Are you an emotional junkie?
When I was younger, my life was so interesting, it was full of adventure, craziness and verve. This was because I had a spirit of adventure. I really wanted to live life, to feel things and to experience everything. My life was high octane, fun fueled and absolutely amazing. It was so much fun, there was something to do all the time.
It started out with some adrenaline fueled experiences. I was always searching for ways to make my life more and more exciting. I went traveling, I skydived, I jet skied the rapids, I stood on high rooftops. I felt as if I was capable of everything …
Adrenaline junkies, are the high octane, fast paced, excitement fueled adrenaline seeking individuals that do daring. It makes me think of the film Point Break and if you haven’t seen it grab your favourite beverage and a tonne of munchies and get ready for Swayze and Keanu Reeves.
An adrenaline junkie will surround themselves with situations that test their resilience, patience and just about everything else. Why because they are hooked on the feeling that they get when the adrenaline kicks in, palms go sweaty, mouth slightly dry, either cocky or subdued, it’s time to fly!!! Who needs unhealthy past times such as drinking, when you have high waves to surf on, mountains to dive off and planes to throw yourself out of?
These folk are quite familiar to us, however what if you’re an emotional junkie. It’s the same thing, however the high is created in a different way. Tough situation, life up against a clock, feeling as if you’re up against it, running on empty, mouth goes dry, either cocky or subdued, it’s time to fly …
Yup the feeling that we have when we are addicted to experiencing waves of emotion are similar to what adrenaline junkies feel when they are searching for their next experience. Now I can’t say that I have done a study on this, or that I know for sure, yet…
In my experience when life goes a little crazy I start to emulate the response of an adrenaline junkie.
I know this because I have experienced the exhilaration, the madness, the immediate results.
Today, I was sat on my emotional junkie rollercoaster, the feeling in me, the gentle patter of my chest and the exhilaration, I felt it all again. The emotional response is fantastic, terrifying and ultimately invigorating.
I have been thinking on this, this evening and even watched an adrenaline fueled movie to help me to navigate what this means. Emotional junkies get the same inner response to adrenaline junkies. Note: This is not a scientific theory, it’s just the way that I see it right now. I felt the same way. Of course emotional junkies may complain and say that what they are feeling is painful or something that they don’t want to go through.
However if they stopped for a moment, paused and let the wave wash over them, they would realise that the feeling in the experience is deeper and more exhilarating than they could have ever imagined. For an adrenaline junkie the response happens and then it is gone very quickly, which is one of the reasons that they seek more and more daring things to do.
Being an emotional junkie means that your emotional rollercoaster of emotions and the woes that you are experiencing create a similar response of a high octane pursuit. Why, because your emotional response, when ready for the change, is about to dive off a metaphorical cliff.
The mind sees the two as the same and the excitement levels mimic each other.
Have you ever got overwhelmed by a situation that is unbearable. It’s not as if what you have to do is hard, it’s just that every step that you take, because it is linked to a part of you that is raw, sends shockwaves through your body. It’s as if the ground has opened up and you feel as if the direction that you are going in will surely end in some type of catastrophe?
Yet, what if the overwhelming situation that is making your skin come up in spots and your body ache is actually the beginning of a new start, what then?
A bungee jumper, faces mortality when they jump.
An emotional junkie, might moan about a situation like this, however internally they crave the highs and the lows. The excitement that it brings their life; the reason being that these high and lows, make them feel alive.
Come on we’ve all mixed with that friend, or had a boyfriend that just pushed the envelope. Got you to do things that you would never have done without their influence. The reason that you hung around with them, is because they forced you to live, to experience your emotions and to feel something.
For some of us, this is our normal, we are emotional junkies, we seek this thrill, the experience and the possibility of high level emotions because we need them to function. They light us up, they make us feel alive.
Yet this was me when I was younger and when I left my ex, I got with someone new. My immediate reaction was that it would never work. The new boyfriend was different, quieter and his life was less dramatic. I paused as I thought about all the excitement that I had known with the other. Was this it? It felt boring, without variety and the fun that I had come to associate with my life.
Of course as we get older, we realise that we no longer need to experience life this way to function. There is nothing wrong with experiencing extremes of emotion and body surges. However, as we age, it is noted that maybe we can find another way to move ourselves forward, that does not invoke an emotional high all the time.
Now the most fun I have is a cup of tea!!
I know now that the emotional high that I was getting, probably wasn’t too good for me. Although some rollercoater experiences are important because they create the opportunity for us to evolve, to change and to learn.
However, the truth is, that when we are in the throes of crazy, healing comes from being able to cry, from having a party that says goodbye to what was before and saying that yes I had this for a time, but now I have this. Emotional junkies know this, they embrace it, talk about it a lot and thrive in the adrenaline rush that the change provides them.
Although to others an emotional junkie may seem to be slightly unbalanced. There is always some type of drama in their life and they are constantly regaling others with their hardships.
When we go through periods of change our bodies are also going through a time of revamped energy. Yes, we may feel as if we have lost our energy and that we are in the depth of hell. However, as the situation starts to clear, there is a energy surge (enter the response of the emotional junkie) and we are internally awakened to the possibility within us. It is up to us whether we recognise what is on offer to us, whether or not we capable, of riding the wave that is presented to us.
I have hung up my emotional junkie hat. I know that my early life was fantastic, filled with adventure and fabulous adrenaline fueled times. Followed by a time, where I searched for anything to mirror what I had experienced in my late teens and early twenties.
Yet, now I seek a little peace and calm. There's still passion in my life, I just express it in a different way.
Of course there will still be the jump out of the plane moments every once in a while…
The truth is, that if you are an emotional junkie, you will be drawing this drama into your life, so that you can feel something, anything.
Remember when you were young, maybe you did things that you were not allowed to do, things that made you feel alive. As we get older the instances of creating these experiences are less likely, because the opportunities are more limited.
If you are the type of person that wants this feeling in your life, you’re either going to strap up, go rock climbing or you are going to find an emotional upset to create a wave of adrenaline that has been missing in your life.
Emotional junkie, adrenaline junkie, or take life as it comes, it does not matter how you explore your world. Remember if you are creating situations so that you can feel something. This is a sign that you are seeking an adrenaline rush. It can also be a sign that you are awakening. A sign that there needs to be a change, something that will make you feel alive.
Find your best way to have the experiences that you crave, there is no wrong way, if you are happy riding a wave, scaling emotion or just sitting are staring out at the sea, if it makes you feel alive, go for it...
Be who you want to be … For me it’s chilling, reading a good book and drinking a cup of tea. I have hung up my emotional junkie hat, so that I can pause, rest and relax.
Lots Love to you all
xxxxX
