3 years, STILL no special interest to deal with tough times
I'll keep the post light, but basically all my special interests died 3 years ago since they either changed too much for me to still enjoy them, or I grew out of them when I got older. Now I can't develop any new special interests and it's taken a toll on me because, for the past 2 years, I've had frequent burn-outs and even worse (I don't want to go into detail because I want anyone who could give good advice to be able to interact with this post).
I went to this autistic workshop yesterday, and they talked about burn out, and then they talk about how to prevent it. It included the usual stuff, like exercise, eating healthy, sleeping 8 hours, etc. but they bring up the topic of special interests and treat it like the holy grail of curing depression and all bad things. This workshop was all autistic people, by the way - including the people running it, who are also professionals specialising in autism. But they talked about it like it is THE solution, and they assumed everyone has at least one they know, which kinda made me upset and feel like I can't even relate to other people on the spectrum.
It's so, so frustrating (anyone with a similar experience is welcome to vent it out in the comments lmao). I'd also like it if some gave me advice on how to find a special interest, and/or a story of how they found theirs. I used to cope with literally the worst events as a child thanks to my old special interests, but now it's hard to cope with anything. So I'd love even just a bit of advice or insight. <3 <3 <3 Wishing you guys well today/tonight btw!
Posted Nov 14, 2025, 1:59 PM UTC