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pegkerrHere's a secret about me that isn't really a secret.
I hyperfixate. I mean, I SUPER hyperfixate, to the extent that sometimes I feel I have to hide the extremity of my obsession with things.
Hyperfixation periods can last a week, several months, or sometimes for years at a time. Sometimes I drop one object and then take it up again for another extended period several decades later.
This was a matter of extreme bafflement to my family of origin. I don't think any of them quite understood this pattern, and although they generally tried to remain polite about it, I suspect that sometimes my behavior quietly freaked them out. For all I know, they may have questioned my sanity at times. "How many times have you seen that...whatchamacallit. That Star Wars movie?"
Thank heavens I found a love who understood hyperfixation to the core of his being, and that was one of the joys of our marriage, that we could get excited about the same things. And our two daughters took after both their mommy and daddy, and suddenly I had a WHOLE FAMILY WHO UNDERSTOOD ME.
Here's an interesting article on hyperfixation, which notes that it can be associated with depression and anxiety disorders.
It's probably served me well as a writer, come to think of it. I mean, I don't know how anyone can get through the writing of a book without being at least somewhat obsessed.
Hyperfixation has given tremendous joy to my life. But it CAN be problematic, sometimes interfering with the functioning of daily life.
I wonder what percentage of the population has a mind that works like this?
Since I've had a tendency toward hyperfixation for decades, and the family that Rob and I made together all understood it (and sometimes we hyperfixated on things together, which was terrific fun and a source of family bonding), I've been comfortable with it for the most part. It was also why we found a firm home of friendship in the SF/Fantasy fandom community. EVERYBODY there understands fandom obsessions.
Sometimes, when interacting with others in the mundane world, I have felt the necessity to hide from others how incredibly deep and intense the vortex can get. For example, I don't generally admit to people that of the 200+ books I've read this year, probably close to 90% of them are retellings/variations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Seven of them in the last week alone. I mean...why do I do that?!
I don't know. But at this point, I don't have any intention of stopping.
Do YOU hyperfixate? How do you feel about it? Has it presented problems for you in your life? What gifts has it given you?
Image description: A fire tornado against a darkened landscape. Fandom symbols are caught in the vortex: Harry Potter, Dragonriders of Pern, Narnia, Star Wars, Star Trek, Hamilton, Alternity, JRR Tolkien, Jane Austen (at the base of tornado). Lower left: Peg looks through a magnifying glass at "Jane Austen" with a fixated intense expression.
Hyperfixation
Click here to see the 2022 52 Card Project gallery.
Click here to see the 2021 gallery.
I hyperfixate. I mean, I SUPER hyperfixate, to the extent that sometimes I feel I have to hide the extremity of my obsession with things.
Hyperfixation periods can last a week, several months, or sometimes for years at a time. Sometimes I drop one object and then take it up again for another extended period several decades later.
This was a matter of extreme bafflement to my family of origin. I don't think any of them quite understood this pattern, and although they generally tried to remain polite about it, I suspect that sometimes my behavior quietly freaked them out. For all I know, they may have questioned my sanity at times. "How many times have you seen that...whatchamacallit. That Star Wars movie?"
Thank heavens I found a love who understood hyperfixation to the core of his being, and that was one of the joys of our marriage, that we could get excited about the same things. And our two daughters took after both their mommy and daddy, and suddenly I had a WHOLE FAMILY WHO UNDERSTOOD ME.
Here's an interesting article on hyperfixation, which notes that it can be associated with depression and anxiety disorders.
It's probably served me well as a writer, come to think of it. I mean, I don't know how anyone can get through the writing of a book without being at least somewhat obsessed.
Hyperfixation has given tremendous joy to my life. But it CAN be problematic, sometimes interfering with the functioning of daily life.
I wonder what percentage of the population has a mind that works like this?
Since I've had a tendency toward hyperfixation for decades, and the family that Rob and I made together all understood it (and sometimes we hyperfixated on things together, which was terrific fun and a source of family bonding), I've been comfortable with it for the most part. It was also why we found a firm home of friendship in the SF/Fantasy fandom community. EVERYBODY there understands fandom obsessions.
Sometimes, when interacting with others in the mundane world, I have felt the necessity to hide from others how incredibly deep and intense the vortex can get. For example, I don't generally admit to people that of the 200+ books I've read this year, probably close to 90% of them are retellings/variations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Seven of them in the last week alone. I mean...why do I do that?!
I don't know. But at this point, I don't have any intention of stopping.
Do YOU hyperfixate? How do you feel about it? Has it presented problems for you in your life? What gifts has it given you?
Image description: A fire tornado against a darkened landscape. Fandom symbols are caught in the vortex: Harry Potter, Dragonriders of Pern, Narnia, Star Wars, Star Trek, Hamilton, Alternity, JRR Tolkien, Jane Austen (at the base of tornado). Lower left: Peg looks through a magnifying glass at "Jane Austen" with a fixated intense expression.
Click here to see the 2022 52 Card Project gallery.
Click here to see the 2021 gallery.
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Date: 2022-08-17 12:38 am (UTC)