obscure
- my interests are obscure because I'm attracted to the concept of seeing beauty and importance in unimportant or ordinary things, or things we take for granted.
- this is a lonely pursuit. I'm generally not interested in discussing my interests online, because I already spend too much time online.
- I get interested in things I don't have formal education in (like some parts of medicine), just because I find them beautiful and important
- I am not able to specialize in anything and profit from it - I invest a lot of my time and energy into things that are little or no influence to my life
- I do basic minimum on my job, in my relationships, I have to force myself to eat, groom and get out of the house to do other things.
- it feels like I'm too extreme in pursuit of my interests, and I'm not sure if this is healthy because I don't see it in other people. It could be a sign of some disorder I am not aware of.
As written, these sound like possible symptoms of an obsessive compulsive disorder. I am not diagnosing you with that, nor suggesting that you have any type of disorder, general or specific. I am saying that, as you have written here, those items indicate a substantial disruption to your life, and it might behoove you to speak with someone about them. That person, not the internet, would be able to perform a more thorough assessment.
posted by OmieWise at 5:30 AM on June 14, 2012
I score pretty low on OCD scales of personality disorders, but pretty high on avoidant.
posted by leigh1 at 5:34 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by leigh1 at 5:34 AM on June 14, 2012
I disagree about it being "society's" fault. Society might judge you as an absent minded professor, but if your behavior and their judgement doesn't bother you, then it isn't a problem.
The vast majority of disorders are predicated upon whether they are disruptive to your life. So if you enjoy doing these things, and don't care about missing the other things, god bless. But if you want to do more than the basic minimums in jobs, relationships, eating, grooming, etc., and cannot because you feel compelled to do your studying, then it IS a problem.
Sort of like the hoarder people- if every wall of your house is covered in full bookshelves, great. When they start getting two layers deep, or spilling out onto the floor, that's where it gets to be trouble. They may think it isn't disruptive, but only because they have built up rationalizations to cover their disgust for the mess.
Hard to say what kind of problem it would be. But if you score high on avoidant behaviors, maybe you have some subconscious anxiety about these social things, and have rationalized them away by creating something more important to care about.
(I have a friend like this, and he is a fascinating guy. I won't hear from him for weeks, and then I'll get a call about how he got a new radar detector, and he will launch into 20 minutes of material about the differences between all the radar detectors that there ever were. His capacity for learning new things is absolutely amazing, when he has decided to be interested in something. He, like I, has ADHD, and that's part of the problem: the (lack of) ability to choose what to aim the hyper focus on.)
posted by gjc at 6:18 AM on June 14, 2012
The vast majority of disorders are predicated upon whether they are disruptive to your life. So if you enjoy doing these things, and don't care about missing the other things, god bless. But if you want to do more than the basic minimums in jobs, relationships, eating, grooming, etc., and cannot because you feel compelled to do your studying, then it IS a problem.
Sort of like the hoarder people- if every wall of your house is covered in full bookshelves, great. When they start getting two layers deep, or spilling out onto the floor, that's where it gets to be trouble. They may think it isn't disruptive, but only because they have built up rationalizations to cover their disgust for the mess.
Hard to say what kind of problem it would be. But if you score high on avoidant behaviors, maybe you have some subconscious anxiety about these social things, and have rationalized them away by creating something more important to care about.
(I have a friend like this, and he is a fascinating guy. I won't hear from him for weeks, and then I'll get a call about how he got a new radar detector, and he will launch into 20 minutes of material about the differences between all the radar detectors that there ever were. His capacity for learning new things is absolutely amazing, when he has decided to be interested in something. He, like I, has ADHD, and that's part of the problem: the (lack of) ability to choose what to aim the hyper focus on.)
posted by gjc at 6:18 AM on June 14, 2012
It might be a "pathology" on the autism spectrum, similar to Asperger's syndrome. Asperger's does not have a single etiology -- there are multiple ways a brain can be different from the norm, in social processing, motivation and reward, theory of mind, etc., and still fit under the broad umbrella of Asperger's.
Some research shows that people with Asperger's have abnormalities in the way oxytocin (the love chemical) is processed. The abnormalities are not really understood and may come in different flavors.
