Where and how to obsessions start? For example, we all know someone who has an obsession with being gay, and the rest of society feeling the same. What're your theories behind this?
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I think that obsessions start with the first concious decision to do "it" ("It" is the thing that is the obsession). Or maybe even subconciously. For instance, if I have an obsession with chocolate, the first time I experience tasting chocloate, or smelling chocolate, or feeling chocolate, or whatever I enjoy about chocolate, I have told my brain, "Yes, this is good." Therefore, my brain, since it has been (whether conciously or subconciously) told that chocolate is good, will continue to seek chocolate. Therefore, pleasures become commonplace, commonplace becomes habit, habit becomes obsession. AmishRakeFight
But we enjoy many things, and only a small few turn into obsessions. There are also obsessions with bad things.
One would rarely have an obsession with being gay any more than one would have an obsession with having red hair, or being five foot eight inches tall, or having been born in Quito. You chose a singularily bad example to illustrate your point. While we are at it, please provide your definition of an obsession, being sure to explain how it differs from an interest in, or an enthusiasm for.
An obsession, to my way of thinking, is where by the thought of that thing preoccupies your thoughts, and where it is introduced into a stream of thought which is completely unrelated. For example, you could have an obsession with the colour green, you could then be partaking in a conversation with someone about fireplaces, and you would then say something along the lines of "Oh, I would so love a green fireplace". That isn't the best of examples, but if does get the point across. You can be obsessed with height, for example, the Napoleon complex. Where a person is obsessed with being shorter than everyone else, and tries to compensate for this. An interest in something wouldn't clutter your thoughts for a great deal of your time, you wouldn't take every possible opportunity to partake in the activity, or discuss it etc. An enthusiasm may well be confused with an obsession but it often wears off once the "honeymoon period" of over and interest wanes in it, and it either becomes more an interest, or is forgotten about.
Good. Your definition of obsession is close enough to mine to make further discussion meaningful. I suspect an obsession arises because of some lack in an individuals life. They are frustrated in some way, almost any way. Lack of success at school or work, unhappy love life, no love life, no friends, failure to achieve. The obsession provides a measure of control over one aspect of their life that thereby compensates for their noticeable lack of control in the rest of it.
For example, like an anorexic. Where they feel they have no control over their surroundings, and the only thing left is to control their food intake. Following on from that they can control their body image, in the hope of changing the public perception of themselves. However, anorexia is thought to be more a bid for freedom, rather than a feeling of failure. What makes them choose that one individual thing to obsess over and makes them click at that time? There must have been many variables to choose from, so what makes that one choice the one they decide to fixate on?
Surely chaos is what they're trying to avoid, so how would chaos make them click? Do you mean it is the point of most chaos which makes them choose it? Surely it'd be the thing they can see the most benefit arising from, or the thing which is easiest to control.
By chaos I mean it is a combination of chance events that leads them to fix upon a particular person/topic/view for their obsession. It is the toss of a coin, the flap of a butterfly's wings. Nothing more.
Clearly, obsessive intercept crackpots at the level of Buddha1 and Happeh are suffering a mental illness. The question remains, what sort? I have always wondered if such patently absurd obsessions (such as Happeh’s and Buddha1’s) are caused by a mood disorder. More specifically, a manic disorder seems to fit the bill. Although mania can be intuitively thought of as the opposite of depression, the two syndromes share several characteristics and can occur at the same time (manic-depressive disorders). Manic patients initially feel elated, carefree, overconfident and euphoric. They often overestimate their intelligence and abilities. Some feel that they can literally conquer the world; however, euphoria often quickly changes to irritability and hostility. As in depression, cognition and judgment may become significantly impaired. In severe forms, psychosis develops, manifested by delusional beliefs of omnipotence, paranoia and "flight of ideas," which is the occurrence of thoughts so rapid and complex that verbalizations are often difficult to follow.<P>
I don't know of happeh's obsession, but I have certainly encountered Bhudda's. I'm just curious to know what on earth would have caused Bhudda's obsession with the majority of males (in all species) being homosexual. The only theory I have managed to compile is that he himself is gay, and needs to convince himself that is it is perfectly normal, but he doesn't have the strength of person to just come out and say it so he needs others to back him up. Bhudda is completely illogical, he changes his mind on various ideas at the click of his fingers, and will change to fit whatever he sees as his best chance of winning. It's like he has to prove himself, as ophiolite said, like he has failed (or at least feels he's failed) in all other aspects of his life so he's clinging onto this as his last hope for success.
dont believe te hype about 'mental illness' the shrinks, pharmacueticl indusry nd teir devotees LOVE pointing te finger and claiming othes have a disease. isis a completely sham 'science'! checkout Fred Baughman, Thimas Szasz et al for more in-depth information about this so 'obsession'. it is a FOCUS isn't it. whether its washing hands, anorexia, worrying about wheter you've turned off things, work, eatng, shopping, etc. it all isa sense of compulsion to do an activity i feel it is fear of chaos like Oph said. chaos is --can be DEATH. as well as a maelstrop of conflicing emotions pople feel they cannot bear. so when they do their complusive activity it 'seems' to bring order so we have 'order' vs 'dis-order'
I agree with duendy up to a point. I don't feel that all mental illnesses are fake: most are real. However I do believe that certain areas of mental health science are making trivial habits into diseases, like obesity for example. For most obese people, IT'S THEIR OWN (and McDonalds) FAULT, not some kind of we-can-control-that-with-medication thing.
the placebo effect revisited the mind has a powerfull effect on your health if you think you are sick you actualy will be
WELL, as you know, the whole subject about 'menal illness' isvry very controversial. mainly because the myth of it is CENTRAl to tis paradigm we're in--materialist but not wanting to derail this thread to much by discussing specifically 'mental illness myth' (there are threads about this at sciforums) this thread is about 'obsession'. the shrinks/psychologists and tis is shared by members of general public call it Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Do you tink THIS is a mental illness? if so, how do you mean?
A mental illness is a mind set which affects the day to day living of the individual, meaning that they can't live life to the fullest, and can't partake in "normal" day to day activities. There are a bunch of different definitions for mental illness, some people would say it's deviation from the norm, but not all deviations are bad. I know, you can read my definition and say that a disability, such as broken legs could well fulfill that definition as it stops you from partaking in "normal" day to day activities. So, OCD, is a mental illness because it stops the individual from carrying on and living a normal life. For example, they may well find themselves having to wash their hands 10 times, then spinning around 3 and tapping their stomach everytime they think about a cat!
OK then. what about the shopper who cant stop shoppinand runs up thpusands £$ of debt? when we are speaking of the mental health movement's criteria for 'disease' they mean biological. well we are saying that that is a myth. they are pathologizing BEHAVIOUR deemed uncacceptable there maybe many reason someone is feeling obsessed or seen to be obsessed, but surely tis is behaviour and NOT disease.
