Exercise plays a key role in health maintenance and disease
prevention. I’m obviously a huge proponent of exercise considering that I log
close to 15 hours of it weekly by participating in some form of physical
activity: weight training, swimming, bicycling, running, skiing, and more. Am I
addicted? Are you? Maybe.
According to the Substance Use and Misuse journal, there is
a significant positive addiction that occurs when someone gleans the benefits
of health from good exercise. A positive addiction is fine and healthy; however,
research dating back 40 years discovered that exercising too much can lead to
physical injury as well as negligence of other responsibilities such as family
and work. This is considered a negative addiction similar to drug or alcohol abuse.
Despite the significant body of research on over-exercising,
neither the medical nor psychological fields recognize it within any of their
stated dysfunctions. The spectrum of dysfunctions runs from compulsive to
impulsive disorders. The top four impulsive behaviors are listed as antisocial
personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, sexual compulsion, and
self-destructive behaviors. The top four compulsive behaviors body-dysmorphic
disorder, anorexia nervosa, depersonalization disorder, and hypochondria.
Recent research believes that exercise addiction falls somewhere between body-dysmorphic
disorder and anorexia on the compulsive side of the spectrum.
Both of those disorders are identified by the obsessive and
repetitive nature of the actual behaviors. Researchers found that exercise
addition has the same characteristics. “This is the obsessive facet of the
dysfunction, which is accompanied by increased levels of anxiety before
carrying out the behavior and decreasing anxiety, sense of relief, and
satisfaction after the fulfillment of the behavior.” And, this is cyclical
before and after any form of exercise for the addict.
Furthermore, the prevalence of exercise addiction could also
be associated with type of sport or activity. Studies of the late 1990s and
early 2000s found that exercise addiction in the negative sense was prevalent in
52% of triathletes, 25% in runners, and 3.2% of ultra-marathoners. The biggest
problem in definitively saying these individuals are negatively addicted to
their sport and/or the physical relief earned from participating: identifying
the difference between addiction and commitment.
A few researchers have found that commitment doesn’t
necessarily mean the individual will neglect other duties, yet they could.
Addiction often implies that there will be neglect of other responsibilities in
favor of satisfying that addiction.
How do you know if you’re addicted or simply enjoying the
positive benefits of exercising? The American Running Association has identified
a few signs that indicate a potential exercise addiction:
1. Exercising is valued beyond any other aspect of your
life: As studies show, neglect of family, work, and other responsibilities is a
significant sign of an addiction.
2. Injury, illness, and fatigue are ignored: When the body
needs rest, an addict will ignore those cues in favor of working out.
3. Irritability, depression and anxiety are present: These
elements occur at a high level when you find you cannot get in your daily
workout.
4. “More is Better” is a motto: Addicts believe that the
more they workout, the healthier they will be.
5. The line between healthy exercise and addictive exercise is
blurred: Addicted individuals cannot tell the difference between beneficial
exercise and too much.
6. Poor performance at races or events means more exercise:
Addicted individuals do not understand the importance of rest and recovery…exercise
is always the answer.
Of course, denial of a problem is common as it is with any
addiction. If you have any of these signs, you could have an exercise addition.
You are encouraged to consult with your doctor or a counselor on learning about
healthy exercise to rid yourself of your addiction.
Works used for this article:
American Running Association. (n.d.). Know the signs of unhealthy
exercise addiction. Retrieved from http://www.active.com/articles/know-the-signs-of-unhealthy-exercise-addiction.
Berczik, K., Szab, A., Griffiths, M., Kurimay, T., Kun, B.,
Urban, R., & Demetrovics, Z. (2012). Exercise addiction: symptoms,
diagnosis, epidemiology, and etiology. Substance Use and Misuse, 47(4),
403-417. doi: 10.3109/10826084.2011.639120
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