Does anybody else experience "DM's High"?

[Jack Daniel]

It was about an hour ago that I finished running my weekly Sunday-afternoon OD&D campaign, and I'm still riding the endorphin rush. It's not quite the same feeling as runner's high, because I'm not physically exhausted, but it's the same sort of neurochemical euphoria. And the same sort of addictive.

I've noticed that a game session doesn't need to have been particularly exciting or energetic for this condition to set in; the mere act of refereeing a game, with all of the mental gymnastics and constant parsing of rules and charts and improvisation, plus the act of being physically animated as you describe a scene or speak a line of dialog, it all contributes. It's rare that I don't feel "the rush" at the end of a game session.

Is this common? Is this normal? Surely I can't be the only one to have experienced this phenomenon (that I'm sorely tempted to nickname "riding the color-coded dragon")?

 

[prabe]

There are times when my brain won't wind down for hours. To the extent that GMing is exhausting, it's because I can't get to sleep after doing it.

 

[Marc_C]

'GM high' is a thing. I often have trouble falling asleep after a session in the evening. It is similar to the creative rush I get when I do conceptual graphic design. Shutting down the 'creative engine' takes some time.

Reading a novel helps take my brain off the game until the next morning. I find my ideas are better organized the next morning when I write down my of notes.

 

[payn]

I definitely get a rush., but it doesn't make me exhausted or keep me awake at night.

 

[Longspeak]

Why would I run these games if it wasn't making me feel good?

But yes, it's real. A good session makes me feel amazing.

 

[Maxperson]

There are times when my brain won't wind down for hours. To the extent that GMing is exhausting, it's because I can't get to sleep after doing it.

Every week I come home and am up for 1-2 hours after the game.

 

[Khelon Testudo]

Oh, man, I remember those. I used to DM a lot, but things change. I do miss it.

 

[Numidius]

Yes, intense Gm high over here too, even when sober!

 

[Jmarso]

I don't know if I feel it as a form of 'high' as explained in the OP, but I definitely find it fun and energizing, and for a few hours after the conclusion of the session my brain is still running at high speed, mostly processing what happened and already mentally chewing on the mental planning for 'next time.'

I can get the same sort of feeling from a good session as a player. I'll commonly come home from a good game and sort of mentally digest it for a couple hours, and think a little about where we might be going from there. It takes a while to mentally unwind from a good gaming session.

 

[Jack Daniel]

I can get the same sort of feeling from a good session as a player. I'll commonly come home from a good game and sort of mentally digest it for a couple hours, and think a little about where we might be going from there. It takes a while to mentally unwind from a good gaming session.

Oh, that's interesting. I've never felt anything remotely like that after playing a character in D&D — only after I DM.

Maybe that's part of why I enjoy being a forever!DM and kind of dislike just playing.