Is it possible to be addicted to stress?

Tostitos · May 2008

Obviously not everyone likes the feeling. But, it has become obvious over the course of my career that for some people, when they manage to deal with every problem they have in a successful manner, it only brings a feeling of lack of purpose.

The only time those people feel normal is when things seem doomed.

People can be addicted to power, chemicals, love, but I've never heard of a stress (or more aptly, duress) addiction.

Does it exist?

devoir · May 2008

Adrenaline is a chemical.

Stress induces adrenaline release.

I guess I'd personally fall into the category you're setting up for discussion here.

deowolf · May 2008

Do you mean like putting off a paper until the last minute, only to get a rush when you hand it in just in the nick of time? Or putting yourself in a position where undue or unnecessary stress causes you to get a bigger feeling of accomplishment from doing something fairly ordinary?

electricitylikesme · May 2008

I would take a guess that people who are workaholics could probably also be described as being addicted to stress, though I think we need the more psychiatry oriented D&D'ers in here to lend some academic weight to this discussion.

While I like keeping myself busy, I'm definitely not addicted to stress - I like getting things done cleanly.

devoir · May 2008

If Tositos is talking about people like me, I only enjoy my job when it's challenging. I perform best under pressure, and while I might grumble during it, once I've completed and succeeded, I feel good for having done so.

I take pride in knowing that I do what I do better than anyone else I know, and specifically so under stressful, highly challenging situations.

Tostitos · May 2008

I'm talking about people who for reasons of either personal preference or random life outcome, find themselves under stress for most of their lives, and clearly don't feel normal without it.

I think it makes them seek out additional sources for their nightly "oh fuck oh fuck oh fucks," which is awesome because they aren't the only people in the world and people who keep racking up more obligations or setting more goals when they already are clearly going "oh fuck oh fuck" (you can see it in their eyes) just makes my own job harder.

electricitylikesme · May 2008

Eh, I think that's different. I know plenty of people who set themselves a challenge, but I'm not sure if that's necessarily "we're all doomed!" stress addiction. A TV case would be Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis I think.

Tostitos · May 2008

Maybe what I'm trying to ask about is how people like that can be normal when they manage to kill off their dragons and enjoy the fruit of their labors even though everything feels totally different and wrong once there isn't anything to really worry about.

Carcharodontosaurus · May 2008

Well, addiction to adrenaline could be one explanation of why people arrange their lives to generate a lot of stress, but another explanation would be their psychology. They could be purposefully setting up self-defeating situations due to one or another mental problem from earlier in their life.

electricitylikesme · May 2008

Tostitos wrote: »

Maybe what I'm trying to ask about is how people like that can be normal when they manage to kill off their dragons and enjoy the fruit of their labors even though everything feels totally different and wrong once there isn't anything to really worry about.

That just seems like a mental issue to me, or at least a conditioning issue - nothing to worry about, so obviously you're forgetting about something and the hammer is about to drop.

Spoony · May 2008

People who are perpetually stressed aren't adrenaline junkies in the sense that most people mean it. Deadline stress does release adrenaline, but only small quantities of it. There's no euphoric sensation or rush and the adrenaline starts to damage your body after a period of time.

My estimation would be that it's not stress that creates the addiction, but the feeling of having pulled success out of the jaws of defeat. It's also possible that putting oneself in perpetual states of stress is a defense mechanism. If you succeed, you can claim an inordinate level of skill and gain accolades. If you fail, you can claim that it was being overwhelmed by outside forces. That's actually standard procedure for most westerners so I'm not sure it could be called maladaptive.

Rhesus Positive · May 2008

deowolf wrote: »

Do you mean like putting off a paper until the last minute, only to get a rush when you hand it in just in the nick of time?

I do that all the time, but I always put it down to laziness.

Arceus · May 2008

Tostitos wrote: »

Maybe what I'm trying to ask about is how people like that can be normal when they manage to kill off their dragons and enjoy the fruit of their labors even though everything feels totally different and wrong once there isn't anything to really worry about.

Because to them boredom is worse than stress I guess.

