Movement benefits our mental health. Thanks to feel-good endorphins, exercise can reduce anxiety, stress, and depression.
But the saying “too much of a good thing” still applies to exercise. Exercising too often can have a detrimental effect, and exercising for the sole purpose of losing weight can be especially harmful.
When you become obsessive about exercising and going to the gym is a compulsive task you “must” do, it’s time to reevaluate your relationship with working out.
Exercise addiction can easily fly under the radar. We all know a few people who are defined by their commitment to fitness. “Gym rats,” “gym bros,” bikini competitors, and bodybuilders make going to the gym a large part of their identities. While you can be a perfectly healthy athlete, these fitness enthusiasts are often prime candidates for eating disorders, and their love for the gym isn’t always positive.
But how much is too much exercise? There is no set amount of exercising that qualifies you for exercise addiction. It’s more about your behaviors and feelings around exercise.
How do you know if you are addicted to exercise?
You might be addicted to exercise if you:
Feel anxiety about skipping a workout
Have trouble reducing the amount of time you spend exercising
Plan your life around your gym time
Say no to social events because they conflict with your workouts
Work out while sick, injured, or tired
Force yourself to workout for a certain amount of time
Exercise should fit into your life, not the other way around. In a healthy relationship with exercise, you should be able to rest when you are tired and skip workouts while sick, injured, or simply busy. Workouts should be flexible; some days they might be brief, and they might not always involve the same routine.
If friends and family members start to point out that all of your time is eaten up by the gym, you might have an obsession with exercise. That is a sign you should take a closer look at your relationship with food as well.
Exercise addiction, or compulsive exercise, and anorexia nervosa often go hand in hand.
People with anorexia may have a “calories in, calories out” mentality. They may feel that working out gives them “permission” to eat, or that eating must always be followed by exercise.
Those with eating disorders might use over-exercising as a way to cope with negative body image. Exercise addiction can be its own isolated disorder, but if your eating habits correlate with how much you exercise, you may have an eating disorder.
“It can be so hard to heal from compulsive exercise because it’s praised for being “healthy” and and “disciplined” by our diet culture,” says Julia Maestas, LMFT and eating disorder therapist at Kindful Body. “Exploring the intention behind why someone is exercising is key to making peace with exercise during recovery. Similar to Intuitive Eating, I help my clients learn to tune into what their body is telling them and help them shift their mindset from self-control to self-care to reclaim joyful movement.”
If you are seeking help for your exercise obsession, start by looking for a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). These two modalities are often used to treat eating disorders and mood disorders but can also work for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
At Kindful Body, we have many wonderful therapists who can help you make peace with exercise, including Julia. Our team of eating disorder professionals specialize in body image and anxiety, which can play major roles in exercise addiction.
If you would like to begin your exercise addiction recovery with us, contact us for a consultation.
