Basejumper.com - archive

Endorphins give us a natural high- producing natural opiate effects:
enable the body to create it's own anesthetic for pain/ enhance the immune function/ lower blood pressure/ slow heart rate/ enable performance of mental tasks quickly & accurately.

Fear was much more prevalent in the past than in our modern world today. The desire to get endorphins to the brain is highly addictive. It is easy to conclude that one can desire behaviors that stimulate the production of endorphins.

As I have not yet made my first BASE jump, (over 1000 skydives with full awareness of it's addiction)..
know that the flood of nerve hormone "dopamine" to the pleasure center of my brain will be far more potent with BASE.

Do BASE jumpers have a higher number of endorphins and endorphin receptors in their brains??????

Smiles

Actually, it's more likely the opposite. There was a really good documentary on The Learning Channel a while back called "Understanding: Risk Takers & Thrill Seekers". They profiled people participating in "high stimulation"activities, including skydiving & BASE, and interviewed some researchers in the field.

The upshot was that thrill-seeking personalities have fewer dopamine receptors in the brain than the average person. Thus, in order to feel "normal" they need to engage in activities which produce greater amounts of dopamine... BASE, skydiving, rock climbing, surfing, etc.

I have a correllary theory that a large percentage of people who engage in these activites also have ADHD. I could on & on as to the dynamics of this, but the short reason is that ADHD people have a decreased dopamine uptake ability (thus the need for stimulant medication) and frequently seek out high-stimulation activities which promote hyperfocus.

I dont like it,but i think it true...

phuq! - you are not the first person I have heard say this - I looked it up and man it was kinda strange! - apparently normally found in children - but apparently some adults - and he turned to me and said "you know I think you are ADHD" - but have not found any info to confirm - PM me your "correllary theory" on this!

Be Safe................. but dont be careful!

There's a lot more to it. Consider Endorphin receptor site macro binding affinity. Don't forget enkephalins and related degrading peptidase activity. Pituitary-Hypothalmus axial activity may be implicated in your thill. Dopamine and it's buddies also play a part.

Kirils' bargain basement brain surgery and neuorlogical institute is looking for subjects who skydive! Together we will solve this mystery!
Igor!!! Man the Phones and check the E-mail
Fools! yes, we shall show then all! It's alive! alive I tell you!

I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult (actually right when my Ex & I started marriage counselling) and am on Adderall.

I asked the shrink if ADHD could be adult-onset. He said "Nope, you've probably had it all your life.". So then I started thinking back about things I've always done, like constant hand fidgeting, losing stuff all the stinkin' time, etc.

In my case no one really thought much about it because:

a. No one knew what ADHD was when I was growing up; and
b. I did well in school.

And yes, you can be severely ADHD and still do well in school. I just developed a number of coping mechanisms without really knowing it.

According to my knowledge ADHD is a controversial diagnosis with no scientific or medical basis. ADHD is not a deficit, defect, or neurological disorder. There is no proof of any physical abnormalties in the brain/ no biochemical imbalances.
Adderal causes: inattention, hyperactivity & impulsivity--the very things it is supposed to treat.
It suppresses creative, spontanious & autonomous activity. It has adverse effects on the brain, mind & behaviour including the production of drug induced psychosis. It is addictive and a common drug abused today. Using pharmaceutical drugs to subdue & regulate behaviour (psychostimulants- amphetamine mixed salts) is now illegal in my province (B.C. Canada)

I am seeking information to confirm that risk takers have a higher number of endorphins and endorphin receptors- hoping to find research to confirm.

Smiles

There are an awful lot of psychiatrists (M.D.s) and psychologists (PhDs) who would disagree with you on that. Pick up the DSM-IV sometime.

Stimulants have the effects that you describe with non-ADHD people. Their effect on ADHD people is exactly the opposite. And in any event, stimulants are no longer the only medications used to treat ADHD. Eli Lilly just received FDA approval for a non-stimulant ADHD drug called Strattera.

