Adrenaline rushes. How do you react to them?

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Yesterday I went to a water park and rode on a few slides. Man, this scared the crap out of me! It was the first time I had a true adrenaline rush. I'll never do it again, it's too scary. NTs, on the other hand, seem to get addicted to this kind of stuff. That's why they do extreme sports, such as surfing and skydiving.

I do not particularly like adrenaline rushes, but I experience them pretty often. They happen whenever I perform. I get them when I get angry. I get them whenever I need to say something really deep, important, and personal to someone. I get them when I get startled, even when I'm watching a movie. I get them when I'm doing something like hiking and I go through a "scary spot."

I will ride some rollercoasters and go down some waterslides, but I am more cautious than most people. I also would never skydive.

For me, adrenaline rushes are like an instant panic attack without the mind-whirring. They also do not last as long as a panic attack. They are pretty much over in an instant, like large on WHOOSH goes by, but recovery takes a few minutes. My heart races, I start sweating, I turn red and get light-headed. Recovery is pretty quick with some focused, deep breathing, but that can be hard to gain control of when I'm performing...takes a lot of practice.

I once almost fainted when I was on a walk with a friend and considered talking to her about something that she was doing that was really hurting me. Just thinking about bringing it up brought an incredible rush.

Sometimes, I need an adrenaline rush to help me confront situations which I am fearful of.

I think I've unconsciously learned to kill the adrenaline response, for the most part. Last time I went on a rollercoaster, I was surprised to find that all I did was to grip the handrails very tightly and just sit there feeling kind of pissed off. It's a shame because I used to get a lot of relief from a rollercoaster ride, I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me, which was horrible, but afterwards I'd feel free of anxiety for a while, so it was a good temporary remedy for the almost constant anxiety I used to have in those days.

The only time recently when I've noticed an adrenaline rush was in a very tricky social situation where a guy was being rather invasive towards me and my partner. I wanted to simply remove the guy, but wasn't sure what kind of response I could give that would be socially acceptable, and I wasn't sure whether or not my partner would back me up. As it turned out, he then said something stupid and I found myself putting him quite firmly in his place with a few words. So again I somehow managed to kill the adrenaline thing - normally I can barely think when I'm feeling that wired, and I don't know where my words came from. It worked, but I don't think it's good for my overall health. Rather like becoming a soldier and fighting a war, you can win but you might not be doing your mind and body much good. If that makes any sense.