It’s that glorious time of year when not enough gets done.  Not at work.  Not at home.  And definitely not at school.

Even so, some people shop at the last-minute, delight in panic, and find delicious the challenge (and pleasure) that ensues.

Adrenaline addiction, I’m thinking.

I’m not suggesting that holiday shoppers who come to the party late are looking to score on the low, but adrenaline is the chemical associated with pleasure and addiction. Danger signals the pituitary and hypothalamus to secrete endorphins, opiod-like chemicals that squash pain and induce pleasure.  There you go.  Mmm, mmm, mmm!

To folks like firefighters, police, and spies, along with extreme sports’ flying squirrels and shredders, adrenaline is mother’s milk.

They’ll tell you adrenaline is motivating, keeps them goal-directed and tunnel-visioned.  Zeroing in on a SALE! sign like Snoopy on the Red Baron.  Okay, okay, so shopping isn’t really about danger.  But if you’re looking for a clean way to speed your way past Go on C and O rails, I’m just saying.

Kathe Skinner is a Marriage & Family Therapist who’s been in private practice for 20 years.  She and husband David and their two hooligan cats, Petey and Lucy, live in Colorado Springs.  

© 2015, Being Heard, LLC