Adrenaline Junkies and Purpose

[Danneskjold]

First off, I'd like to state that when I say adrenaline junkies I do not mean those who do skydiving, bungie jumping, or any other type of generally accepted sport that has normal safeguards put in place.

It recently came to my attention that my friend likes to play a game called Chicken with trains. The idea is to see how long a person can stand on a train track with a train coming at them before the guy too scared and jump out of the way. Now, it occured to me that this was an incredibly bad idea. Apparently this brainwave hadn't reached her or many of her friends (She told me no other friend had ever suggested that it was a bad idea).

So I was wondering, is this kind of search for an adrenaline rush just a unhealthy byproduct of lacking in purpose, and therefore another way to vent energy and seek fulfillment? Or am I way off base completely?

[BAMF]

If it had never occurred to her that it was a bad idea, then it seems to me that she's just a moron.

[Danneskjold]

Just in case you didn't notice the note of sarcasm in my first post: I think the deal was more about WHY it was a bad idea. She knew it was dumb in the first place but never bothered to assess the risks. Part of the idea behind being an adrenaline junkie is that you KNOW it's dumb and that's why you do it. It's the rush, not that you gain anything from it. This is not to say it's a smart idea, just to say that although she knew she probably didn't care that much.

[Judith]

It recently came to my attention that my friend likes to play a game called Chicken with trains. The idea is to see how long a person can stand on a train track with a train coming at them before the guy too scared and jump out of the way. Now, it occured to me that this was an incredibly bad idea. Apparently this brainwave hadn't reached her or many of her friends (She told me no other friend had ever suggested that it was a bad idea).

So I was wondering, is this kind of search for an adrenaline rush just a unhealthy byproduct of lacking in purpose, and therefore another way to vent energy and seek fulfillment? Or am I way off base completely?

My initial, off-the-cuff guess would be that it's an easy, cheap way to seek a sense of efficacy.

Judith

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Jeff,

You might enjoy this and see if it applies to your friend:

Human stupidity

Michael

[Chris Grieb]

Michael, Jeff, Kori; I don't know if any of you are famailier with Jeff Foxworthy and his Blue Collar Comedy Tour. One of the other people in the tour is Bill Engval. Bill's signature line is "Here's your sign" when somebody says something stupid. He uses it a lot. Jeff say that to your friend.

Edited December 11, 2006 by Chris Grieb

[Kat]

Jeff, I hope you have the sense not to date this piece of work! She sounds like a very troubled girl. She either is seeking attention, is a total idiot or has a death wish. Most likely all of the above in addition to wanting to be on Jackass. She is putting her life and possibly others in serious danger and if it has become a compulsive behavior for her she needs psychiatric help to deal with this obsession. Her parents should definitely know about this. I'm sure many just brush it off as a young person thrill-seeking, but when one plays with fire they get burnt. She has to stop.

Tabby

[Danneskjold]

No, not a person I am considering dating. Just a friend. The funny thing is that her love life very closely parallels this little extra-curricular activity of hers. She's dating a friend of mine, lives forty minutes away, can't talk to him, he's a compulsive liar, and she STILL trusts him in spite of constant warnings from me and another mutual friend(they've hung out three times in the last five months or so and haven't talked in three aside from text messages on my phone or me relaying messages). I showed her the pure stupidity in what she's doing, and she says shes's going to change. I hope she's telling the truth.