Do You Live Off Adrenalin At Work

If you have a tendency to seek out thrills and adrenaline-fuelled activities in life, such as skydiving, mountain climbing or race car driving for instance, you may also find that you crave an adrenalin rush at work. Although in some circumstances taking risks at work can pay off, it can also be an unhealthy addiction that can lead to overworking yourself, rivalry with colleagues, and physical and mental burnout. 

Initially you might find the adrenaline rush exciting and motivational but over time, it can impact your work and home life balance. In an article published by Science Daily, Haral Sitte of MedUni Vienna’s Institute of Pharmacology says that “Dopamine is a so-called messenger substance or neurotransmitter that conveys signals between neurons. It not only controls mental and emotional responses but also motor reactions…Adrenaline is a close relative of dopamine. However, serious health problems can arise if too little or too much dopamine is being produced. If too few dopamine molecules are released, Parkinson’s disease can develop, while an excess can lead to mania, hallucinations and schizophrenia.”

Am I living off adrenalin at work?

Do you find yourself continually staying late at work so you can get one more sale than your colleague? Do you take excessive risks that could jeopardise your job? Do you crave competition regardless of whether it damages your working relationships? If you answered yes to any of these types of adrenalin-seeking behaviours, then it’s likely you’re living off adrenalin at work.

There are many different reasons why people seek out adrenalin rushes and while they can make you feel excited and elated for a while, the pleasurable sensations can soon turn into boredom, anxiety and a feeling of emptiness once the adrenalin drains from your body.

Ways to overcome adrenaline addiction

Over time, adrenaline addiction in the workplace can have a negative effect on your mental health, your colleagues and the company as a whole. But if you want to kick the addiction, there are several ways to overcome it.

• Take regular exercise as this will release the same ‘happy hormones’ as an adrenaline rush and it’s less likely you’ll crave excitement from more dangerous or risky activities at work.
• Get plenty of sleep to ensure your mind and body are in tip-top condition, as this will help you to feel more in control of any addictive behaviours and urges.
• Eating a healthy diet will regulate your body’s blood sugar levels and you’ll be less likely to go in search of an adrenaline rush. Low blood sugar can make you feel less restless and agitated so you won’t feel as distracted or tempted to go in search of that adrenalin-induced sensation.
• If you’re hooked on adrenalin, the thought of meditation and other calming activities (such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, gentle yoga, tai chi) might fill you with dread, but once you’ve learned how to relax, it can actually be really beneficial and stave off any adrenalin cravings.

How to Handle Difficult Interview Questions

There aren’t many people who look forward to attending an interview, especially if you’ve set your sights on being given the role and you’re feeling the pressure to succeed. The thought of being interrogated or the fear of rejection can send you into a spin, causing sleepless nights and overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety.

How to prepare for an interview

So how can you calm your nerves and perform better in interviews, ensuring you answer those tricky questions with ease? One of the hardest parts of preparing for an interview is trying to pre-empt the kinds of questions you’ll be asked and coming up with the answers the interviewer wants to hear. For example, you might be asked “what are your weaknesses” and you’re unsure of whether or not it’s a trick question.

1. Have belief in yourself 

While this may seem easier said than done when it comes to interviews, there are ways to boost your self-confidence. Go through the job specification beforehand and make a note of each requirement and how you have gained experience of this in previous roles. This will make you consider your skills in more detail and serve as a reminder of what you’ve already achieved and accomplished. A study published in the International Journal of Human Resource Studies, suggested that "self-confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy are widely common terms in job search effectiveness according to literature. There is a consensus in a large extent that candidates’ self-confidence during interview process has significant influence and affects recruiters’ decisions and respectively hiring results.”

2. Prepare for the worst

While you want to remain hopeful that you will get the job, it’s always a good idea to prepare for the worst-case scenarios. Being asked difficult questions that are aimed to catch you out or may make you feel uncomfortable are never pleasant so write a list of questions that you might fear the most and prepare a suitable response in advance. Perhaps there’s a gap in your CV that you haven’t accounted for when you were out of work. But you can turn this into a positive by demonstrating how it inspired you to aim higher and develop your skills.

3. Remember that you’ve made it to the interview stage for a reason

In most cases there will have been lots of other people applying for the same role but you have been selected for the interview so the company must have seen something in your application that impressed them. Generally speaking, interviewers aren’t trying to catch you out, they just want to make sure they choose the best person for the job. If they show an interest in a specific part of your application or CV, make sure you can elaborate on this and show enthusiasm and passion as this is obviously important to them.

4. Be honest

Honesty is often considered one of the most important character traits as it means that you are trustworthy. This doesn’t mean that you have to tell the interviewer your life story or admit to some of your less favourable traits. If you really don’t know the answer to something you're asked, rather than lying or making something up on the spot, apologise and say you don’t know. You can also say that this is something you’re willing to learn about or even train in. Also try to keep your answers short and to the point without providing them with unnecessary information.