Adrenaline addicts: a life on the edge

Better known in the medical field as epinephrine, this hormone is crucial for our body. In addition to promoting our performance and physiological activation, If it is secreted in excess it can produce serious side effects. Among them, the drift towards addictive behaviors. This is precisely what adrenaline addicts suffer from.

These people are immersed in a constant adventure. In a euphoria that makes them experience an intense desire to seek events that take them to the limit. The amount of adrenaline that runs through their veins leads them to perform all kinds of daring behaviors that, on many occasions, are reckless, insatiable, and put their lives in danger.

Functions of adrenaline

This chemical substance It is produced in the adrenal glands when we face situations of stress, excitement or nervousness. Stimulates the heart and increases breathing. In this way, the heart rate accelerates, so that the blood is oxygenated faster and more oxygen and nutrients reach all parts of the body.

In addition, it stops intestinal movement, dilates our pupils to sharpen our vision and recruits glucose from our stores so that our muscles respond quickly. It also increases blood pressure, so that the fundamental blood vessels widen, while the secondary ones narrow. This is the reason why we turn pale in the face of these types of circumstances. The veins in the face, hands or ears are left without as much blood supply because they are not so essential.

The limit between euphoria and addiction

How do you feel after riding a roller coaster? Before you get on, you might be nervous. But when you come down (if you haven’t gotten dizzy), a really pleasant feeling of euphoria comes over you. The same thing happens when you enjoy a night of dancing in good company, after making a physical effort for which you are very motivated or if you enjoy a sexual encounter with your partner.

As we see, adrenaline has multiple advantages that facilitate our adaptation to the environment and prepare us to face an exceptional situation in the best possible way. But pleasant sensations can be really dangerous, since The secretion of adrenaline generates chemical effects in the body that are very similar to those of an orgasm.

The production of epinephrine stimulates the release of dopamine, a substance that induces a feeling of general well-being. Therefore, the desire to feel this way constantly leads some people to perform exciting behaviors and become true adrenaline addicts. Therefore, this hormone becomes an addiction when the person needs to experience it continuously and habitually.

The forms of this addiction

The forms that adrenaline addiction can take are very varied. The only thing they have in common is that they make the brain constantly seek the limits of the impossible. In addition to extreme sports, people also They can experience this feeling of euphoria by doing prohibited, illegal or illicit things. For example, stealing from the supermarket, leaving restaurants and cafes without paying, or disturbing and harming other passers-by.

Another way to be addicted to adrenaline is to experience risk. For example, leaving everything until the last minute: paying bills, submitting reports, medical check-ups, financial errands… It is a form of insatiable rebellion that keeps our body on alert.

Also dangerous behaviors that put life at risk. Base jumping, wingsuiting or bungee jumping are forms of extreme sports that can end your life in a matter of seconds. In fact, base jumping is the most dangerous in the world, with a death rate of 1 in 2,300. Trying it may be recommended, but if you do it regularly, it may be masking an addiction.

Symptoms of adrenaline addicts

The extreme desire to experience the sensations generated around the secretion of epinephrine manifests itself in a series of behaviors and emotions:

Incessant search for adrenaline. The need to experience that feeling of pleasure and euphoria is uncontrollable and the origin of daily motivations. Constant lack of well-being disturbs, angers or frustrates.Behaviors that put the life or the lives of people in the environment at risk (extreme sports, driving at high speeds, hurting others…).Deterioration of social relationships.Affectation of the workplace (absenteeism, poor performance…).

According to traditional psychology, when you are addicted to a substance, you become He is trying to fill an internal void. Thus, through this injection of extra energy, such need is calmed. But this calm is superficial and momentary. The dependence on adrenaline increases and in the end, the addict needs its secretion constantly.

Now, if what you intend to put your life at risk is to confront frustration or “feel alive,” the best thing to do is to go to a specialist. For this type of habits, The most advisable thing is to carry out psychotherapeutic treatment. Thus, instead of facing constant stress situations, the pain is completed through understanding.

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