ARE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL…

"A little party never killed nobody…" -- Great Gatsby

PARTY. PARTY. PARTY...

Are you a party animal… Do live for the weekends, so you can party your face off… Maybe your the guy with the lamp shade of his head at the annual christmas party… Which ever it is.., you can't blame your genes. While genetics make up about 51% of your basic body type -- weight, height and even body shape.

But as far as your personality is concerned genes are less evident, making up for a measly 19% of your stubbornness, shyness… Are you neurotic, can't blame your parents for that, either -- at least, not where genetics are concerned.., their personalities could have made you that way -- but it wasn't the genetics. Just 19% of you acting like a jackass at the random party is because of your genes.

It seems our personalities have evolved to be too diverse to attribute their characteristics to DNA… Of course, we are responsible for creating our own personalities, through choices we make, the values we were raised on -- or learned on our own.., and even our environment. But could this one single nerve-cell circuit, out of the trillions that exist in your brain, that when stimulated -- gets your party on?!

Now even though this test was done on mice -- stimulating this one nerve cell, turning them into a social slayers.., and considering a mouse's brain is much different from a human brain -- they still have the same connections… While being able to pinpoint this exact area of the brain, does not mean you can now flick your "party animal" on and off at will -- but it could help to shed some light on the many socially impaired and why they suffer. And it could explain why you are such a party animal…

“Every behavior presumably arises from a pattern of activity in the brain, and every behavioral malfunction arises from malfunctioning circuitry…”
-- Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD
A true party animal goes looking for the party… They crave the high they get in a party atmosphere -- they thrive on it. They really want that stimulus… Never wanting the night to end. This trait of extroversion, that is sent from the brain -- is making you a party animal. Studies suggest it is the "reward system" sensation-seeking part of the brain feeds on it -- can't get enough of it. Simply put they get a buzz off of socializing -- and the next thing you know, you are wearing a lamp shade.., again. Just being an extrovert does not make you an party animal -- party animals seek that social interaction. An extrovert may like it -- a party animal feeds off it!

And even though you are the life of the party.., party animals tend not to make too many close friends (I guess, the music is too loud)… There not searching out or trying to cultivate new friendships -- they just dig the excitement, the crowd. They will know tons of people "friends" but just sort-of, superficially.

Extroverts can be pretty easy to read emotionally, too. Their emotions are usually written all over their face -- they can't restrain that emotion inside… Surround them with people a large group of people and BAM -- smiles and good times for everybody! It's kind of weird that being a party animal.., is not a choice -- but a trait. A part of your personality, ready to pounce at the sound of a good beat…

“Someone said that life is a party.
You join in after it’s started.., and leave
before it’s finished.”

There are many reasons some people party way too much… For some it is a way to deal with certain insecurities and hide from your problems. For other are haunted by demons from the past… One of the most famous party animals of all time, so much of a party animal it actually killed him -- John Belushi. I would imagine he had a few more problems, than just being an extrovert, but the need for stimulation, craving for excitement.., and always seeking more, when coupled with some less desirable traits and addictions, can be trouble.

A weird thing (I guess it's not all that weird) most party animals have in common -- there always sleepy… Is it any wonder they are more apt to sleep deprivation. It has something to do with the social interaction that disrupts their sleeping patterns… It has to do with the combination of an outgoing personality along with an active social life, could lead to fatigue in certain areas of the brain that regulate alertness.

But in general extroverts are happy, the more the merrier -- type of person. Besides the 19% genetics and that one specific part of the brain… It is part of who we are, our personality -- like it or not, because it is not easy turning a die-hard party animal into a wallflower. There is something about that social interaction that the party animal needs to fill it's thirst, that goes beyond just being a plain old extrovert.


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