Chaos – Opiate Nation

(Translation into most languages at tab to the right)

In Part One, the May 2024 blog, I discussed the characteristics of an Adrenaline Junkie: those who seek out activities that give them an adrenaline rush. Now I’d like to look at High Sensation Seekers (HSS): those who look for thrills in all areas of their lives. It’s a compulsive need for sensation. (1) Being addicted to stimulation in our everyday lives.

Characteristics of HSS can masquerade as something other than pursuing “a thrill.” It can be an unconscious need for stimulation, but sensation seeking is there, nonetheless. Perhaps it is how we live without margins in our daily lives or manage our time and deadlines or the people we choose to regularly interact with. It will certainly influence the type of career we choose.

As I shared in the last blog, my husband fits the HSS descriptors rather than those of the adrenaline junkie. What helped me zero in on this were two things: his career choice and his tendency to procrastinate. John chose to leave the safety of a tenured professorship to begin independent research and consulting, which brought with it a lot of daily stress. And, as he diligently strives to meet his business deadlines, he consistently ends up working feverishly to finish his projects at the eleventh hour. I’ve never understood this – as someone who works to finish ahead of schedule – because it seems so self-defeating. But now I understand. He gets something out of it – the surge of adrenaline as he races to completion and then the elation of finishing. He is also a life-long motorcycle rider.

Some people may create drama or crises in their family or professional lives just for the sensation of adrenaline and stress – which releases the hormones that bring excitement and dispel negative moods. This rang a bell with me as I have pondered for decades why some families like mine seem to always have some type of drama emanating from them while others don’t. Although sensation-seeking types of behaviors are not currently listed as a mental disorder, they are related to many mental health conditions.

Let’s consider HSS addictions to regular, repeated, high-risk behaviors such as gambling, shoplifting, pornography, illicit dalliances, etc. Why engage in such behaviors, usually done in secret, when there is every likelihood of eventually being caught? The thrill of avoiding discovery is part of what keeps the up the behavior. Remember, it is a compulsive need for continual sensation that drives the HSS person. But we need to also remember that addiction in a medical/chemical sense is a distinct diagnosis separate from personality types. Our personality may lead us into addictions that others would wisely see as dangerous and avoid, but the addiction itself with its underlying issues and resultant mental and physical complications can develop in any person regardless of personality type.

Nathan Falde, a freelance writer on personality-types, has an excellent article on HSS (1). In it he says,

“The concept of the high sensation-seeking (HSS) person was conceived by University of Delaware psychologist Marvin Zuckerman. He identified four distinct personality traits these people shared:

• Thrill and adventure seeking

• Disinhibition

• Experience seeking

• Boredom susceptibility

The need to be stimulated is a normal human characteristic. However, it can get HSS personalities in trouble if they indulge their urges too readily and with little or no reflection. Research shows that unhealthy HSS’s are prone to developing substance addictions and self-destructive behaviors. Well-adjusted sensation-seekers, on the other hand, are known for their bold, daring and inventive initiatives. They bring an infectious sense of possibility to their environment – and that can be a very good thing.” John is a great example of this last HSS. My life has been enriched by his sense of adventure and spontaneity.

Falde goes on to discuss how personality tests and typing will reveal HSS people in several significant areas. The important take away is to be self-aware and well-informed so that you can live your life wisely and avoid the pitfalls that your natural inclinations for stimulation could steer you towards.

Warning bells should be ringing if your life, and the lives of those close to you, is chaotic or unstable or always on the verge of emotional or physical disaster. Partners, children, families need physical and emotional stability to thrive.

If you, or a loved one, are dealing with HSS behaviors that are negatively impacting your life and the lives of those around you, review the list of suggestions from the last blog for ways to respond to unhealthy urges or stress in our lives and to help restore our sense of well-being and peace.

https://www.truity.com/blog/what-are-high-sensation-seeking-personalities#:~:text=An%20adrenaline%20junkie%20seeks%20out,high%2Drisk%20hobbies%20and%20sports

(Translation into most languages at tab to the right)

A common feature of an addicted persons’ life is its lack of order. Chaos seems to swirl around them like clouds circling the earth. There is very little, if any, organization to their life and the only structure is what must be done in order to score the next hit for their chosen addiction and survive. Their lives are in disarray, they are dis-ordered. I remember this from when our son was using Oxy’s and heroin. Thinking about this brought up a related thought.

“Disordered Loves” is a phrase taken from the writings of St. Augustine who lived and wrote in the 4^thcentury A.D. I have only read a fraction of his impressive work, and I am amazed at how modern many of his insights on the human psyche and condition were. In City of God he said, “…though [something] is good, it can be loved in the right way or in the wrong way – in the right way, that is, when the proper order is kept, in the wrong way when that order is upset.” (1) He writes elsewhere, real love knows how “to love things…in the right order, so that you do not love what is not to be loved, or fail to love what is to be loved, or have a greater love for what should be loved less.” (2)

For example, we can look to the workaholic. They love their work and want to do a good job and be successful. But they love work more than loving the people in their life: family, friends, co-workers, and employees. To succeed, they may become dishonest even if they are normally an honest person. The need to feel successful and to be recognized supersedes all other things in their life – they fail to love what is most important. This is true of any addiction. When we love “what is not to be loved or have a greater love for what should be loved less” – anything from travel, purchases, drugs, alcohol, events, prestige, etc. – the important relationships and responsibilities will suffer.

Augustine agreed with Cicero that humans are mostly discontent and lack joy. Because of that, we search for happiness and fulfillment. So, we attach ourselves to objects that we hope will make us happy. We prioritize those objects by how valuable they are to us. We put them in order. His point is that what we spend our time on, what we value and prioritize, is what we love. And what we love directs our lives. And Augustine believed that when we place our ultimate love in temporal and finite objects, or even another person, we will still not be fulfilled because God is the ultimate source for joy, contentment, and fulfillment.

Even for people who do not embrace the spiritual truths Augustine taught, the principle remains: look at your life to see what you prioritize and spend your limited time doing and this will tell you what you love. If your life revolves around filling your life with things such as accomplishments, money, drugs, alcohol, food, pleasure, excitement, etc. – i.e., your loves – your life is disordered.

Re-ordering our loves, and therefore our lives, is not easy. As with any major change, the first step is recognizing that something is wrong. After that, seeking help from counselors or trusted and knowledgeable friends or programs can help us with the next steps. Sacrifice will be required and we do not embrace the loss of anything we love without pain and struggle. However, we can choose to not live with turmoil and discord. We can choose to bring peace and order to our loves and to our lives.

(Special thanks to the late Dr. Timothy Keller’s work on Augustine in Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical. Keller’s writing and teaching has informed my life in innumerable ways.)