Do you have hyperfixations?

[Dinosaurz]

Bit of a weird question but I’m wondering how many people have hyperfixations in the animal crossing community since maybe more bigger fans here?

if you don’t know what it is, something neurodivergent people have.

 

[LuchaSloth]

I generally don't think so. I'm not entirely sure what constitutes as a "hyperfixation". I'd say that the closest things I have to that are my love of music, video games, and maybe professional wrestling. I definitely have things that I spend a lot of time, money, and energy on...but, I've never considered them more than hobbies or interests. Still...sometimes I do get completely wrapped up in certain things and spend really large amounts of time on doing something like...watching classic wrestling matches or youtube, or jumping from one band I like to another I've never heard, and end up learning about a dozen new bands by 4am or something. Lol. Going..."down the rabbit hole" so to speak. I do that a lot. Maybe that counts? I'm not really familiar with the concept.

 

[LadyDestani]

I would say no. I do cycle through hobbies in phases and tend to focus most of my time and energy on one hobby at a time. I've also become addicted to certain things to the point where they would creep into other parts of my life. But I don't think any of that counts as hyperfixation, at least as far as my understanding of it goes.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

I'm neurodivergent and tend to hyper-fixate on a lotttt of things. Sometimes it can last up to a few weeks or just a few days, even up to a year.

I hyper-fixated on the MCU for a suuuuuper long time, and now my current hyper-fixation is Jujutsu Kaisen (an anime that's pretty popular at the moment), where all I wanna do is watch JJK, buy JJK merch, gush to my friends about JJK... I love having new hyper-fixations because I love the feeling of it. I wanna learn everything about it, whether it be a show, a movie, or even a hobby, like crocheting. I become obsessed with it. As someone who doesn't have much to do in her life, I love being able to obsess over something like a show or an activity. It makes me feel useful if someone asks about the thing in question, I guess?

 

[ReeBear]

Yepppp. In terms of collecting things, I used to be massively into Asian Ball Joint Dolls as a teen, now it's plushies by a French company called Moulin Roty (they have such good textures and double as stim toys for me) While I'm a bit less hyper fixatey on media than I used to be (i say as I out hundred of hours into a single game), I still think in obscure references to things I was into as a teenager and have certain verbal ticks which are references from shows/films/comics I would rewatch/reread a lotttt >>

 

[DinosaurDumpster]

I'd say sort of. I've gotten completely sucked into certain video games and TV shows ever since I can remember. It's not always consistent, though. Usually, I get sucked into them for around a few years before slowing down on it completely. The ones I definitely remember most would be would be assorted Mario titles (mainly MKDD/NSMBW/DS/64DS during the first couple years and later NSMBU), Pokemon Y, Minecraft (unfortunately I was one of those people- no regrets tho), Splatoon, and various Disney Channel/Nickelodeon shows.

I've also always been suuper into collecting stuffed animals. Ever since I can remember. I don't think I've gone one year in my life without a new addition to my collection. I can't go without them.

There are some things, that definitely don't last forever, though. Usually a few days to a couple weeks. Pokemon games and Animal Crossing fit here. I still really love them and am a big fan, i'm just not completely sucked into them majority of the year.

 

[oak]

Yes I've dealt with hyperfixations my whole life and I didn't even realize as a teen that I was doing this. I find the hyperfixations soothes my anxiety. In early high school it was all about boy bands lmao, which sounds dumb but I was so anxious at 16 and needed something to obsess over to ignore real life. After high school it was the crappy Hunger Games series which I read like 20 times in a row and couldn't read any other books. It was over a year of reading nothing else?? There was also the show Friends which I watched over & over again seriously like 25 times and no other shows. I seem to cycle every couple years. I have questionable taste though lmao.

Right now my hyperfixation is rabbits which isn't too bad. At least my rabbits live a pretty quality life but it's more so about rabbit decor or clothes. My house is really tacky though with bunny pictures, decorative plates, figurines and some bunny oven mitts no one is allowed to use lmao. They hang on the wall as decor. My boyfriend convinced me to box some stuff up though cause it looked like Easter everyday in our house. Easter is a dangerous time.

 

[EmmaFrost]

Yeah. My main hyper-fixation is pro-wrestling. Watching it, watching documentaries about it, watching youtube content from wrestlers, reading books about the history of wrestling and watching retired wrestlers tell stories and yeah literally I consume anything related to wrestling. If not for the pandemic I would be going to heaps of shows. It's an interesting mix of over the top storylines and athletic ability.

 

[sleepydreepy]

Yup I've had hyperfixations all my life. They generally are about a specific movie, book, character, actor, tv show, video game, hobby etc. It happens randomly, I feel like I suddenly connect or get interested in one of the above topics and get totally obsessed for a few weeks or a few months. I'll immerse myself in the topic by reading about it, watching videos, posting about it on Tumblr, etc. then eventually get sick of it or finish the video game or whatever and stop and find a new hyperfixation.

I like that having hyperfixations seem to help with my anxiety, but if I'm not careful it can take over my life and prevent me from doing my irl responsibilities. As I've gotten older I've found ways to manage this better. One other thing that scares me about hyperfixations is that they are short lived. I can go from casually reading a book to being completely obsessed with a character to the point where they're my favorite character of all time, then I get out of the hyperfixation and am no longer interested in the character. This was scary when I was in college and trying to choose a major. I went from being really into art conservation, to wanting to be a marine biologist, then to wanting to go into healthcare. I was bouncing around from topic to topic, and felt like I couldn't settle with anything because once my hyperfixation on it wore off I was no longer interested. Now that I graduated I still find it hard to commit to a specific field within my profession. I guess because I am susceptible to hyperfixations I don't know how to have a casual interest of something without getting totally obsessed with it and then becoming bored of it.

