Feeling Invalidated: Do My Interests Count as Special Interests?

I feel this a lot. One of my friends who's also nd is very VERY into one of his special interests and knows probably everything there is to know about it. Meanwhile my special interest happens to be the same thing, but I don't know nearly as much about it so it makes me feel fake. You're not alone though! And it doesn't mean you're less nd or anything. It happens and that's okay.

I am really into Bop It, that game that started in the 90s. I am really involved in it, and I know the Inventor personally. It's my most special interest that I really like an awful lot. I do have other special interests but I don't think it's a good idea to mention what it is here on Alike. It's not a bad interest, but it's just weird in my opinion.

I get that so much! Though I think I just decided that talking about mental health and human mental development is mine. It took a while but I realized one day that nobody talks about it to the extent that I do, and does the amount of research I do. Like I couldn't handle any jobs around this topic but I realized how much I talk about it or think about it in comparison to others. Surprisingly it's not a great topic though because it's very lonely.

No but it's completely OK and valid!!! Please don't feel like your the only one who feels that way cause your not :D

I suppose the question is what you're trying to prove? Why does it matter if you're into them enough? Enough for what? Don't place labels on yourself or your interests. You enjoy them, and that's all that matters. Not what other people think

I'm still figuring out which of my intense interests are special interests vs hyperfixations. In all honesty, i know music is a special interest for sure, but I've also had tons of interests that go dormant for a little while until I get re-excited, and I have a lot of major interests that aren't quite the same as music, for me, but are still major interests of mine nonetheless.