upvote

points

by thisoneisreal17 hours ago |
comments
upvoteby lukan13 hours ago|
next
[-]
In general yes, I do climbing and I can say I only do it when I feel no fear, no adrenalin rush. When I feel fear I stop, otherwise danger of accident.

But I know a base jumper .. and he only does the jumps if he feels the fear and his kick is to overcome it and feel the adrenalin rush.

reply
upvoteby herodoturtle12 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
> But I know a base jumper .. and he only does the jumps if he feels the fear and his kick is to overcome it and feel the adrenalin rush.

This sentence has beautifully crystallised the meaning of what it means to be an adrenalin junkie ^_^

reply
upvoteby cobbzilla6 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
I do a lot of BMX trail riding. Some trails can be quite dangerous, especially at high speed.

I can identify with this “adrenaline junkie” definition, with qualifications. It’s probably different for everyone, but for me it’s more about “playing the edge”. I’ve crashed badly in the past going over that edge, but my-oh-my is it beautiful to approach, and get as close as you can, and look into the abyss for a moment. When the fear becomes too much, you back off. Over time (and survivorship bias!) you grow to have an immense respect for that edge.

Now, when I (rarely) go past the edge, I’m not flying past it to my death, my approach was appropriately calculated to produce a recoverable step-down or at worst a minor side-fall. I haven’t gone over the handlebars in years.

reply
upvoteby steve-atx-76002 hours ago|
prev|
next
[-]
The least neurotic people that are still alive :)
reply
upvoteby cryzinger15 hours ago|
prev|
next
[-]
Ah, that does make a lot of sense!
reply
upvoteby isomorphic14 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
"Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear." (George Addair)
reply
upvoteby itsafarqueue8 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
Alongside a slew of other things you really, really don’t want.
reply
upvoteby watwut9 hours ago|
prev|
[-]
I dont know what you mean by "neurotic", but my impression was that quite a lot of these have mental health issues. In some cases, the risk taking seemed more like hope for suicide in denial. And they tend to be difficult people with broken relationship.
reply
upvoteby shaboinkin3 hours ago|
parent|
next
[-]
Risk aversion could be looked at in the same lens in my opinion. It’s possible to be risk adverse in a modern society as we have risk takers to do it on your behalf. Policemen and women, firefighters, warfighters, astronauts, test pilots, athletes, etc. But if you’re a deer in the headlights and unable to be willing to push yourself past your preconceived fears and limits, you’re holding yourself back from your true potential. And why might that be the case? Did something happen in one’s life that causes them such behaviors where they’ll always prevent themselves from entering into uncomfortable situations? Anecdote, but there’s someone I know that absolutely avoids anything that could possibly be uncomfortable for him because of an accident that happened in his childhood. It’s all mental.
reply
upvoteby thisoneisreal5 hours ago|
parent|
prev|
[-]
I mean in the Big 5 personality model sense. Someone who is neurotic is sensitive, more prone to negative emotions including fear. Someone who is low in neuroticism is less fearful and sensitive on average. So for example you could put two people in the situation of being about to jump out of a plane and one would feel terrified for their life while the other would feel only mild apprehension.

EDIT: People are a complex blends of emotions and motivations, so you're certainly right that can be another explanation for the same observable behavior. I really liked the comment about adrenaline junkies too. My point was only that on average it's low-sensitivity people who engage in those sorts of activities. Scaredy cats like myself stay home and read a good book.

reply