 

[SlEEPYTEARRS]

im autstic and hyperfixations are something i usually get stuck on for years, they really distract me from my irl issues so im usually glued to them

one of them is a member of exo, another is jurassic park, and ofc animal crossing/games of the same kind

Post automatically merged: Jan 5, 2021

oh and i always sleep with and buy stuffed animals, i have a LOT

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

yap. my current hyperfixation is chainsaw man. my hyperfixation before that was moon remix rpg adventure
i would say my main MAIN hyperfixation (or special interest in this case) is yume nikki. it was a very cathartic experience for me and ive been infatuated with it since. ive been exploring that game for hours and hours even though theres nothing new for me to find anymore. ive moved on to yume 2kki now and that game has like, 100 times more content so ill be occupied for a while. for both of these games ive kept a diary and a screenshot folder for cool stuff that i find/places to remember

Cool edit from the future because i am cool: i am no longer fixated or csm or the yume nikki projects for that matter. I dont think my passion for finding weird obscure japanese games with dated prerendered graphics will ever cease tho

 

[Neb]

It’s nice that the term hyperfixations exists now. As a kid I always felt guilty for having obsessive interests. Now that I know it’s a normal thing for people on the spectrum, that shame is gone.

I have three tiers for hyperfixations. The lowest tier is for short term obsessions, the middle are hyperfixations that shift to regular interests, and the highest tier is for obsessions that have never gone away.

Lowest tier examples: So bad it’s good movies, trains, newspaper comic strips.

Mid tier examples: Population statistics, the translation process, Ace Attorney games, manga, anime, hiking, Minecraft, tube TVs.

Top tier examples: Pokémon, video games in general, Japanese language

 

[daringred_]

yeah, and i lowkey kind of hate it because when i have a period of no hyperfixation(s), like right now, i feel even emptier and more useless than usual. i didn't really know it was a thing until a year or two ago, and i've gone through quite a few phases. some of them last a few days/weeks, others months, and some years. i can rarely just "like" something, i'm either hyperfixated and all in or i'm not, and if i'm not then i'll struggle to stick with or partake in whatever it is. it's almost always specific fictional characters and/or wlw couples (and always the less popular/more unknown ones), but there have been some exceptions where it was just a whole movie franchise (harry potter), a game (minecraft) or even a celebrity/singer.

 

[Dwayne Johnson]

i used to get those when i was younger but i guess i just grew out of it or don't notice it anymore, i got away from it mostly because obsessing over one thing in particular would just cause it to get less to me interesting over time, kind of like getting burned out.

i just enjoy things now lol

 

[ReeBear]

i used to get those when i was younger but i guess i just grew out of it or don't notice it anymore, i got away from it mostly because obsessing over one thing in particular would just cause it to get less to me interesting over time, kind of like getting burned out.

i just enjoy things now lol

Ahahah i still obsess and burn out, I haven't learnt at all

 

[Balverine]

I do, and I think it's a coping mechanism for my depression lol
I will hyperfixate on certain games/shows/whatever for a while, then when it fades I feel sort of empty until I find something else

 

[ting1984]

Certainly. I'm on the spectrum (clinically diagnosed) and have had hyperfixations all my life.

 

[Mary]

I don't, I'm almost the opposite I guess. I wish I could maintain a consistent hobby or interest but I cycle through them really quickly. I always love hearing people get all excited and passionate about something, the way their face lights up when they're geeking out over it.

It really upsets me when people shame other people for being super passionate about stuff. If you're hyperfixated on something and it's bringing you joy and no harm, then I definitely don't see it as a bad thing at all. If anything, it just gives you character and makes you a more interesting person. That's my two cents, anyway.

 

[avieators]

hyperfixation as i understand it is a phenomenon that is exclusive to ppl with adhd. i have not been officially diagnosed with adhd, however i have almost every symptom (emotional dysregulation, complete lack of executive function, extreme rejection sensitivity, why is adhd only known as the "cant pay attention disorder" when it has much much worse effects on ppl) so i kind of. operate under the assumption that i have it, and as such can use the term hyperfixation. of which i have many!

usually whatever show i'm watching ends up as my focus for a little while but its been a while since somethings caught my attention,,, luckily animal crossing has been here for me! additionally (this is a little lame to admit i feel like) i'm constantly hyperfixated on worlds and stories and characters of my own creation...like i'm constantly thinking abt things to write or tweaks to my characters' designs...my brother introduced me to a website that's meant to be used to create mini figures to be used in dungeons and dragons and i've used it almost exclusively to make characters completely unrelated to d&d speaking of d&d, for some reason it just doesn't grab me? it absolutely seems like it should activate the hyperfixation, i like fantasy, dragons are rad as hell and magic is BALLER but idk...medieval fantasy just doesn't work for me and my d&d group refuses to play any campaign thats not approximately 7403924879032 BC...my sister in law wants me to translate my original characters into d&d medieval fantasy characters but like,,, they're all sci-fi...they all use technology...and magic but thats besides the point...like there's creative ways to do things ofc but i just dont have the motivation (bc of the adhd. full circle baybee)

this turned into complaining abt d&d oops

 

[Dinosaurz]

hyperfixation as i understand it is a phenomenon that is exclusive to ppl with adhd.

I am autistic and have them! I used “neurodivergent” to include both ADHD and autism

edit: and people say other mental illnesses can have them. I don’t wanna discredit anyone lol