The Addictiveness of Adrenaline
Reaching the top of a mountain is an exhilarating feeling. There is no other feeling like it to look around and see everything below is just
stunning. But, one does have to pay a price to get to the top of a mountain. Climbing mountains is a very serious activity that can sometimes be very dangerous. These dangers often times cause adrenaline rushes. Climbing can link to an addiction of adrenaline rushes by how adrenaline works, the addictiveness of adrenaline, and the dangerous nature of climbing.
Adrenaline has often been called the fight or flight mechanism. Adrenaline is produced when a person encounters an intense situation. Throughout an article called “What is Adrenaline?” McHuigan explains how adrenaline works in the body. The adrenaline glands release a chemical called epinephrine. When the epinephrine is released, feel good chemicals are released at the same time. These chemicals then travel through the body and cause a person to experience different symptoms. According to an article called the “5 Symptoms of an Adrenaline Rush”, these symptoms may include: heightened senses, increased strength, no feeling of pain, sudden boast of energy, or increased breathing. The article also states that, “Adrenaline can cause the heart rate to rise, reduce blood flow or speed it up, and even cause changes in the processes associated with digesting fats and sugars.”
I believe that adrenaline can become very addictive. The chemicals inside of adrenaline can be as addictive as drugs including
meth, cocaine, nicotine, and morphine. What is dangerous about adrenaline is that the chemical itself does not harm the body unlike many drugs. But, that does not mean that being addicted to adrenaline is completely risk free. An adrenaline junkie can be defined as, “A person addicted to the thrill of the adrenaline rush” (“What Is an Adrenaline Junkie”). These people risk their lives to produce the adrenaline they are craving. Some people produce this adrenaline through extreme sports that put their life in danger while others may fill their life with drama and conflict. Both produce the adrenaline they are looking for and both may require dangerous activities to produce the adrenaline.
Climbing is a sport that is very dangerous and can produce adrenaline rushes. Every year, many people travel to mountains throughout the world to claim the title of getting to the summit. Many risk their lives while climbing these mountains. Some people may not believe that climbing is a dangerous sport but in reality it can be one of the most deadly. Hundreds of people die every year while attempting to reach their goals of the summit. But, that does not mean that all climbing is dangerous. It is possible for one to find safe climbing on small mountains of hiking trails in national parks. But to get the adrenaline rushes that some people are looking for, one may have to climb mountains that sometimes require a person to risk their life to reach the summit. Climbing to these summits demand knowledge of technical climbing that may involve different techniques of rock climbing with ropes or using ice equipment such as ice picks and crampons to climb up sheer walls of ice. Climbing also requires good judgment. This judgment often times comes into play with the weather. When a climber is nearing the summit of a mountain, the weather plays a huge role in whether or not a climber reaches the summit of the mountain. A climber must use their good judgment to determine whether it is safe to continue the climbing or whether the elements are too harsh to continue on. Some climbers are so determined to reach the summit that they ignore all of the signs of bad weather. This can create another dangerous component that a climber
must face. This exciting edge of competing against the elements adds another risk that could help a person achieve an adrenaline rush. Climbing is a risky sport that requires a lot of knowledge of climbing techniques and requires good judgment. If a person makes one mistake, it could cost them their life.
Climbing along with many other extreme sports can lead to an addiction of adrenaline. Many of the people who climb dangerous mountains are people who are looking to find danger. They are looking for this danger so that they can achieve the adrenaline rush that they are craving. Often, people ask why a person would risk their life to get to the top of a mountain. This question particularly comes up when Mount Everest is being discussed. Many people ask why a person would pay thousands of dollars to go climb a mountain that they have a good chance of dying on. Even the local people of Mt. Everest ask, “Why do the white people come to die on our mountains?” (Magnuson). Each person may have a different answer to these questions. Some would say that they are there because climbing is their passion and others might say that they are there to climb just so they can say they have reached the top of the world. If one was to ask a climber on Everest if they were an adrenaline junkie they would probably say no. Most people who are adrenaline junkies do not know it. Some believe that one cannot become addicted to adrenaline while others just believe that they are not addicted to adrenaline. But, many people who climb Everest and many other dangerous mountains are there because they want to get the feeling they get while climbing. Many do not recognize this feeling as adrenaline so there is no way of that person knowing that they could be addicted to adrenaline. The problem with adrenaline is that one’s body becomes used to the danger. So that requires a person to get into more and more dangerous situations to be able to trigger an adrenaline rush.
Climbing can be a dangerous activity that puts people’s lives at risk. These near-death situations that people experience often lead to adrenaline rushes. Since adrenaline is so addictive, adrenaline junkie might do life-threatening things just to get their next“fix”. Adrenaline, while not harmful to the body, can create an addiction that can cause a person to do very dangerous activities like extreme climbing.
Works Cited
Magnuson, Jon. “The Lure of the Mountain: Death and Divinity in
the Himalayas.” The Christian Century
Feb 18 1998: 170-3. ProQuest
Discovery. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
McGuigan, Brendan, and L. S. Wynn. “What is Adrenaline.” WiseGeek. Conjecture, 12 Sept. 2012.
Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
< http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-adrenaline.htm.>
“What Is an Adrenaline Junkie?” /
Fitness / Body Building. FitDay, 9 July 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.<
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/body-building/what-is-an-adrenaline-junkie.html.>
“5 Symptoms of an Adrenaline Rush.” FitDay.
