Adrenaline Addiction
Children love excitement. From as
early as a few months old, they are thrilled with the “peek-a-boo game.” Most
love playing “hide-and-seek,” riding on fast rides, and swinging on high swings.
Parents love to surprise their child
to see the looks of glee and wonder on their faces. It is fun. And, to be
honest, grown-ups love excitement, too. The feeling of excitement comes from a
hormone called adrenaline. Adrenalin
gives a sensation of euphoria and energy. It provides a feeling of competence and
strength as well as pleasure.
However, for every emotional
high, there is an equal and equivalent low. The problem comes when the “rush”
is gone and the emotions take a dive. You know this if you have ever given your
child a birthday party complete with overstimulation and sugar. By the end of
the party often there are tears and temper tantrums. Just as with a drug, the
“let-down” can lead to a form of the blues called “post adrenaline depression.”
Parties are fun and worth the
aftereffects, but it is important to understand the connection of adrenaline to
stress. Adrenaline is closely related to another hormone called cortisol, also
known as the “stress hormone.” Adrenaline arouses the cardiovascular system and
cortisol regulates many of the body’s systems during stress. Excessive cortisol
is responsible for severe anxiety, including panic attacks and depression. Too
much adrenaline stored in the body can cause health issues such as insomnia,
lowered immunity toward illness, premature aging, and hyperactivity often
diagnosed as Attention Deficit Disorder. Classroom learning and social
relationships are frequently affected. Adults may respond to an adrenaline
addiction through perfectionism and workaholic tendencies.
Children can easily become
addicted to the adrenalin rush. Developers of screen games test the biological
responses to the product to make sure the games cause the elevation of the
hormones. This is why some children become so consumed with gaming. Addiction
expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras says that after treating hundreds of heroin and
crystal meth addicts, he has found these addictions are easier to treat than
treating a true screen addict.
Children addicted to screens,
games, and social media suffer in other ways. Their creative abilities are not
developed when they are not allowed the down time to use their imaginations.
Technology can stunt the normal growth of the frontal cortex which is the
center for judgement, impulse control, and making good social decisions. Their “reality
check mechanism” is distorted when much of their lives are spent in an unreal
world. It can affect their brains so that the normal stimulation is no longer
effective causing boredom and boring children. In Dr. Kardaras’s 10-year
longitudinal study he observed “kids raised from an early age on a
high-tech/high screen diet suffered from digital malaise. Bored and boring,
they lacked a natural curiosity and a sense of wonder and imagination that
non-screen kids seemed to have. They didn’t know – or care to know – about what
was happening around them in the world. All that seemed to drive them was a
need to be stimulated and entertained by digital devices.”*
God knows our bodies need to
relax. He instructed us to “Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any
work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female
servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11
And
in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
Psychologist,
Dr. Archibald Hart, recommends three ways to help your children break the
adrenaline addiction:
·
Parents can model a ‘balanced life.’
·
Build in some down time where your child can relax
and avoid stimulating activities.
·
Most importantly help your child develop the habit
of regular quiet time in the Scripture and prayer.
