Passion vs. Obsession

Someone on the Food & Feelings board asked about the difference between passions and obsessions. So Karen Koenig posted this:

"As with food, this subject is all about self-regulation. Passion is a healthy amount of enthusiasm/attention for an activity and is life-enhancing in the long run, whereas obsession is too much enthusiasm/attention and is life-harming in the long run. Passion adds to your life while obsession detracts. Passion nourishes while obsession sucks you dry.

In my personal and professional experience, I've found that as people recover from eating problems that have consumed their focus, they make room for other outlets. You have to be careful that you're not driven to produce but to enjoy; that's what creates passion. Here are passions of people I know: politics and the news, quilting, working to rescue animals, computer games, reading, films, playing the piano, photography, cooking, learning Spanish ... People engage in these activities not because of the end product but because of how they feeling during the activity.

Passion is an end in itself. People with eating problems often have no activities in which they can relax, have fun and make a mess. Passion allows messes and mistakes; productivity doesn't. Allow yourself to find your passions and your life will be infinitely enriched. However, look for balance. It feels good when you've done a job--any activity--well. You feel a sense of mastery and achievement. You don't have to choose between passion and productivity. You can have both, but it's important to understand the difference and know what you need in the moment and in your life."

I suspect obsession involves fear of what might happen if we didn't pursue the obsessive (compulsive?) activity. However passions involve only pleasure and fulfillment. So I can easily talk myself out of pursuing my passions, in favor of more productive activities, which I believe I 'should' do for fear of what will happen if I don't. For example, I enjoy reading and even blogging, but I try to limit reading in bed or blogging late at night, because I know I need sleep and will feel tired, irritable and headachey the next day, if I don't get enough sleep. I enjoy sewing new clothes, but I know I need to do the laundry regularly, especially when I'm almost out of underwear! LOL I don't think I'm obsessive about sleep or clean underwear, but those were just 2 examples that occurred to me.

I also suspect any activity can become either a passion or an obsession, depending on how I approach the activity and what I tell myself while pursuing that activity. I also know that as I have 'normalized' my eating habits and eliminated any disordered eating habits, I more often FEEL excitement and boredom, anticipation and dread, pleasure and pain both sides of most feelings. Rather than distracting myself from negative emotions, in order to only experience positive emotions, I let my emotional reactions to activities guide me to choose to do more of what I enjoy and less of what I don't enjoy. I also suspect any 'shoulds' or activities which are motivated by fear can become 'obsessions', rather than passions.