Adrenaline Junkie Type #4

4. The Dramatist – some adrenaline addicts get a degree of satisfaction from their addiction because it gives them an opportunity to draw attention to themselves and their plight. They complain about and describe their overwhelming situation, seemingly seeking admiration or pity from those upon whom they unload their problems.

Adrenaline Junkie Type #3

3. The Organizational Deflector – this type is like the previous one, except that the issue being avoided is trouble within the organization. Often a CEO or senior executive of a struggling company convinces himself/herself, as well as others, that he or she is too busy to stop and take an honest look at the company’s situation. As the company spirals, the adrenaline addict only works harder, trying to be convinced that the problem can be solved by working more hours at breakneck speed. The organizational deflector will do anything to avoid confronting the real problems which are often more complex and require real change

Adrenaline Junkie Self Test

Further to this, here's a little self test to see if you might be - or be on the track of being- an adrenaline junkie. Answer the questions below with a simple yes/no. Keep track of your answers.

Adrenaline Addict Self-Test

I drink caffeinated coffee or drinks to get or keep going.
I eat sugary foods / sugar to calm myself down.
I tend to over promise and then rush to get it done at the last minute.
I find some way to sabotage myself or a project, yet usually pull it off.
I tend to take on more than I really want because I feel I can.
I react strongly to the unexpected.
I find myself getting very upset or irritated (whether I show it or not) when people let me down, missdeadlines or do less-than-optimal work. Sometimes I take it personally.
I arrive at work rushed or already “on”.
I get grabbed by surprises and disturbances and then I can’t calm down for a day or more.
I feel an inner rush or lack of stillness or peace much of the time.
I’m the kind of person who tends to find the toughest way to get something done.
I drive more than 5 miles over the speed limit, tailgate or criticize other drivers.
I tend to run or arrive late, even if it’s not my fault.
I find that I attract more problems and disturbances than I feel I deserve.
Money is currently tight and I have been working on getting ahead, but haven’t.
It is difficult to focus on any one thing for more than 10 minutes at a time.
I don’t give myself plenty of time during the day for the things that are likely to come up.
I talk a lot even after people have stopped listening.
I please people to the point of feeling compulsive, regardless of appropriateness or cost.

Scoring: If you answered yes to 5 or more of these, welcome to the club. When you’re ready, willing and able, invest in outside counsel to get through this addiction. From here

Adrenaline Junkie Type #2

Further to this...
2. The Personal Deflector – this is the type that uses their addiction to keep from assessing themselves and reflecting on their situation. They often have problems in their personal lives – or no personal life at all – and the last thing they want to do is face up to that. So they convince themselves that they have no time for their personal lives; which, sadly, only exacerbates the problem and prolongs the pain of dealing with it.

Adrenaline Junkie Type #1

One of the problems that I see with being an adrenaline junkie is that we just stay too busy. Too busy for family, for prayer, for down time, for relationships -with God and others. We are a BUSY society!! This addiction often manifests in work, but can really be seen in any team setting, including (or especially) family.

Not all adrenaline addicts are the same. There are four types:

1. The Accomplisher – this is the classic type of adrenaline addict, the one who has an almost innate need to stay busy and cross things off a list (mental or actual) in order to feel productive. They like to be able to measure daily progress in terms of what they have completed, even at the expense of the bigger, longer term view. Accomplishers are most susceptible to developing an adrenaline addiction because they are prone to take on more and more work.

We'll go through the other 3 over the next day or so...

Are You a Junkie?

Are you someone that has trouble stopping? Trouble taking time to relax? Feel guilty if you slow down? Never take holidays and secretly resent those that do? Feel like everything depends on you? List maker and checker? You may have a problem...

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, has this to say about adrenaline addicts:

Always overwhelmed, adrenaline junkies seem to have a constant need for urgency, even panic, to get them through the day. They cannot grasp the race driver’s motto: you have to slow down to go fast. Instead, they keep their foot on the pedal at full throttle, convinced that any deceleration is lost opportunity.

There is something particularly insidious about adrenaline addiction that makes it hard for many leaders to kick the habit. Unlike other addicts whose behaviors are socially frowned-upon, adrenaline addicts are often praised for their frantic activity, even promoted for it during their careers. And so they often wear their problem like a badge of honor, failing to see it as an addiction at all in spite of the pain it causes.

This is an issue that I've struggled with and continually must guard against. I'm going to post over the next few days about the various 'manifestations' (Accomplisher, Personal Deflector, Organizational Deflector, and Dramatist) of an adrenaline junkie and pass on some thoughts on how to overcome it and its destructive influence in our lives.