What is adrenaline junkie

Journal of Behavioral Addictions. Who takes risks in high-risk sports? A typological personality approach. Res Q Exerc Sport. Robbins TW, Clark L.

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Related Articles. What Is Adrenaline? All About Catecholamines in the Stress Response. How Art Therapy Works. While not all of these activities are detrimental, the issue with engaging in these activities for the sake of the adrenaline that they produce is introduced once a person becomes dependent on this stimulation and resulting adrenaline. In fact, some people turn to creating stress to get an adrenaline rush :.

Apart from problems with the behaviors themselves, excessive stress is unhealthy, triggering both adrenaline and cortisol secretion. If any of this sounds like you or someone you know and love, it may mean increasing dependence on and addiction to adrenaline itself. It may be time to get help, especially since addiction can be a co-occurring disorder.

Consider the following three signs of adrenaline addiction as a way of determining whether or not your adrenaline seeking behaviors are damaging in the long haul.

Perhaps the clearest sign of adrenaline addiction is when you consistently engage in dangerous or unhealthy activities because of the mental rush that it brings you.

This dangerous behavior can take various forms — it could be anything from riding your motorcycle much too fast on the highway to getting drunk in public just to experience the thrill. These are the kinds of behaviors that people typically think of when they imagine what addiction junkies engage in, and are arguably the most detrimental aspect of adrenaline addiction because of the danger it poses to both the addict and those surrounding them.

Of course, there is a time and place for more extreme activities — jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, for instance, does not necessarily mean that you are an adrenaline junkie.

However, consistently disregarding the safety of both yourself and those around you is a good sign that your adrenaline-related behaviors are getting out of hand and that it is time to get help for these behaviors. Adrenaline addiction does not always require engaging in dangerous physical activities.

You can get an adrenaline rush simply from the way you interact with other people, which is why going unchecked as an adrenaline junkie can be detrimental not only to yourself but also to your relationships with other people. People who love adrenaline a little too much will use other people to get that rush — by causing conflict, instigating arguments, creating drama, and even exploding at other people in anger or frustration.

Research has shown that the brain gets both a dopamine and adrenaline rush from being right in an argument :. When you argue and win, your brain floods with different hormones: adrenaline and dopamine, which makes you feel good, dominant, even invincible. We get addicted to being right. It may be normal to experience this minimal type of rush, but this can be detrimental and turn into a sign of adrenaline addiction when you begin arguments or cause fights solely as a means of getting this rush.

In the long-term, this is sure to prove detrimental to both your own psychological health and the health of your relationships. While not the most dramatic sign of adrenaline addiction, having a packed schedule and rushing around is perhaps one of the most common signs that adrenaline has become an issue in your life.

Many of these features of adrenaline addiction are similar to substance abuse. But does thrill-seeking behaviour qualify as an addiction? By definition, addiction is participation in behaviour despite serious risks and negative consequences. This definition can be applied to individuals with an adrenaline addiction who continue to participate in dangerous activities despite physical injuries and damage to relationships. There are other similarities between substance abuse and participation in extreme sports.

A study on rock climbers found that the athletes experienced withdrawal symptoms when they were not participating in the sport. Another study on skydivers found many features of addiction were strongly associated with the sport. For example, the adrenaline addiction was low in novice skydivers but increased with more experience, which is consistent with drug addiction where the severity often correlates to the duration of use.

This is because the studies that have been done on adrenaline addiction are small in number and size. There is not enough peer-reviewed research to support listing it as a medical diagnosis. Yet, why it could be dangerous for you and your loved ones? Some people love to ride tall roller coasters or go BASE jumping. Others are drawn to activities such as whitewater rafting and shark diving. These are the obvious adrenaline junkies who are always signing up for activities that require waivers.

However, adrenaline addiction does not always involve life-threatening situations. It can manifest in much more subtle ways. Waiting until the last minute to submit a school assignment, procrastinating on an important work project, and the danger of getting caught doing something illegal can all trigger a rush of adrenaline.

Some people work best with the energy and excitement created by the frantic need to complete the work. Such individuals are at risk of developing an adrenaline addiction where they begin to purposely leave things to the last minute. Adrenaline addiction can even be something as simple as maintaining a jam-packed work schedule or social life for the buzz of never having enough time. It may develop in people who love starting conversations on hotly debated issues because they relish the thrill of picking a fight with others.

There is no single test that can tell whether someone has adrenaline addiction. However, certain personality traits are common among daredevils and sensation seekers. A study of parachute jumpers revealed that personality is the biggest predictor of risk-taking behaviours.

Some of the traits commonly seen in people with the T thrill type personality include:. These personality traits in and of themselves are not something to worry about. They may even be positive life influencers. There are some obvious dangers of adrenaline addiction , such as injuries, paralysis, and fatalities. The danger to life and limb increases with prolonged exposure to the activity as individuals tend to become increasingly more reckless or do even more dangerous things to feel the adrenaline rush.

Many people have an unconscious need for stimulation in daily life that does not involve obvious thrill-seeking behavior, daredevil acts, or extreme sports. As long as adrenaline addiction is limited to how a person manages their schedule or approaches a deadline, it is relatively harmless, although even this can backfire if they end up losing their job or missing any important event.

Another potential danger of adrenaline addiction is the risk of progression from sensation-seeking behaviour to substance abuse. Many adrenaline junkies describe the need to participate in extreme sports as a strong craving. They report feeling unhappy, stressed, or itchy when they abstain from the sport. A similar emotional withdrawal is frequently noted in drug users when they are abstinent. Illegal drugs and alcohol stimulate the release of dopamine, a feel-good chemical that produces intense euphoria.

It may only take a few steps for an adrenaline addict to seek a high from other means. If you are worried about yourself or a loved one being addicted to drugs, our self-assessment test can help you decide whether you need professional care.

The heart beats faster, breathing becomes more rapid, and the skin begins to perspire. Unknown to the person, other responses are occurring silently in the background, such as increased availability of glucose sugar to provide energy. The changes associated with an adrenaline rush occur so quickly that the person may not even process what is happening.

For example, if you see a car approaching at high speed, the adrenaline rush will occur within seconds and allow you to dodge out of its way. But once the danger is out of the way, the effect of adrenaline quickly dissipates and the body returns to its normal state.

However, in people with an adrenaline addiction , the persistent surges of hormone over time can lead to many health problems , including:.

As mentioned above, frequent and repeated adrenaline rushes can be harmful to your health. Yet, you can limit the negative health effects of adrenaline addiction by learning to manage stress. Deep breathing, meditation, yoga, and Tai-Chi are healthy ways of coping with stress.