Obsessions vs. Self Control

“I had been so swamped in sound that I could not bring short-term memory and language together. In places like shopping malls I reverted to asking for food that I associated with that kind of interaction, but this was less a request for what I really wanted to eat as a memory process. I had to make do with what I had pre-programmed, much as the way I would ask for a hamburger if I saw a McDonald’s. I learned this was involuntary . . .
It was the first time I had seen clearly how often my obsession overcame what I really wanted to do. Previously I had believed it was just a matter of self control.”
Lucy Blackman, Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone, p. 166

It was the first time I had seen clearly how often my obsession overcame what I really wanted to do. Previously I had believed it was just a matter of self control.”