FitDay, 13 June 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/body-building/5-symptoms-of-an-adrenaline-rush-.html. >
stunning. But, one does have to pay a price to get to the top of a mountain. Climbing mountains is a very serious activity that can sometimes be very dangerous. These dangers often times cause adrenaline rushes. Climbing can link to an addiction of adrenaline rushes by how adrenaline works, the addictiveness of adrenaline, and the dangerous nature of climbing.
Adrenaline has often been called the fight or flight mechanism. Adrenaline is produced when a person encounters an intense situation. Throughout an article called “What is Adrenaline?” McHuigan explains how adrenaline works in the body. The adrenaline glands release a chemical called epinephrine. When the epinephrine is released, feel good chemicals are released at the same time. These chemicals then travel through the body and cause a person to experience different symptoms. According to an article called the “5 Symptoms of an Adrenaline Rush”, these symptoms may include: heightened senses, increased strength, no feeling of pain, sudden boast of energy, or increased breathing. The article also states that, “Adrenaline can cause the heart rate to rise, reduce blood flow or speed it up, and even cause changes in the processes associated with digesting fats and sugars.”
I believe that adrenaline can become very addictive. The chemicals inside of adrenaline can be as addictive as drugs including
meth, cocaine, nicotine, and morphine. What is dangerous about adrenaline is that the chemical itself does not harm the body unlike many drugs. But, that does not mean that being addicted to adrenaline is completely risk free. An adrenaline junkie can be defined as, “A person addicted to the thrill of the adrenaline rush” (“What Is an Adrenaline Junkie”). These people risk their lives to produce the adrenaline they are craving. Some people produce this adrenaline through extreme sports that put their life in danger while others may fill their life with drama and conflict. Both produce the adrenaline they are looking for and both may require dangerous activities to produce the adrenaline.
Climbing is a sport that is very dangerous and can produce adrenaline rushes. Every year, many people travel to mountains throughout the world to claim the title of getting to the summit. Many risk their lives while climbing these mountains. Some people may not believe that climbing is a dangerous sport but in reality it can be one of the most deadly. Hundreds of people die every year while attempting to reach their goals of the summit. But, that does not mean that all climbing is dangerous. It is possible for one to find safe climbing on small mountains of hiking trails in national parks. But to get the adrenaline rushes that some people are looking for, one may have to climb mountains that sometimes require a person to risk their life to reach the summit. Climbing to these summits demand knowledge of technical climbing that may involve different techniques of rock climbing with ropes or using ice equipment such as ice picks and crampons to climb up sheer walls of ice. Climbing also requires good judgment. This judgment often times comes into play with the weather. When a climber is nearing the summit of a mountain, the weather plays a huge role in whether or not a climber reaches the summit of the mountain. A climber must use their good judgment to determine whether it is safe to continue the climbing or whether the elements are too harsh to continue on. Some climbers are so determined to reach the summit that they ignore all of the signs of bad weather. This can create another dangerous component that a climber
must face. This exciting edge of competing against the elements adds another risk that could help a person achieve an adrenaline rush. Climbing is a risky sport that requires a lot of knowledge of climbing techniques and requires good judgment. If a person makes one mistake, it could cost them their life.
Climbing along with many other extreme sports can lead to an addiction of adrenaline. Many of the people who climb dangerous mountains are people who are looking to find danger. They are looking for this danger so that they can achieve the adrenaline rush that they are craving. Often, people ask why a person would risk their life to get to the top of a mountain. This question particularly comes up when Mount Everest is being discussed. Many people ask why a person would pay thousands of dollars to go climb a mountain that they have a good chance of dying on. Even the local people of Mt. Everest ask, “Why do the white people come to die on our mountains?” (Magnuson). Each person may have a different answer to these questions. Some would say that they are there because climbing is their passion and others might say that they are there to climb just so they can say they have reached the top of the world. If one was to ask a climber on Everest if they were an adrenaline junkie they would probably say no. Most people who are adrenaline junkies do not know it. Some believe that one cannot become addicted to adrenaline while others just believe that they are not addicted to adrenaline. But, many people who climb Everest and many other dangerous mountains are there because they want to get the feeling they get while climbing. Many do not recognize this feeling as adrenaline so there is no way of that person knowing that they could be addicted to adrenaline. The problem with adrenaline is that one’s body becomes used to the danger. So that requires a person to get into more and more dangerous situations to be able to trigger an adrenaline rush.
Climbing can be a dangerous activity that puts people’s lives at risk. These near-death situations that people experience often lead to adrenaline rushes. Since adrenaline is so addictive, adrenaline junkie might do life-threatening things just to get their next“fix”. Adrenaline, while not harmful to the body, can create an addiction that can cause a person to do very dangerous activities like extreme climbing.
Works Cited
Magnuson, Jon. “The Lure of the Mountain: Death and Divinity in
the Himalayas.” The Christian Century
Feb 18 1998: 170-3. ProQuest
Discovery. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
McGuigan, Brendan, and L. S. Wynn. “What is Adrenaline.” WiseGeek. Conjecture, 12 Sept. 2012.
Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
< http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-adrenaline.htm.>
“What Is an Adrenaline Junkie?” /
Fitness / Body Building. FitDay, 9 July 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.<
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/body-building/what-is-an-adrenaline-junkie.html.>
“5 Symptoms of an Adrenaline Rush.” FitDay.
FitDay, 13 June 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/body-building/5-symptoms-of-an-adrenaline-rush-.html. >