Secrets of how change junkies struggle with boredom, thrive in chaos

What the heck is a change junkie?

When the term ‘change junkie’ applies to me, I would say I am a person who is always looking for new information, a person who is never content with what is going on around but instead searches for the next project. I get a wee rush not knowing what is around the next corner, and I thrive under the stress of trying to figure out the solutions to problems that confront me. I guess I like to solve puzzles, and like the Rubik’s Cube that I am obsessed with, I keep myself somewhat entertained.

I have been a change junkie since I can remember, although at the time I probably had no idea what it was called. Perhaps I never felt content in my life unless I had something to look forward to, a plan to visit a new destination or a level that I wanted to reach. I never felt content unless things were challenging, and even though so many people thought I should be happy I really wasn’t, and I made endless lists of things to come.

Perhaps it is in our DNA. Way back when we had to adapt to change for survival, learning to run from the dinosaurs, hide in caves and endure drastic weather; our bodies produced a fight or flight mechanism to provide us with the strength and energy we needed while under stress to survive. Perhaps this explains my constant need for the little rush, the little blast of energy I get from crisis, and when my comfort zone is under fire, that is when I produce best.

Perhaps being so curious, as humans are, some of us actually love it when things change and we thrive on the adrenalin our extraverted characters crave.

Like adrenalin junkies wishing for a rush of hormones to prepare for flight or fight situations, us change junkies are so used to change that the stress we feel when things are out of our control becomes normal. So when the situations are benign and calm, we are in fact uncomfortable.

Under stress your body releases chemicals but it can also shut down your ability to think, feel, act and your body’s ability to repair itself.

I am not a doctor, but for me, being under stress stops my brain from over thinking, it impairs my ability to process in such a way that I actually think clearer and it slows down my thoughts enough to react to one thing at a time. I have always had a hard time with only one project on the go, or the mundane of daily routine. When something is exciting, the hypothalamus in the brain signals the adrenal gland that it’s time to produce adrenaline, and thus energy! Pair that with caffeine and a happy go lucky attitude and there is the source of my endless amounts of energy! Eh voila!