Granted, ADHD is often over/mis-diagnosed, especially in children, but the condition is very real and accepted in the medical community.

It is also frequently related to clinical depression, and is frequently succesfully treated with anti-depressants.

I've found that those who deny its simple existance are usually pushing their own agenda. One such guy who lives in my condo has a car covered in bumper stickers reading "don't drug your kids". I was not surpirsed to find out he is also a staunch scientologist.

_Am

I've come up with the conclusion that BASE jumpers all have some sort of screw loose... heh, kinda made me proud!

Yup. Wellbutrin, in addition to being an antidepressant, also tends to alleviate ADHD symptoms as well. Interestingly, Adderall can help alleviate depression. So they are a popular combination with people suffering from ADHD and depression.

 I see your point .. I can understand that people do have issues. Unfortionately ..... I feel a little like your condo neighbor. I dated a girlfriend for 2 years who had gone to a seminar on ADD. She had self diagnosed herself as ADD after filling out a simple questionnaire. She went to a reputable shrink in the Boulder area(an area that had more mental health people per capita than anywhere else in the U.S. in the 90's) who promptly declared her problems in college were related to ADD, and prescribed ridalin(s.p.??) . Yes..... her attention span went up significantly.... she finished college..... she also became a shell of a person..... it's like that fire inside of her eyes just burnt out. Her soul seemed to become stale after an extended period on the "miracle" drugs.

I did a bit of research on the net at the beginning of 2000. I was surprised to find a large amount of ant-ridalin/prosac/ect groups out there . I was also surprised at how many parents had tried alternative means of "ADD" methods with surprisingly good results.

I did a bit more research into the subject. My sister is a neuro-surgeon. She explained to me how ridiculously corupt the whole brain game is. Heads of neuro departments get shipped to sheik resorts with names like Shagra-la or Vail to learn about the new cool drug for the year. Incentive programs for doctors prescribing drugs. It's disgusting.


I looked at the ADD questionnaire my girlfriend filled out.... according to it..... I'm ADD.....as a matter a fact....everyone of my friends is also ADD.


I understand there are people out there who benefit from some of these drugs..... but when 20-30 percent of all elementary school children are being diagnosed as "miracle" drug deficient....... I don't see it..........


Just my .02

We may not be as far apart as you might think.

You just hit on Ted's Soapbox #872...

Far, far too many kids are being diagnosed with ADHD merely out of convcenience for the parents. It's a heckuva lot easier to just dismiss a basic behavioral problem (possibly caused by poor parenting?) as ADHD, throw the kid a pill and then forget about it. Of course then the kid gets more hyper so they give him/her more drugs, etc. etc.

In my case, I completely accept responsibility for my part in my marriage failing. I never blamed it on the ADHD, though I'm certain it played a factor. I consulted two psychiatrists & a psychologist before I went on meds... all of whom concluded I'm ADHD.

Now the drugs don't have the effect on me that it sounds like they had on your g/f. I feel more alert, less depressed (I'm also on Wellbutrin) and more like myself. It really is a night & day difference for me.

But even now I have to monitor my reaction to my current dose, and I may wind up lowering it here in a bit because sometimes I get a little too ancy... I'll start fidgeting & obsessing about things needlessly.

That's the problem with psychiatry... it's not static. What may work perfectly for a few months will need to be adjusted down the road.

As far as the incentives for prescribing drugs goes... it's not just confined to neurology. I remember a few years back my ex & I were invited to this posh dinner where a "respected"doctor talked about the benefits of phen phen and downplayed the risks thatwere coming to light as hysteria. He happened to eat at the same table as me so I asked what I thought were some basic questions... what studies were done, what caused people to think these risks were real, stuff like that... he kept dodging my questions and both me & my ex sort of suspected he wasn't being totally up front.

Well, about a year later guess what got pulled from the market? Guess what is now the subject of countless class-action lawsuits?

Still, I am interested in Strattera. There are some things about the stimulant treatment that I don't like and it would be nice to give a non-stimulant treatment a whirl.