The sense of belonging you feel when you’re in a community which adores the same books/movies/videogames as you do is something I have always loved and since I learnt to read I was quick to obsess over every little detail of a new potential fandom.
As soon as I got a little older and therefore had the possibility to access the internet, all hell was let loose. It allowed me to spend all day long interacting with people who had the exact same love and passion that I do; there were mountains of fan-art to scroll through and more fanfictions than I could imagine. I even started writing the latter and it was really my first experience with writing not for school.
This is actually all very nice, and a lot of people behave this way. My problem was that I took it a few steps too far. When I said I used to “obsess over every little detail”, obsess is the key word. I have a VERY obsessive personality (and a lot of tales to tell on other occasions relating to that). This brought me to immerse myself in the fandom I was at the moment obsessing over to the point where it was unhealthy.
When I was around eight, Harry Potter was the fandom of choice and I lost most of my friends at the beach because I would absolutely refuse to do anything but read Harry Potter or, better yet, role play it.
When I was in my pre-teens, the worst punishment I remember receiving from my parents is them taking away my twilight books and movies (I cried and cried, begging them to give them back).
These are extreme cases, but I have often found myself in situations where my utter adoration for something becomes so encompassing that it completely takes over my life. I’ve even spent sleepless nights engaging in debates on things such as whether this or that character will behave in a certain way or not in a not yet confirmed scenario.
I love fandoms, I really do. I cosplay, keep up to date with all those I follow and all in all have a great time doing it. Even something as innocent as that has though, at different points in my life, become an issue. Best remember that there is still a real world outside of the fiction.
Dysfunctional Girl
How NOT to be functional 
Great post! We all obsess, even if to a lesser degree than you ordinarily might. It’s a great post for anyone!!! My list of obsessions is loooooooong! You encourage me to stick to the real world (well, at least most of the time 🙂 )
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