Any other thrill seekers here?

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I've always loved riding roller coasters, climbing mountains, and experiencing extreme/severe weather. I've also always had a fascination with violent natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, lightning, etc. As a child I used to climb things and several times I had to be "rescued" by my father after climbing too high up in a tree and not being able to climb back down.

I also suffer from chronic depression and feel empty and bored a lot of the time. I've always wondered if my emotional problems are related to needing thrill/stimulation to thrive. It seems that on days when I feel there's nothing exciting to look forward to even getting out of bed is hell. I also don't ever want to do anything that's not exciting to me. Most aspects of ordinary life inspire nothing in me. The idea of having to get up early and waste 8 hours per day at a job that I don't like is horrifying to me. Even shopping for myself seems like a horrible chore sometimes.

I seem to have two modes of operation. When I'm excited or in some way stimulated, either physically or intellectually, I'm extremely motivated and nothing can stop me from accomplishing what I want to accomplish. Yet when I feel burned out with activities I'm forced to do just to survive, make money, etc., I have almost zero motivation.

Just wondering if there are other people who can relate to me.

Hi Marshall, I feel the same way! I absolutely love fast rollercoasters and extreme sports. I did a bungy jump in New Zealand about five years ago and it was the most amazing/scary feeling I have ever experienced. Trouble now is that nothing can match that scary feeling. I too am fascinated by earthquakes, tsunamis, volanoes etc and love watching documentaries on TV about them.

"I seem to have two modes of operation. When I'm excited or in some way stimulated, either physically or intellectually, I'm extremely motivated and nothing can stop me from accomplishing what I want to accomplish. Yet when I feel burned out with activities I'm forced to do just to survive, make money, etc., I have almost zero motivation."

Me too, its very frustrating when I have no motivation to do mundane everyday tasks. I certainly need lots of excitement and stimulation but often don't know when to stop and burn out quickly. I'm always trying to find the balance between rest and excitement. I also get depressed and have realised its usually when I have nothing to look forward to and am bored. Its nice to hear of someone else who is like this.

Suzi

bumb...

I guess we're the only ones...

Sorry, I'm just the opposite. I am terrified of just about everything. Even riding in a car makes me anxious and I flinch at the slightest maneuver that brings the car minutely closer to another car.

Yes!

I was under the impression that people with AS are usually the opposite of thrill seekers, which didn't make much sense to me because I find myself to be a bit of a thrill seeker - I love roller coasters, and I was involved with sports all throughout my childhood, including American football (... I may have sucked, but I liked playing it whenever I could).

I usually attribute this to my ADHD. Stimulation/thrill. However, when I'm depressed, usually I want the opposite of thrill seeking. I'm a bit of a walking contradiction in some areas.

I don't have depression, but I feel the same as the OP. I crave adrenaline and high sensory stimulation in certain areas (can't take bright lights, but I love rapid motion and loud music). I like to feel alive. I want something more from life than just eating, breathing and crapping.

Yes, I feel like that a lot. I also have periods of intense excitement and then dysthimia where I don't want to go out of the house or see anyone at all.
My thrill seeking is in the form of frequent traveling by myself. I love nothing more than taking the plane and going to another country.

Actually I am a roller-coaster engineer. I love rides and coasters so much that I wanted it to be my careeer. I'm a total adrenaline junkie so always looking for something new. The latest things have been getting to drive on the Michigan NASCAR track, storm chasing, and hopefully I'm going to get a chance to fly a plane in the next week or two.

So no, I don't think you're alone in this one.

-Brian

Yeah I'd think AS would make someone inhibited since we are more aroused by stimulated from processing more detail. I love roller coasters and I could ride out extreme weather, but I don't think I have the balls to climb mountains or keep my composure through a natural disaster.

I get bored really easily, but I also get anxious easily.

Same here and I can relate to the boredom and the drone of the mundane things. My wife says, "here we go again" in reference to these up/down swings. She honestly feels I'm bipolar.

But marshall a special interest fills the void for me and not a roller coaster ride and such , in fact I had to close my eyes in 2008 at Busch Gardens in Tampa, when that was my last and I repeat last roller coaster ride , ever.

There was a fighter ace who lived/survived on this 'nor-epinephrine rush' and it aided him in combat. It is something I've read a while back , but it eludes me of who it was.

