too many hobbies,,,,

[rogelio63]

Is this a bipolar thing?  I have so many hobbies, interests etc,,,and I go from one to the other to the other.  That may not be so bad,,but it seems like every time I switch hobbies I get rid of everything from that hobby (wasting money basically) to pursue the next one.  I've recently come to realize the cycle and have started forcing myself to not get rid of stuff because inevitably I'll be back to it or one of the previous ones in a few months.  Do you know how many different martial arts I've taken,,,never gotten above an orange belt until recently, how many musical instruments I play (most of them quite proficiently, some not so much ;) )   I was just wondering if this was just a normal human trait (not that any of us anywhere totally fit the diagnosis of normal) or if this was something a preponderance of people diagnosed with BP experience.
Thanks,,
Rogelio

[doctora]

Yes that sounds like BP 1 to me. I am exactly the same way. I always start something but never finish it. I will get a great idea, usually before sleep, and think it through, even start acting on it, then I forget about it.

The problem I had, is that this mania began to appear in an unacceptable manner, such as drinking too much, smoking too much, stealing, being overly affectionate, even an affair.

Just make sure that your urges (mania) is for good purposes, and when you feel that you are not interested, I find if I start working on a project again, I become interested again.

Remember some of the greatest artists, and others working in the arts are bi-polar, try to get it to work for you, rather than hinder you.

[Xila31]

I'm pretty sure when I was writing my first novel I was manic for most of it. Going back and reading it, you can really tell how I just sort of would talk and talk. It ended up being over 200,000 words. Then I put it away and just would sulk about not being able to be published. Come to find out that's way too many words for a fantasy novel, publishers won't touch it. But, in mania that's how it goes.

Fore about 6 months starting last October I started a new novel which is going much better except around May when I lost it I completely lost my ability to write on it. I've just put it on hold until I feel better. Until then I'm trying to keep up on my comic. I would love to be published but just to get published is a 1:15,000 chance and worse if you write fantasy. I joined some of those "try to get published by posting online" things, but some of those people are too brutal. I figure if I can't handle what a few know-it-alls are saying hwo will I survive and editor?

[rogelio63]

It's interesting that two of you wrote about,,well,,writing as a form of this.  A lot of times,,I'll write a one or two paragraph scene that feels like someone just jumped into the middle of a conversation or description. A lot of it will sound like Dickens or the like.  Then "poof" it's gone,,,I probably have 4 or 5 pages of them scattered amongst my things.  I don't know where it comes from and I can't do it all the time.

[Bluetwo]

Yep...that's mania! At least you have creative hobbies. Sometimes inspirations really flow out and then they peter out. That comes with being creative. Just put them on a back burner until you feel those creative juices recharge to work on them again. I got really into decorative knots. I had all this rope from my uncle's estate and I got creative. I made basket holders for my plants and made doubled pull handles by using a knot called a monkey paw for my ceiling doors. The spring on our ceiling door is really tight and I nearly pulled out my arm socket trying to open it. I made a chinese button pull handle for our bathroom light and dipped the knot into fluorescent paint so I can see the pull handle in the dark for our little mini bathroom. I felt like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn....just keep a plan on what you want to do. You can finish your projects.

Right now I want to write a short story....just a short story for now because I need to brush up on my grammar and punctuation.

Never pressure creativity...it has to flow naturally.



At least our hobbies don't harm anyone.....maybe hoarding but if you keep that in check I guess you can be okay.

I think it's a better outlet than having a overcharge sex drive or being a compulsive gambler. Those activities really hurts people.

[Xila31]

I have this problem. I'll start something and be really, really excited about it and then suddenly lose intrest completely. It is really hard especially with things like my writing. Like Alex_X_18 said, the overflow of ideas and then suddenly it is gone. I don't throw things out, (like manuscripts I've started, etc.,) but I think it is annoying for people around me. I'll go on and on about one thing and then stop. Then they say, "why don't you ever finish anything?" I feel bad about it.

I'm having that problem with my comic right now. I love writing it but I can't love it right now because of this problem. I have ideas but I don't "feel like it." But I have readers who depend on me, so I force myself to do it as best I can. It also makes it hard to finish projects at work.

I think you are wise to hang on to things, maybe set a time limit. Like, "If I haven't come back to this in 1.5 years then I'll get rid of it." Maybe in that time when you go to throw it away you'll decide to start over right then. That happens to me.  Saving money is always a good idea.

[Alex_X_18]

being manic can cause you to have an overflow new ideas and even sudden changes in everyday belief and values that you didn't have before due to high chemistry... It happens to me sometimes when I'm more on the upside I'll search for a new book to read or come up with a new project sometimes it is very productive oter times it really doesn't lead anywhere

[ILADVOCATE]

Having trouble focusing and concentrating can be part of bipolar and interferes in a person's life in many ways so that they have trouble picking and choosing interests and making decisions in general.