From wikipedia:
Pursuit of specific and narrow areas of interest is one of the most striking features of AS.
As far as it being a disorder, there is currently no physical diagnostic test, nor physical treatment. The only treatment is therapy to help a person live with his or her peculiarities. If you're finding your obsessions maladaptive, you might benefit from an AS speciazling therapist who can help you with practical solutions.
posted by killiancourt at 6:20 AM on June 14, 2012
Some research shows that people with Asperger's have abnormalities in the way oxytocin (the love chemical) is processed. The abnormalities are not really understood and may come in different flavors.
From wikipedia:
Pursuit of specific and narrow areas of interest is one of the most striking features of AS.
As far as it being a disorder, there is currently no physical diagnostic test, nor physical treatment. The only treatment is therapy to help a person live with his or her peculiarities. If you're finding your obsessions maladaptive, you might benefit from an AS speciazling therapist who can help you with practical solutions.
posted by killiancourt at 6:20 AM on June 14, 2012
pretty high on avoidant.
Avoidant seems quite fitting, perhaps also procrastination and anxiety.
Two things that struck:
1) That this is a pattern: - wash, repeat, for years and years
This seems to indicate that you are not 'in love with human knowledge' but rather constantly seeking new content via a familiar method of delivery – solitary secondary absorption. That is, you make it an individual pursuit to read and 'learn'.
Now, 'learning' in itself is not bad, however, you are not learning to productive output, as you mentioned. If you were to sit in a library for your entire life and read every book, yet never communicated any of it, what was the output? You consumed a lot of knowledge and may be well-read, however, there was never any output from that exercise.
I think we're seeing it a lot more with the advent of the Internet and the entire library of human knowledge available from the home. One issue with learning and information exploration is that it can "feel" productive, even when it's not.
The brain itself is wired to embrace new information, for the new is important. Thus, you seem to have fallen in love not with knowledge but with constant unproductive stimulation. If we rephrase it in that way, does it feel different? Rather than romantic love, you may be in love with distraction, which is a hallmark of avoidant behaviour – anxiety-provoked procrastination.
I had a friend a few years ago who exhibited similar behaviour. He sat up all night most nights, reading, downloading music, researching artists. And when he was done with music, it was stocks, and after that it was London history. There were tough economic times, and what I saw was he was a person that required high-stimulation in a situation of low-stimulation. Thus, he stimulated himself as best he could. Problem being that whilst all of that stimulation made him feel better in the short term, he was spending a lot of time on things without output, thus not taking activities to change his situation of low-stimulation, if that makes sense.
It was a masturbatory proposition, providing short-term relief of boredom, but the key point is that it was unproductive. And often it was easier for him to click-click-click-click into new domains than it was to actually solve his problem and find better employment.
As others have, I think you need to chat to a professional and get to the bottom of the behaviour. You seem to think that the compulsive stimulation is the problem, when I strong suspect it is a symptom of another problem.
posted by nickrussell at 6:40 AM on June 14, 2012
Avoidant seems quite fitting, perhaps also procrastination and anxiety.
Two things that struck:
1) That this is a pattern: - wash, repeat, for years and years
This seems to indicate that you are not 'in love with human knowledge' but rather constantly seeking new content via a familiar method of delivery – solitary secondary absorption. That is, you make it an individual pursuit to read and 'learn'.
Now, 'learning' in itself is not bad, however, you are not learning to productive output, as you mentioned. If you were to sit in a library for your entire life and read every book, yet never communicated any of it, what was the output? You consumed a lot of knowledge and may be well-read, however, there was never any output from that exercise.
I think we're seeing it a lot more with the advent of the Internet and the entire library of human knowledge available from the home. One issue with learning and information exploration is that it can "feel" productive, even when it's not.
The brain itself is wired to embrace new information, for the new is important. Thus, you seem to have fallen in love not with knowledge but with constant unproductive stimulation. If we rephrase it in that way, does it feel different? Rather than romantic love, you may be in love with distraction, which is a hallmark of avoidant behaviour – anxiety-provoked procrastination.
