Manic Episode 4: Idea #165

Follow-up from last time: I successfully revisited five ideas from my monster E4 idea list, and created posts about them for future use. Win!

In my last manic episode (E4), I wrote down this thought:

“What are you drawn to while manic? Is it something low risk: K-Pop (for me, at least), High Risk: Religious Radical Extremism (NOT for me). Know the difference between the act of obsession, and the focus of the obsession. The problem is not the acts of the cognitive obsession itself, but what the effect it has on the rest of the person, their functioning, or behaviors that put people at risk… if handled well, can they achieve ‘Freedom of Obsession?'”

This is a good one. A safe thought. Has merit.

My thought of “Freedom of Obsession” is something I want to continue to develop. It is meant to be a twist on “Freedom of Expression”, the generalized concept of “Freedom of Speech”.

From the inside, obsession feels SO GOOD! When I have an obsession (as I do right now, with my nft art project), there is a selfish relief that comes with always knowing exactly what I want to do with every hour of the day. I don’t need to make many decisions, because I only want to do one thing the whole time. In my current obsession, I just want to make more art, then more, then more. If history is any guide, I will burn out on it in about two weeks… time will tell. The obvious downside is if obsession leads to neglect of others or more important, urgent things. In my case, I am obsessed, but I am not being neglectful, so I will not try to stop myself from owning my current state of obsession.

The bit about religious radical extremism I mentioned above is much more complicated. The phenomena of religious or political self-radicalization of individuals have played a part in mass shootings, bombings, and terrorist acts over the last 25 years. My opinion is that those affected by this phenomenon may simply be obsessive people by nature (people just like me? probably), but in a vacuum of ethical guidance and mentorship, they get led down a path to their own destruction by those who would exploit them for their own purposes. I don’t think I am going to develop this idea much more than that. Maybe I’ll come back to it. Maybe I won’t.

See you next week!