How are you enslaved? What is the answer?

Hmm, so I’m a prisoner of my own need to learn; my greed for knowledge and stuff. Sometimes I feel like my entire life is one big hyperlink. I learn about a topic and then that leads me to another topic which leads me to another topic and so on and so on. Even when it comes to hobbies, which in theory should be a form of relaxation, I feel the need to gather as much information abd materials as possible before actually beginning anything.

For example, when I collected Barbie dolls I had to research the value of the dolls. I had to learn the different face molds used. I had to discover the history of Barbie fashions. I couldn’t just relax and buy dolls, I had to add all of that information first.

The same thing happened when I became interested in Tarot cards. I wasn’t one of those people who opened up a deck and began to read. I had to learn about the history of the tarot and the different interpretations of the cards; the different ways one could interpret the cards (divinatory, psychological, etc.). I had to have a mix of modern, classic and vintage decks; a blend of mass produced and self-published. Needless to say this tendency quickly increased both my doll and Tarot collections. Don’t even get me started on my book collection!

My newest dive into the deep end is card making and stamping. Somehow within only a matter of months I have managed to acquire quite a collection of stamps, a stamp platform, a die cutting and embossing machine, and numerous collections of pattern paper and cardstock. I have subscribed to a few magazines focused on card making and paper crafts. Subscribed to and watched numerous YouTube channels. So, as one can see I am consistent in my enslavement to my obsessions. A friend and I once joked that we both have SIOID, or stress induced obsessive interest disorder. Not a clinical diagnosis but certainly one that has a negative impact on one’s bank account.

So, what is the antidote to this problem? Well to be perfectly honest I can’t say that I feel I need a solution. I like the disease. However, even I can acknowledge that part of the reason it gets so bad so quickly is because I’m using it as a way to counteract my isolation. So I would have to say that the way to address this enslavement of mine is to find people that I can interact with, do projects with, even share some of these obsessions. This might be easier said than done due to the realities of my life at this time but it is something I can do in a limited fashion. Or, I can actually put these interests to good use (creating cards & donating them to charities, for example) instead of letting them collect dust.