Basically this question boils down to why we do anything at all (above and beyond the stuff absolutely necessary for survival of course). We could just take it easy and go live in a monastery or something where nothing stressful goes on pretty much ever (just a stupid example but you get the point) or get by on some scraps here and pieces there. But we have these nasty things boiling inside of us called ambition, the need to fight boredom and feeling needed and admired by others... All just stuff to keep us busy\occupied and fill the essential emptiness and pointlessness of life (lol this got really nihilistic all of a sudden, didn't mean to but again, you get the point hopefully). Some people, like stress-addicts, feel the need to fill "the void" more than others (like those monks from the example and others who are content with "the simple life").

I used to get the feeling you are describing right after midterms and finals all the time in college, because all of this buildup leads up to a moment of nothingness between the exam itself and getting the (hopefully good, so that all the work paid off) grade a week or so later. You fall into this abyss when you don't have to study anymore but also can't just enjoy the freedom quite yet because your mind is still so preoccupied with having to pass the exam even though there's nothing you can do about it anymore. I think this is a very common feeling among college students because my friends also experienced it a lot. Sound familiar to anyone?

Marty81 · May 2008

deowolf wrote: »

Do you mean like putting off a paper until the last minute, only to get a rush when you hand it in just in the nick of time? Or putting yourself in a position where undue or unnecessary stress causes you to get a bigger feeling of accomplishment from doing something fairly ordinary?

Is the first not an example of the second?

Fuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud · May 2008

The answer is yes. A person can normalize just about any fucking experience or environment. So yeah, one can be "addicted" or adapted to stress, for better or worse.

saint2e · May 2008

I'm fully convinced that I am working with one person who is like this now.

Every little "issue" is a huge deal with her at the centre of it. She always is the centre of conversation in conference calls and is always freaking out and making huge deals over small things.

In fact, when there are no problems at the moment, she will go out and seek out problems to bring to everyone's attention.

She complains all the time that she's so stressed out, but hasn't taken vacation in close to 2 years now.

I think she's a perfect example of being addicted to stress.

DasUberEdward · May 2008

I perform the best under stress. Well that's not the right word I never really get stressed out but when I do something at the last minute I tend to be much more lucid.

GungHo · May 2008

While not strictly "classic" stress, I know plenty of empathy vampires and other people who get off on manufactured relationship drama.

Loren Michael · May 2008

I'm pretty sick at eliminating stress, both in myself and others.

Nerissa · May 2008

electricitylikesme wrote: »

Tostitos wrote: »

Maybe what I'm trying to ask about is how people like that can be normal when they manage to kill off their dragons and enjoy the fruit of their labors even though everything feels totally different and wrong once there isn't anything to really worry about.

That just seems like a mental issue to me, or at least a conditioning issue - nothing to worry about, so obviously you're forgetting about something and the hammer is about to drop.

That's not quite it... Tostitos is describing me exactly.

Take this past weekend. Like most in the US, I had a 3-day weekend, and a zillion things I could and "should" be doing with my time, as well as probably a dozen neglected hobbies and things I enjoy doing.

But by about 6pm Monday, I was... bored doesn't begin to cover it. As a matter of fact, I wasn't so much bored as just out of sorts. Like totally unable to generate desire to do anything. I'd pick up a book, and not even read a page before putting it down. I actually sat just staring at the ceiling for probably 20 minutes.

But during the week when I'm all stressed out, with dozens of things I should get done today and knowing I won't get half of them done, I feel more "normal"

I'm not sure if it's an addiction as such, or if it's just a by-product of some other issue(s).

Tostitos · May 2008

I think it comes from living with it enough that our mind normalizes it. It's not a healthy or fun place to be. I'm talking about the "problems with no immediately visible solutions" sort of constant pressure, not "woohoo I'm in a challenging academic environment" pressure.

Bob Joel · May 2008

My estimation would be that it's not stress that creates the addiction, but the feeling of having pulled success out of the jaws of defeat. It's also possible that putting oneself in perpetual states of stress is a defense mechanism. If you succeed, you can claim an inordinate level of skill and gain accolades. If you fail, you can claim that it was being overwhelmed by outside forces.

Maybe this is why I'm majoring in architecture... Anyway, I don't know about addiction either, but after two really demanding semesters, I don't know what to do with myself now that I'm back at home for the summer (common I guess, but this hasn't been an issue for me in years past

). As much as I hated my studio deadlines and not getting nearly enough sleep, I would definitely take those situations over regular life with a summer job at home.

Penny Arcade

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