Rhys Dyer, '26
You saw a video online, you were dared, or you wanted to experience something new. For one reason or another, you were strapped into the backseat of a small plane, right next to your tandem partner. Desperately trying to calm down your stomach and soothe your mind, you take many deep breaths as you slowly ascend to 14000 ft. In what feels like seconds, you reach the most critical moment: you have to jump. As you look down, you realize just how high you really are. Fear creeps into the back of your mind, even though you’ve played it over and over in your head. You know it's completely safe, but you can’t jump. It's too high. It's too dangerous. What if something goes wrong? The instructor jumping with you tries to calm you down by telling you how safe it is. At this point, logic is completely out of the question, your brain has convinced you that jumping will threaten your survival. You tell the instructor that you can’t do it and to just take you back down; you say you’ll pay for it anyway. The instructor laughs and grabs you. You realize he’s already strapped you in. He starts counting down backwards from…
3…
You desperately try to pull away.
2…
You start yelling for him to STOP.
The instructor jumps out of the plane with you attached to him. This sensation is highly addictive, which is caused by the adrenaline rush.
It’s in every famous extreme sport: climbing, bmx, snowboarding, cliff jumping, and skydiving. Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, triggers the fight or flight response in your body. Adrenaline causes unnecessary air passages ( for a short period of time) to shrink and dilate, in order to provide more oxygen to your muscles. It also contracts blood vessels to send more blood towards major muscle groups, including the heart and lungs, which boosts stamina. An “adrenaline rush” in high stress situations can increase your strength two or even three fold. This is why adrenaline is so addictive; not only does it make you feel powerful, but dopamine is released too. Adrenaline rushes are common when faced with immense fear. In fact, epinephrine release is a survival instinct. However, fear can be tamed. This is why “adrenaline junkies” keep chasing more and more dangerous stunts. The dopamine release is similar to that of a drug. Climbers must attempt steeper cliffs, with the ultimate challenge being free solo attempts (climbing without safeties). Cliff jumpers jump more often from higher and more dangerous areas. After years of practicing the sport, some have even died, because they forget to pull their parachute. Ultimately, some subconsciously chase danger until they become numb to it and chase death instead.