I had a friend a few years ago who exhibited similar behaviour. He sat up all night most nights, reading, downloading music, researching artists. And when he was done with music, it was stocks, and after that it was London history. There were tough economic times, and what I saw was he was a person that required high-stimulation in a situation of low-stimulation. Thus, he stimulated himself as best he could. Problem being that whilst all of that stimulation made him feel better in the short term, he was spending a lot of time on things without output, thus not taking activities to change his situation of low-stimulation, if that makes sense.
It was a masturbatory proposition, providing short-term relief of boredom, but the key point is that it was unproductive. And often it was easier for him to click-click-click-click into new domains than it was to actually solve his problem and find better employment.
As others have, I think you need to chat to a professional and get to the bottom of the behaviour. You seem to think that the compulsive stimulation is the problem, when I strong suspect it is a symptom of another problem.
posted by nickrussell at 6:40 AM on June 14, 2012
You might want to google scanners vs deep divers.
http://www.think-differently.org/2007/06/are-you-scanner-or-deep-diver/
posted by TrinsicWS at 6:42 AM on June 14, 2012
http://www.think-differently.org/2007/06/are-you-scanner-or-deep-diver/
posted by TrinsicWS at 6:42 AM on June 14, 2012
Is it possible this is ADD-style hyperfocus?
For years, I have done everything on your list, and I was recently diagnosed with ADD (no hyperactivity). I've also scored high on avoidant personality traits and am currently on medication for anxiety.
I have these symptoms a lot. Like, I'll lose a whole day because I picked up the dictionary to look up a word and then I can't stop leaping to other words. I'll stay up all night researching some topic that crosses me during the day. I also get a sense of euphoria--a little the the very pleasant stages of early drunkenness--from reading really interesting stuff. Mainly non-fiction. I find it very hard to pull away from interesting books until I am physically exhausted. These interests can consume my thoughts until I completely lose track of time, forget chores I said I'd do etcetera. My spouse has often described me as an "absent-minded professor."
One of my therapists has suggested this behavior is part of the need for high stimulation because of ADD. I'm new to all this, so I'm not sure what the answer is. I'm medicated for ADD now, but I still do this a lot. The main difference is that I don't find myself listening to music and watching The Simpsons while I'm reading.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 6:56 AM on June 14, 2012
For years, I have done everything on your list, and I was recently diagnosed with ADD (no hyperactivity). I've also scored high on avoidant personality traits and am currently on medication for anxiety.
I have these symptoms a lot. Like, I'll lose a whole day because I picked up the dictionary to look up a word and then I can't stop leaping to other words. I'll stay up all night researching some topic that crosses me during the day. I also get a sense of euphoria--a little the the very pleasant stages of early drunkenness--from reading really interesting stuff. Mainly non-fiction. I find it very hard to pull away from interesting books until I am physically exhausted. These interests can consume my thoughts until I completely lose track of time, forget chores I said I'd do etcetera. My spouse has often described me as an "absent-minded professor."
One of my therapists has suggested this behavior is part of the need for high stimulation because of ADD. I'm new to all this, so I'm not sure what the answer is. I'm medicated for ADD now, but I still do this a lot. The main difference is that I don't find myself listening to music and watching The Simpsons while I'm reading.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 6:56 AM on June 14, 2012
Err, "a little like the . . . "
posted by Kitty Stardust at 6:58 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by Kitty Stardust at 6:58 AM on June 14, 2012
You really sound like a normal intellectually curious person. A lot of people do this, including me.
I think it might help if you found friends who also do this kind of thing and whose interests overlap with yours. (They may not exist in your current circle of acquaintances, but they definitely do exist.) It sounds like your friends think your interests are weird and so you're defining this as a problem.
The only thing you've described that seems problematic at all is this: "I do basic minimum on my job, in my relationships, I have to force myself to eat, groom and get out of the house to do other things." I suspect that if you meet people you can talk to about things you think are interesting and vice versa, a lot of this will take care of itself. We exist. There's nothing wrong with you.
posted by nangar at 8:02 AM on June 14, 2012
I think it might help if you found friends who also do this kind of thing and whose interests overlap with yours. (They may not exist in your current circle of acquaintances, but they definitely do exist.) It sounds like your friends think your interests are weird and so you're defining this as a problem.
