“It’s like a hurricane inside your head, every nerve ending is saying don’t do this. Once you take that step, there is no coming back. It will change you as a human being.” – Jeb Corliss on BASE jumping.
Extreme sports are objectively mental hobbies. Basic human instinct is to avoid danger, yet many people across the world, and even at Colorado Mesa University, love rock climbing, which without – and even with – the proper training can be deadly. A study by Liverpool University estimates that about 1 in 1,750 recreational climbers will die climbing. Therefore, while it is difficult to attain statistics on knitting, it can be assumed that rock climbing is the more dangerous rope-related hobby.
Whether it is ignorance or apathy, the danger in rock climbing doesn’t stop the multitudes of climbers from their sport. What draws people to partake in dangerous activities like rock climbing or any other “extreme sport”?
Every person must have their own reason. Do you have a hobby that is objectively dangerous? Write to The Criterion and tell us why. What drew you to be an “adrenaline junkie”?
Jerry Lewis, the comedian and actor, said, “Adrenaline is wonderful. It covers pain. It covers dementia. It covers everything.” Adrenaline addiction, according to Psychology Today, can be just as real and powerful as a drug addiction because it can mask depression and other psychological illnesses, like heroin. Do you love downhill longboarding because of the rush you feel? Does it help you with depression?
Many things can give you an adrenaline rush, including first dates or public speaking, but nothing spikes it higher, one would think, than when you know you might die, right?
What does the rush from BASE or bungee jumping feel like?
Share your story. We want to know.
Are you an adrenaline junkie? Do you feel most alive when you are closest to death? Do you choose to hang glide because it is dangerous? Or is there something else about extreme sports that wets your whistle?
Disclose the details.
For nearly every dangerous activity, there is arguably a much safer substitute for similar benefits, so why choose the most dangerous?
