Rebecca Mildren's Blog - Posts Tagged "stress"
The darker side of being an adrenaline junkie
My husband and I used to joke that after living so long in (relatively) crazy places like Russia and Israel, we'd have to move to Afghanistan to feel we were keeping up with the level of excitement we're used to. I suppose that would more mean Iraq today -- hey, the Kurds are nice people, we know some. And in fact, we'd love to visit places like Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, even Iran. Someday. As for living in Montana… Well, it hasn't been overly exciting so far, except for the terrible car accident we got into when moving here that totaled our minivan. But I could do without that sort of excitement. And yet…
Once, a friend told me about how he went bungee jumping, three times in one day. Afterwards, he found himself speeding in his car, because it felt like he was going super slow. Such are the effects of adrenaline. Even worse, after months of prolonged exposure to stress, there is a physiological change that occurs in the body: You can literally become an adrenaline addict.
Now, in a country that is just getting over its own little war, in which thousands of rockets were launched at it, Israeli tourists are supposedly flocking to the Golan Heights with binoculars in hand to watch the battle play out between rebels and the Syrian Army on the other side of the border. See photos here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic.... Nor is this a particularly safe form of recreation, since there are reports of Israelis being injured from errant fire almost daily. Maybe about as safe as skydiving or other extreme sports. But far be it from me to criticize them. As anyone who's watched the Hurt Locker knows, war can get to be addicting. But that doesn't necessarily let those of us who aren't actively involved in combat off the hook, as the entertainment industry can testify. Sure, movies are safer, but are they really?
In fact, constant exposure to stress (and adrenaline) isn't good for your health. I say this as a person with a driven personality, who can't seem to get enough to do, who has been on the verge of nervous breakdowns in the past. But once you've reached a certain level of activity and stress, it becomes agonizing to cut back, until you're flat on your face and have to sit on the beach for three months. Been there, done that. And still, though in our right mind, we might know better, once you get used to something, it's hard to go back to "normal." You grow hardened to anything less. And the hardening is a type of defense mechanism. I can almost guarantee you that there was less coverage, interest, and fewer Google searches made on Steven Sotloff's beheading by ISIS than there was of James Foley's, which came first. Why do you think that ISIS is giving kids dolls and knives to play with so they get used to decapitations?
But where is the balance between hardening ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, to stress, war, and other negative factors, and letting things get to us? I remember a photography exhibit of the faces of Israeli women that I once saw. I would say that compared to the average American, there was a definite hardness to them. Sure, the body's defenses kick in and we become less affected by stressful things, but there is a price. I would love to be soft, empathetic, and relaxed. I'd love to be the person who enjoys chick-flicks and rom-coms instead of action/suspense films, yet at the same time, that also seems detrimental in its own right.
With that, I have to report that I went to the Planet Beach spa yesterday and enjoyed an aqua massage! Yes, it was quite relaxing. But it was almost more stressful to take 20 minutes out of my hectic day just to lie there and do nothing else. Sheesh! Life is tough. So today, I took this unscientific stress-test. You can, too, at http://stress.about.com/library/adren.... I scored 5 out of 10, meaning that I'm an adrenaline junkie and might need to scale things back a bit. I'm definitely going to try. Just as soon as I get everything else done…
Once, a friend told me about how he went bungee jumping, three times in one day. Afterwards, he found himself speeding in his car, because it felt like he was going super slow. Such are the effects of adrenaline. Even worse, after months of prolonged exposure to stress, there is a physiological change that occurs in the body: You can literally become an adrenaline addict.
Now, in a country that is just getting over its own little war, in which thousands of rockets were launched at it, Israeli tourists are supposedly flocking to the Golan Heights with binoculars in hand to watch the battle play out between rebels and the Syrian Army on the other side of the border. See photos here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic.... Nor is this a particularly safe form of recreation, since there are reports of Israelis being injured from errant fire almost daily. Maybe about as safe as skydiving or other extreme sports. But far be it from me to criticize them. As anyone who's watched the Hurt Locker knows, war can get to be addicting. But that doesn't necessarily let those of us who aren't actively involved in combat off the hook, as the entertainment industry can testify. Sure, movies are safer, but are they really?
In fact, constant exposure to stress (and adrenaline) isn't good for your health. I say this as a person with a driven personality, who can't seem to get enough to do, who has been on the verge of nervous breakdowns in the past. But once you've reached a certain level of activity and stress, it becomes agonizing to cut back, until you're flat on your face and have to sit on the beach for three months. Been there, done that. And still, though in our right mind, we might know better, once you get used to something, it's hard to go back to "normal." You grow hardened to anything less. And the hardening is a type of defense mechanism. I can almost guarantee you that there was less coverage, interest, and fewer Google searches made on Steven Sotloff's beheading by ISIS than there was of James Foley's, which came first. Why do you think that ISIS is giving kids dolls and knives to play with so they get used to decapitations?
But where is the balance between hardening ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, to stress, war, and other negative factors, and letting things get to us? I remember a photography exhibit of the faces of Israeli women that I once saw. I would say that compared to the average American, there was a definite hardness to them. Sure, the body's defenses kick in and we become less affected by stressful things, but there is a price. I would love to be soft, empathetic, and relaxed. I'd love to be the person who enjoys chick-flicks and rom-coms instead of action/suspense films, yet at the same time, that also seems detrimental in its own right.
With that, I have to report that I went to the Planet Beach spa yesterday and enjoyed an aqua massage! Yes, it was quite relaxing. But it was almost more stressful to take 20 minutes out of my hectic day just to lie there and do nothing else. Sheesh! Life is tough. So today, I took this unscientific stress-test. You can, too, at http://stress.about.com/library/adren.... I scored 5 out of 10, meaning that I'm an adrenaline junkie and might need to scale things back a bit. I'm definitely going to try. Just as soon as I get everything else done…