The only thing you've described that seems problematic at all is this: "I do basic minimum on my job, in my relationships, I have to force myself to eat, groom and get out of the house to do other things." I suspect that if you meet people you can talk to about things you think are interesting and vice versa, a lot of this will take care of itself. We exist. There's nothing wrong with you.
posted by nangar at 8:02 AM on June 14, 2012
I am like this also--I get obsessed enough with a topic to learn more than most people about it, but never enough to get productive with it-- music and theoretical physics are two of my recent obsessions. Fwiw, I've been diagnosed with both ADD and periodic major depression. So I guess you can start there.
posted by empath at 8:58 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by empath at 8:58 AM on June 14, 2012
Some of these answers sound very plausible, especially nickrussell explanation. Thank you, Nick!
I've also considered ADD for a long time.
I also have to mention that I'm diagnosed with circadian sleep disorder - DSPS - I've had it for years and I'm currently getting treated - and when you are regularly awake at 4am, you cultivate strange (and quiet) hobbies. You also cultivate social isolation, and with sleep deprivation comes a spectrum of cognitive difficulties, which further enhance your reluctance to join the society. nickrussel mentioned that his friend "sat up all night most nights", so maybe his problem was similar to mine. I don't know much about brain chemistry, but I know that without the exposure to adequate natural light serotonin levels will be lower - perhaps this is something that contributes to obsessions?
posted by leigh1 at 9:15 AM on June 14, 2012
I've also considered ADD for a long time.
I also have to mention that I'm diagnosed with circadian sleep disorder - DSPS - I've had it for years and I'm currently getting treated - and when you are regularly awake at 4am, you cultivate strange (and quiet) hobbies. You also cultivate social isolation, and with sleep deprivation comes a spectrum of cognitive difficulties, which further enhance your reluctance to join the society. nickrussel mentioned that his friend "sat up all night most nights", so maybe his problem was similar to mine. I don't know much about brain chemistry, but I know that without the exposure to adequate natural light serotonin levels will be lower - perhaps this is something that contributes to obsessions?
posted by leigh1 at 9:15 AM on June 14, 2012
A form of mania? I'm reminded of Frog from Wind in the Willows.
I used to do something similar, especially as a child. Have interest in topic. Go to library, read everything on topic to exclusion of all else. Love topic. Source of information depleted. Find next topic. (I am lucky I didn't grow up when internets were available.) Lately I'll get interested in a topic but I don't go to the lengths to research as I did earlier, and I'll share the most interesting bits but generally keep my mania to myself.
I used to think of it as a form of instant gratification, like how I'll read books in one setting even if I have to stay up all night. Sort of like gorging on information instead of snacking.
posted by griselda at 11:23 AM on June 14, 2012
I used to do something similar, especially as a child. Have interest in topic. Go to library, read everything on topic to exclusion of all else. Love topic. Source of information depleted. Find next topic. (I am lucky I didn't grow up when internets were available.) Lately I'll get interested in a topic but I don't go to the lengths to research as I did earlier, and I'll share the most interesting bits but generally keep my mania to myself.
I used to think of it as a form of instant gratification, like how I'll read books in one setting even if I have to stay up all night. Sort of like gorging on information instead of snacking.
posted by griselda at 11:23 AM on June 14, 2012
Polymath. Or Renaissance person. Unfortunately there is no cure. You may just have to spend the rest of your life being passionately engaged in whatever it is that you're doing at that point in time.
posted by mleigh at 8:38 PM on June 14, 2012
posted by mleigh at 8:38 PM on June 14, 2012
I have Bipolar, and this is what I do when I am hypomanic. I learn a lot. Sometimes I ramp up to a full-on manic episode and then I overload, don't sleep, get obsessed etc. just another data point.
posted by Biblio at 11:37 PM on June 15, 2012
posted by Biblio at 11:37 PM on June 15, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
I would like for you to explain better how this is "maladaptive." I don't know how your behavior is a problem. I can imagine some ways it could be: you spend so much time learning you neglect relationships, or you can't stay passionate about something long enough to specialize and profit from it. I ask this for my own curiosity, but maybe it would help people give useful answers too.
posted by victory_laser at 4:16 AM on June 14, 2012