Is this an Aspie quirk?

I've been suspect for a while, ever since my first therapist, that the main perpetrator to my social anxiety and depression was actually a manifestation of an undiagnosed problem that has now come to light recently -- my probable Asperger's syndrome, or perhaps high functioning autism (since there was a delay in my speech development as a child.)

I have taken a lot of online tests and have read the DSM-IV and have read many forums and online articles and I appear to be well-verse in diagnosing people I meet in real life and characters in TV shows that have Asperger's, and so I'm wondering, well, I suspect I have it so maybe I'm not far off the mark? I guess I just feel reluctant to say I have it until I get an official agreement from a professional.

Either way, there is something that I do quite often. And I'm wondering if this is a common trait among Aspies?

I tend to pick anywhere from two to five songs and play them on repeat for hours. Or one song in particular. I just get stuck in these loops. Is that common?

I would not build a diagnosis on this one trait, because finding patterns and small "habits" that doesn't usually make sense is some thing that can even be tied to NT's.

NihilismOppurtunity wrote:I've been suspect for a while, ever since my first therapist

Why not ask your therapist to assist? It's quite nonsensical to be keeping sessions with a professional and not exploring all the possibilities.

Besides what aspemawhat already said: any aspie trait can be found in an NT person. It's the sum of them that matters.

NihilismOppurtunity wrote:I tend to pick anywhere from two to five songs and play them on repeat for hours. Or one song in particular. I just get stuck in these loops. Is that common?

Kinda what others said already.

But...I will admit, this is very common with me. Except..2-5 songs? Try 1...for about a full day of listening. I do this fairly commonly. The 2-5 songs I'll listen to for weeks on end. The 1-song at a time thing will usually last a full day.

i don't think you're suggesting that this one quirk indicates a diagnosis. so, i'm not going to repeat what others have said in this thread about that. but, yes, i do tend to repeat songs over and over again. i find familiarity comforting and being able to follow a track mentally allows me to relax and forget about the problems in my life. but i can only do this by degrees. when i'm severely depressed i can't listen to music, much like i can't meditate either. i find listening to familiar music repeatedly a kind of meditation. now, is that an AS trait? i suspect it might be. i think it goes along with the obsessive behaviours that can be exhibited with AS. though it can be rather limiting as i find i'm reluctant to explore new music and new experiences in general. i think this is a need to reduce anxiety, which can aso be exhibited with AS. i also think there's a certain lack of imagination which goes along with this. i think this is why i can't relate to literatre very well.

Thank you all for your comments. As to everyone thinking I am using this ONE quirk of mine to determine whether or not I have Asperger's is quite inaccurate and I am at a loss as how this was misconstrued from my post. I apologize for the vague post and description. I did not want to burden you all with a list of reasons and symptoms of why I suspect I have Asperger's or High Functioning Autism, but I wanted to see if this one symptom in particular was common within others with Asperger's to further my growing list of evidence to discuss with my therapist at a later time. For now my therapist and I are discussing and dealing with more pressing issues than my possible Asperger's, although I suspect, as stated before, that it is all interconnected and that I could solve a lot of my depression and anxiety if I knew that it stemmed from Asperger's.... if that makes any sense.

Again, thank you for taking the time to respond. When I listen to the same tracks over and over (on the computer it's usually 5 but in the car it can be one or two) I find it relaxing as well.

Hey there.

I think I started the trouble.I couldn't figure from your description if you were looking for validation and erred on the side of caution.I'm sorry if my answer offended.

I can totally relate to this pattern, and added to it the careful way whereby songs auditioned and competed to be included in this coveted short list. micro x-factor.

I'm at a stage where I prefer silence to sound, and I'm not sure if this is a sign of progression, regression or if it's just another episode that will pass. Would be nice if it will pass though be cause I enjoyed music a lot. Maybe i must just review my taste in music, I might have the wrong tracks in the player.

i'll just add that i find music with a strong rythmic beat best to relax and 'zone out' to. i like complex rythms. probably because they're more interesting to follow. i used to use music to help me relax when i was driving. i found that i could focus far more easily on my driving and nothing else in that state of consciousness.

Oddly enough, I can't concentrate on any work without music -- including translation (perhaps especially translation). It's funny that I'll be listening to songs with lyrics, sometimes even singing along, and translating at full speed at the same time.

My musical taste is very diverse. Sometimes I do listen to one song on repeat for hours, but that's the exception. I rarely listen to individual songs, or custom / shuffled playlists. I like to listen to full albums from start to finish. It's unsettling if for some reason I have to stop before the end. As a rule I won't listen to the same album more than once a day (except if it's brand new to me and I happen to really like it), but I will listen to the same album for several days or weeks on a row. The list of albums that "I am currently listening to" slowly morphs to include new titles (either brand new or revisited).

No, one quirk does not an Aspie make. I'm diagnosed Aspergers and it was obvious to my parents from day one. I'm not saying your aren't, but provide much more background detail for a thorough analysis from (and you must consider this) non-professional internet dwellers.