Exercise addiction is an unhealthy obsession with physical fitness and exercise. It’s often a result of body image disorders and eating disorders. Exercise addicts display traits like those of other addicts, which include:
- obsessing over the behaviour
- engaging in the behaviour even though it’s causing physical harm
- engaging in the behaviour despite wanting to stop
- engaging in the behaviour in secret.
Exercise causes the release of certain chemicals in the nervous system. These chemicals create a sense of pleasure or reward. Exercise addiction may be, in part, a dependence on this pleasure response.
Extreme weight loss and health conditions related to weight loss may result from exercise addiction.
Exercise releases endorphins and dopamine. These are the same neurotransmitters released during drug use stimulating sensations of pleasures. An exercise addict feels reward and joy when exercising. When they stop exercising, the neurotransmitters go away. An addict must exercise more to trigger the chemical release.
Exercise addiction usually starts with a desire for physical fitness. An eating disorder may also lead to an unhealthy obsession with exercise. A body dysmorphic disorder, or body image disorder, may also cause exercise addiction.
People who feel pressure to stay in shape are at risk of developing exercise addiction. And people who are overweight and set out on an extreme weight loss regime may also be at risk of exercise addiction.
In some cases, former drug addicts and alcohol abusers turn to exercise to fill the void left by past addictions. This is like the way a smoker may become addicted to caffeine after quitting cigarettes.
Common symptoms of exercise addiction include:
- feeling buzzed after exercising;
- experiencing withdrawal symptoms after long periods without exercise;
- experiencing uncontrollable desires to exercise;
- reducing activities in other areas of life to make time for exercise;
- spending long periods of time preparing for, and recovering from, exercise;
- experiencing an inability to stick with a reduced exercise routine.
The amount of time it takes for a person to overcome exercise addiction depends on the severity of the condition but whatever the severity the best course of action is to seek advice.