Fanaticism

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HardcorePork
HardcorePork Posts: 109 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know in internet forums people just seem to get worked up in general...but what is it about making a lifestyle change that lends itself to fanaticism? It seems like people (not all, of course) get passionately devoted to methods that are very extreme. Is there something about going to extremes and expressing fanatical devotion that helps people stick to their goals?

Are you a current or former fanatic? How does / did it help you?

For former fanatics: did all that fanaticism wear you out?

I'm not trying to imply that there is anything wrong with being passionate and devoted to a goal / method / whatever. For me, it just seems like a very stressful way to go about things. I'm trying to understand what people get from that...

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I don't mind fanaticism as long as it's not accompanied by dogmatism.
  • cmccorma
    cmccorma Posts: 203 Member
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    I don't mind fanaticism as long as it's not accompanied by dogmatism.

    It generally is, on most internet forums.
  • AwesomelyAmber
    AwesomelyAmber Posts: 1,617 Member
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    For so many it is ALL OR NOTHING... I, personally, have never been that way. I need to do this via REAL LIFE. Birthday cake on birthdays, fast food on a road trip, cheeseburgers at a bar-b-q, etc. But hey, to each their own! :flowerforyou:
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I am prone to fanaticism. When I got into computers, I was all about computers (and this has lasted the better part of my lifetime). When I got into beer and brewing, I was all about beer. When I got into motorcycles, I was all about motorcycles. When I got into fitness I was all about it. And I can and do babble endlessly to whatever I'm currently into, to anyone who will listen. This is just part of my personality. Sometimes I try to checkity-check myself before I wreck myself. Sometimes.
  • Quickster34
    Quickster34 Posts: 209 Member
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    I think it depends on the person really, I am an athlete , that's how i am wired.. I always have been and always will be competitive in something. so this obviously effects all the choices I make, I don't see working out as something i HAVE to do it is something that is a normal part of the day just like work or sleep its built in and must be done. If i know i have a hard workout in the afternoon ill pay closer attention to what i eat during the day because i know it will matter later. I'm very passionate about what i do and it works its way into my life as a result, like anything else you have to make sacrifices but in the end I'm happy with how it works out and I couldnt imagine it being any other way
  • HardcorePork
    HardcorePork Posts: 109 Member
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    I am prone to fanaticism. When I got into computers, I was all about computers (and this has lasted the better part of my lifetime). When I got into beer and brewing, I was all about beer. When I got into motorcycles, I was all about motorcycles. When I got into fitness I was all about it. And I can and do babble endlessly to whatever I'm currently into, to anyone who will listen. This is just part of my personality. Sometimes I try to checkity-check myself before I wreck myself. Sometimes.

    being immersed in a topic is kind of different from adhering to EXTREMES though, I see how it is a form of fanaticism
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I am prone to fanaticism. When I got into computers, I was all about computers (and this has lasted the better part of my lifetime). When I got into beer and brewing, I was all about beer. When I got into motorcycles, I was all about motorcycles. When I got into fitness I was all about it. And I can and do babble endlessly to whatever I'm currently into, to anyone who will listen. This is just part of my personality. Sometimes I try to checkity-check myself before I wreck myself. Sometimes.

    being immersed in a topic is kind of different from adhering to EXTREMES though, I see how it is a form of fanaticism

    Gotcha... I bet this was inspired by the anti-carb and paleo and clean eating crusaders... :)
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    Well, people follow things that they are good at. It's what we're wired to do to be successful. We find something we're good at, pursue it, and then keep getting better at it, because it compounds over time. And then once people get really good at something, they usually want to share, and that can come off as being fanatical, depending on how it's presented.

    Personally, I get fanatical about my sports. If I can't workout, I don't like it, and my body doesn't like it. I don't like feeling physically weak, like I do when I don't get to workout for longer periods of time. I also don't like looking physically weak or soft, because hey, if I've got a body, I want it to be strong and usable, capable to performing functions.

    Which can come off as fanatical to people who don't like their own bodies to be that way, or who can't understand what it's like to be a physically-driven athlete. It's not that I'm obsessed with everyone else to look like an athlete; I don't care if they decide to have that lifestyle or not. But when I talk about how positive it is, people can perceive it the wrong way, just like many people on here can perceive view differently.

    It's all about perception. Someone is not fanatical in a bad way unless you don't agree with their stance. Then they're just full of crazy, obsessed rhetoric, because you perceive them as being obsessed.
  • smoten
    smoten Posts: 53 Member
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    I have a recent experience with what i consider to be a fanatical person. My niece who is about 24 has been a vegetarian for a few years and posted something on facebook about it being "X" years since ive eaten a dead animal". One of her friends commented "oh now your eatting live ones?"--Just trying to be funny, which i thought it was, so i liked the comment. Come on, it was funny. Well she goes off saying i am brainwashed and have the wrong idea about how things should be, that i will have 8 pounds of rotting carcass in my gut and blah blah blah. i was angry and offended at first but then realized that especially when you're young and really believe in something and are so passionate, its hard to see how anyone could see things differently. This usually comes off angry and defensive to me. To me, this is fanatical when its all there is in the world it will usually burn out on its own. Too bad feelings get hurt before then.
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    What fanaticism? If you don't eat what I eat, god will smite thee!
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    Interesting question... and yes, I've been fanatical about something in the past... though in my case, it wasn't diet/exercise. My thing was religion. I'm actually still religious, but WAY less crazy try-to-change-everyone-around-me and more open minded and accepting. I'm not entirely sure why I behaved as I did in the past, though I suspect it was partly motivated by fear and misunderstanding. I was a very black-and-white thinker once.

    Now... not so black-and-white. In fact, I'm pretty much a moderate about everything... religion, diet/exercise, politics, Amyloid Beta vs. Tau hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease... yah...

    I guess I just grew up.

    I've also noticed the tendency toward fanaticism on the forums. Not surprisingly, I often use religious terms to describe the fanatical folks or their actions- crusaders (same word Taso used), proselytize, faith, etc...

    But none of that answers your questions, does it?

    I really don't know why people gravitate toward one extreme or the other, unless it's motivated by 'fear' and 'misunderstanding' the way my extremism once was.
  • watboy
    watboy Posts: 380 Member
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    People do it because they want to feel important. Some do it because it gives them power over others. Some do it because they have low esteem. Some because they really think its a "good" thing. But when it comes down to it it's because they get increased dopamine levels.

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