Last update: April 05, 2018
Adrenaline, better known in the medical field as epinephrine, is crucial for the body. In addition to promoting our performance and physiological activation, if it is produced in excessive quantities it can produce serious side effects. These include adrenaline addiction behaviors.
People addicted to adrenaline are immersed in a constant adventure. In a euphoria that makes them feel an intense desire to find events that take them to the limit. The amount of adrenaline flowing through their veins leads them to engage in any kind of daring behavior; in many cases they are also imprudent, insatiable and life-threatening people.
Functions of adrenaline
This chemical comes produced in the adrenal glands when we face situations of stress, excitement or nervousness. It stimulates the heart and increases breathing. In this way the heart rate accelerates, so that the blood is oxygenated faster carrying more oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body.
Stops bowel movement, dilates your pupils to sharpen your eyesight, and uses glucose stores to help muscles respond quickly. It also increases blood pressure, so that the main blood vessels widen, while the secondary ones narrow. This explains the typical pallor of these circumstances. The veins of the face, hands or ears receive little blood irrigation because they are not considered of primary importance.
The line between euphoria and addiction
How do you feel after a ride on a roller coaster? Even before getting on you are already nervous. But once you get off (if you don't feel nauseous), there is a really pleasant euphoric feeling. The same happens when you have fun dancing in company, after having made a physical effort for which you are very motivated or during sexual intercourse with your partner.
As we can see, adrenaline has multiple benefits that facilitate our adaptation to the environment and prepare us to face an exceptional situation in the best possible way. However, pleasant sensations can be really dangerous, in that the secretion of adrenaline generates chemical effects in the body very similar to those of an orgasm.
The secretion of adrenaline in turn stimulates the release of dopamine, a substance that generates a feeling of generalized well-being. The desire to feel this way leads some people to continually engage in exciting behaviors and develop a real adrenaline addiction.
The forms of adrenaline addiction
Adrenaline addiction can take various forms, all of which share the fact that the brain is constantly seeking the limits of the impossible. In addition to extreme sports, the person can experience this feeling of euphoria even doing things that are prohibited, illegal or unlawful. For example, stealing from the supermarket, leaving restaurants and cafes without paying the bill, or disturbing and hurting other people.
Another form of adrenaline addiction is experiencing risk. For example, leaving everything at the last moment: paying bills, delivering reports, medical checks, economic operations… It is a need for insatiable rebellion that keeps the body alert.
It also involves dangerous behavior that is life threatening. Base jumping, wingsuit or bungee jumping are all extreme sports that can end our lives in seconds. In fact, the base jump is the most dangerous in the world, with a death rate of 1 in 2.300. Trying it might be recommended, but repeating it diligently could mask an addiction.
Symptoms of adrenaline addiction
The extreme need to experience sensations that are generated as a consequence of the secretion of adrenaline manifests itself through specific behaviors and emotions:
- Relentless pursuit of adrenaline. The need to experience that feeling of pleasure and euphoria is uncontrollable and a source of daily motivation.
- The lack of constant well-being disturbs, upsets or frustrates.
- Behaviors that endanger life or the people around us (extreme sports, driving at high speed, hurting others…).
- Deterioration of social relations.
- Consequences at work (absenteeism, poor performance ...).
According to traditional psychology, when you are addicted to some substance you are tries to fill an inner void. With this extra energy injection, that need is appeased. But this calm is superficial and momentary. The addiction to adrenaline is on the rise and, eventually, the addicted person needs its secretion constantly.
If what you are aiming for by putting your life at risk is to deal with frustration or “feeling alive”, the most convenient thing is to consult a specialist. In most cases it is recommended a psychotherapeutic treatment. In this way, instead of having to face constant stressful situations, the aim is to understand the pain.
