I am currently listening to the audiobook High Risk by Ben Timberlake. Ben is someone who has sought out highly dangerous, highly stressful and fear inducing events which include war and addiction to narcotics. In the audio book Ben dissects several event and also brings in his knowledge of neuroanatomy and anthropology to explain why we as humans respond to these events and how to use the physiological and neurological responses to you advantage.
Here is a short video clip explaining a main theroy discussed in the book.