When you hear the word “obsession,” it sounds harsh. Maybe you picture someone wide-eyed, frantically plotting with a giant crime map or someone locked away in a tower, shutting out the world to focus. It is true that obsession, an idea which repeatedly preoccupies and intrudes into the mind, can be severe. It is engrossing, it captures your attention like nothing else. While obsession generally has a strong connotation, I believe this state of mind has actually improved my life. Yes, I think there is such a thing as a healthy obsession.
To be clear, I am referring to a specific type of obsession. Obsession with harmful thoughts, obsessions with people who exist in the real world or obsessions that are involuntary are obviously unhealthy; there is no argument there. Obsessions with a certain interest, goal or ideal, however, are different. This version of obsession is not just a passion; it is something more consuming.
In my own experience, I have noticed personal patterns of obsession. My younger self would become entirely engrossed in things. Usually, it was some obscure young adult series, or a popular show like “Stranger Things,” or some kind of writing project. Once I was obsessed, the obsession gave a different color to my life. I would start to notice aspects of my obsessions—the characters, the setting or the style—in everything. My friend’s joke was suddenly reminiscent of one person from my book. The gas station I had stopped at was just like that one scene I was writing. That song on the radio reminded me of that one character’s inner struggle. I sought out everything related to my obsession, and when something about it changed—a death, a transformation—I felt changed.
I was being single-minded, but I was allowing myself to be overcome by the greatness of something. At 12 years old, I asked my parents if I could move to Los Angeles and audition for movies so I could be like Millie Bobby Brown from “Stranger Things.” I would spend entire days writing a specific story, consumed in the plot. After I finished “The Hunger Games,” I cried because I knew it was over. It was ridiculous, but at the time, these obsessions were important to me.
Even though I was single-minded and naive, those phases I went through helped me learn more about what I liked. They became a form of appreciation and gave me something to identify with.
Recently, a new obsession has fallen into my lap: The show “Breaking Bad.” I’m late, but it is so well done I can’t help but be wildly engrossed, the same way I was as a kid. It inspires me to write more and think more, a feeling I missed deeply. Maybe you have experienced this kind of obsession at some point, maybe you have not, but his type of harmless fixation is not so uncommon.
In 2012, The Learning Channel (TLC) aired a TV show called “My Crazy Obsession.” It featured ordinary people who were fanatics about some oddly specific thing. One woman on the show, Kitty Sera, was utterly obsessed with the color pink. “No one is more obsessed than I am, trust me,” she says. Kelly Foxton, a woman obsessed with her pet squirrel, bought the animal over 4,000 different miniature outfits and spent hours dressing it up. 22-year-old Eric Ducharme was obsessed with mermaids, putting on a fake tail and swimming in Florida’s natural springs.
Obviously, these are wild examples. These people are uniquely eccentric. However, most people featured on the show seem like their obsession makes them happier. Yes, they are strange, but the obsessions do not harm anyone. Maybe they are not multifaceted people, and they may live a “one trick pony” kind of life. The obsession could also take time away from other important opportunities, like relationships or self care. But it is a life they choose, and pouring their energy into one thing gives them a sense of fulfillment. I am not saying we should all put on mermaid tails and live in the ocean like Eric Ducharme. But to some extent, investing yourself in something you love and giving in to your natural sense of wonder, even if it is corny, can actually feel freeing.
Obsessions can be an expression of gratitude. For penny collector Otha Anders, that was the case. Over the course of 45 years, he collected over 500,000 pennies. “If I would see a penny … on the ground, or in a store, it would be a reminder to stop right there and say a prayer,” he said in an ABC News article. What was a silent practice of thankfulness resulted in actual money when he cashed the pennies in: $5,136 worth. But I want to be clear: Obsession which results in monetary or material gain is not what makes it valuable.
I could list off names of geniuses and revolutionaries who have turned their obsessions into timeless projects that added value to humanity. While their obsessions were obviously productive, I do not think productivity has to be the end goal. It is about devotion and allowing yourself to be passionate even if it is not about something that matters a whole lot (like a photogenic pet squirrel). You do not have to be Mozart composing the “Requiem” for your obsession to be valid—just allow yourself to be. If it adds meaning to your life, it is worth it.
Obsession can be harsh, and there is a fine line between passionate and harmful. I think there is a balance to obsession. As long as it does not overpower the important aspects of your life, it can be healthy. Do not let the image of the obsessed fanatic taint your view of obsession. It can mean something entirely different. Being consumed in something can make you a better thinker. Pouring yourself into something can make you a better achiever. With the right balance, obsession may enrich your life.