Psychologist reveals six warning signs that a healthy passion has crossed the line into an obsession
Topics: Health, Mental Health
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Dr Perpetua Neo/Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty
Topics: Health, Mental Health
There is something quite special about having a hobby that you truly enjoy and helps pass the time when you are a little bored.
Whether that is playing video games, enjoying sports, or something a bit more unconventional, we all have our favourite things we like to do.
However, there is always a risk of things we love doing becoming an obsession, so there are certainly a bunch of warning signs we should be looking out for.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, psychologist and leadership coach Dr Perpetua Neo has warned that a healthy passion crossing into an obsession is not always an obvious one.
But she has provided six warning signs to look out for that could potentially mean your previous healthy hobby is turning into an obsession.
Speaking to the Mail, Dr Neo said: "People will say things like you're addicted, you're obsessed, you're compulsive. It's very easy to throw a label when someone's having an interest that is new, something that they like to be part of.
"Obsession is often about someone looking for relief. So basically, if you don't do it, you feel very uncomfortable."
Dr Neo then broke down six individual warning signs to be on the lookout for, with the first one being that it's the first thing you do when you open your eyes in the morning.
"Maybe the first thing you do in the morning is think, 'I need to wake up to see where I am on the leaderboard for a game, or I need to do X activity relating to the hobby,'" she said.
Next up is that you start to wear clothes related to your hobby, as it could be an indication your hobby is becoming a 'predominant focus'.
Another sign your previously healthy hobby may have crossed the line into an obsession is that you dream about it.
"The more your habits happen, the more your brain pathways are growing stronger and stronger, so that it encroaches into your dreams into your thoughts," Dr Neo told the Mail.
Moving social events around so you can accommodate more time for your hobby is another clear warning sign, according to Dr Neo.
"Instead of just creating space for it, you are starting to delete other tasks, people and responsibilities from your life, to give space to this," Dr Neo explained.
The next sign is perhaps the most obvious one your hobby is heading into an obsession stage, and that is you've stopped brushing your teeth.
This coincides with ditching some of the basics of our lives, which suggests that the hobby is 'harming', according to Dr Neo.
Finally, Dr Neo says that a clear sign your hobby is in an unhealthy place is you often use it as an escape from reality.
"When something just provides a relief, and an escape from the world, then often that's not very healthy," the doctor concluded.