(Try Nootropics marshall , NADH raises the catecholamines, also see Same E , Deprenyl) - believe me.

Last edited by Mdyar on 08 Sep 2010, 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I enjoy a good thrill ride, including roller coasters, and have travelled a bit just to ride some of them. Just two weeks ago, I rode Phoenix at Knoebel's in Pennsylvania for the first time, a classic wooden coaster in which you are literally out of the seat for much of the ride due to the negative G forces (airtime) with nothing but a single-position lap bar holding you in. I tend to prefer speed and airtime over sudden turns and inversions, but will ride almost anything at least once.

In addition, I have been working towards a private pilot license, and love the sensation of setting at the end of the runway, pushing the throttle in, and gradually pulling back on the yoke

For the most part, no. I love roller coasters, but they're not really a thrill seeker thing IMO.

Physical exhaustion (mountain climbing, for instance) hold no temptation for me, and while I think grottos can be beautiful, I know they're often dangerous and that touring them is strenous, making it appealing in thought and pics only.

I enjoy weather like rain and a good electrical storm. i've never experienced tornado, volcano up close, strong earth quakes or similar, so I don't know how I'd respond if I did. In theory they excite me, in the practical execution - probably not.
I'm too easily scared.

Something that really appeals to me is exploring buildings. When we had x-mas parties in elementary school, we played cops and robbers in the hallways. I always took advantage of the situation to get away from the others and explore the areas of the school that were off-limits in day time when teachers and the caretaker were around. I'd go down to the cellar and investigate what I found. I never did anything wrong Other than being there in the first place), I just found it very exciting.
That kind of exploration still appeals to me. and just like when I first saw the movie, I would still love to have a place like The Overlook (the Shining) to myself and explore it on my own.

before 30, i was a complete basket case. childhood abuse along with having a.s. just destroyed me. somehow i was able to pull out of it, all due to 'extreme' sorts of things.

i became a bicycle racer and to this day, racing was probably the most fun i have ever had. because i didn't learn to ride till past 30, well, that was quite a hinderance. i could stay with the peleton on the flats, but would be dropped on the climbs. the downhills were where i excelled, sometimes catching up with those who had dropped me on climbs.i was fearless. clipping apexes at 50/60 mph gets the adrenalin pumping, that's for sure.

i also became a free climber. not the most technical climber around,and i took way too many risks. being immortal allows you to do that.

i finally felt 'good' about myself. after all those years......'look at me, i'm on top of the world'!

then a drunk driver murdered me. should have stuck to climbing.

Im a big time thrill seeker. I love fast cars, planes, and roller coasters.

I see myself as well a contradiction as well. I need excitement but at the same time there's a lot of things I avoid. I generally hate using the phone, calling people up, or really taking any kind of initiative when other people are involved. I also tend to be overly cautious in a lot of things while at the same time I'm not incapable of doing things others might see as foolhardy. I've taken off and climbed mountains by myself without telling anyone. I've also gone off in the car to chase storms in the middle of the night, driving up to 90 mph in order to catch up to a fast moving storm.

As a child I had a whole lot of phobia issues, a major one being fear of loud sounds and music. Yet the same things that were previously phobias often turned into obsessions. I had the common sensory issues with the feel of clothing and being touched, yet I loved rough-housing and wrestling with friends.

I also tend to talk myself out of trying new things, yet when I find something I like it's impossible to pull me away. I can be extremely stubborn and determined with certain things. I'd probably be the type of person who'd refuse to turn around when a storm came up on Mount Everest and die of hypothermia as a result. I go crazy when I get disappointed, and it feels like my entire world gets turned upside down when things don't go my way. It's really hard to find people who understand me.

I think this is all tied to the reasons I have such severe depression. When I got past puberty I no longer had the will to go into my "obsessive" mode because I couldn't handle the roller-coaster effect of highs and subsequent disappointments anymore and it felt like nobody could understand me. I damped out my obsessive nature and as a result my spirit felt crushed and I felt like there was no longer a reason to live.

yes! rollercoasters, attractions that take you upside down, driving 100 mph (on rare occasion), recently i did something pretty similar to bungee jumping. free falling is increedible.