Cocaine overdose is a serious risk in Australia, potentially leading to severe side effects or death. This article discusses the signs of overdose, associated risks, and emergency response actions.
Exercise is a good thing, to be sure. It boosts energy, mood, and confidence and is integral to maintaining overall health. But for some, commitment to working out can turn into a dangerous obsession that results in injury and disrupts relationships. Here is how to tell an exercise addiction.
Is exercise addiction (EA) a “real thing”?
Yes, it is real, and millions of people around the world suffer from it daily.
Exercise addiction is a condition where you continue to work out compulsively despite the negative consequences to your physical health, relationships, and social life.
In other words, it’s an unhealthy obsession with physical fitness.
When you’re addicted to exercising, you may find yourself exhibiting any of the following signs of EA:
- Working out without adequate recovery
- Fighting through injuries just to hit the gym
- Becoming irritable or anxious when missing a workout
- Increasing training intensity just to feel the same mental health benefits you used to get from a session.
Don’t get us wrong: exercise has some incredible benefits. It helps tremendously with recovery, and it’s proven to improve mental and physical health. But a negative relationship with exercise comes with severe health risks.
The negative effects of exercise addiction include anxiety and depression, the development of eating disorders, irreversible damage to bones and muscles, heart health risks, and problems with friends, family, and partners.
Don’t worry, exercise addiction is a treatable condition. With the right education, therapy, and lifestyle changes, you can have a healthy relationship with working out just like you used to.
Quick Answer: Am I Addicted to Exercise?
To find out if you’re addicted to working out, ask yourself this question: Am I obsessed with working out to the point that it’s causing problems in my life such as:
- Physical injuries (but you keep doing it anyway)
- Mental health issues
- Missing work or school obligations
- Causing harm in your relationships
- Causing withdrawal symptoms when you don’t exercise
How do you feel if you miss a run or a gym session? Do you want to scream, shout, and smash your laptop, or are you fine with just making it up tomorrow?
Behavioural addictions are defined by a compulsion to perform a behaviour, an inability to control yourself, and continuing to perform the behaviour despite its harmful consequences.
If you just like going to the gym every day, you’re probably fine. If you HAVE TO go to the gym every day or else you become a raving lunatic, you might have a problem. And we suggest you read on to learn more about the condition, its symptoms, and treatments.
What is Exercise Addiction?
Exercise addiction is a behavioural disorder where you feel compelled to exercise excessively, even when it harms your physical health, relationships, or daily life.
Addictive exercise involves exaggerated training volume and a loss of control, where you can’t reduce your workout habits, even if you want to.
Exercise addicts are obsessed with fitness to the point that it consumes their lives. For example, an addict may have several gym memberships and multiple coaches, and find themselves constantly pushing themselves every day into more and more dangerous workouts.
Working out is great for the body and mind, but if you’re doing it too often, too intensely, or to the detriment of your professional life or personal relationships, it is problematic.
People with EA might push through injuries, skip recovery periods, or become anxious when they miss a workout. Over time, this compulsive behaviour can lead to negative outcomes like physical exhaustion, chronic injuries, isolation from social activities, and strained relationships.
Despite these harmful effects, the person feels unable to stop.
And it’s more common than you might think in Australia.
According to one study published in the National Library of Medicine entitled “Exercise addiction: A narrative overview of research issues” by Weinstein, Aviv et. al., compulsive exercise affects about 3% of the adult population.
What Are The Symptoms of Exercise Addiction
The symptoms of exercise addiction share some similarities with other addictions such as isolation, lying to others, mental health issues, and an inability to control yourself or stop despite wanting to.
Exercise is a problem when you do it to excess in a manner that causes problems to your body, mind, and personal life. A study by Juwono, ID and Szabo, Attila published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction in 2021 put it perfectly:
“Exercise addiction (EA) is a dysfunctional behaviour characterised by exaggerated training, loss of control over exercise behaviour, and negative life consequences that could be physical, psychological or social, or a combination of the three”
The symptoms of exercise addiction are included in the following list:
- Psychological issues such as anxiety and depression: If you find yourself constantly worrying about working out or suffering from irritability, anxiety, or depressive symptoms when missing a workout, that’s a clear sign that you’ve developed a dependence on physical activity. One study by Lichtenstein, Mia B., et. al., entitled “Compulsive exercise: links, risks and challenges faced” published in Psychological Research And Behavior Management cited a study on Chinese college students where those with exercise addiction demonstrated a more negative mood than those who didn’t.
- Social isolation: That same study from above also noted how students who engaged in compulsive exercise isolated themselves more often than those who didn’t. This could be due to a few factors. For one, exercise becomes the main priority for people suffering from EA. They forsake everything else in life in order to “get their fix”. It could also be due to anxiety and depression.
- Exercising despite its negative consequences: If you’re noticing that your exercising habits are starting to cause injuries, hurt your relationships, or induce psychological harm, but you still can’t stop, that’s a clear sign of a behavioural addiction. Behavioural addictions are a compulsive need to do something despite its harmful effects, and exercise is no different.
- You don’t allow yourself to recover: Do you skip rest days every week? Are you ready to get back into the gym as soon as you get out? That could be a problem. Addicted exercisers are so obsessed with working out that they get back to their exercise as quickly as possible to satisfy their craving without giving themselves adequate time to recover. One study entitled “Stress and the neuroendocrine system: the role of exercise as a stressor and modifier of stress” by Hackney, Anthony C., published in the Expert Review of Endocrinology and Metabolism concluded that “excessive exercise training can push the neuroendocrine exercise stress response to become inappropriate, resulting in the potential development of the overtraining syndrome”. And a hallmark of overtraining syndrome is the development of mood issues, depression, and insomnia.
- An inability to control your exercise despite wanting to: An inability to reduce workout frequency or intensity is a clear sign of exercise addiction. This is when you continue to work out at the same, or even higher, intensity, despite wanting to slow down or rest. It’s very similar to an alcoholic wanting to cut down on drinking, but never being able to. If you find yourself pushing through fatigue, skipping rest days, or feeling guilty when you don’t exercise, it could be a sign.
- Prioritising exercise over other obligations: If you find yourself working out late at night despite having worked in the morning or skipping important social functions just to sneak a workout in, it’s a sign that you’re addicted and need to seek help. Exercise addicts often find that working out is more important than anything else in life including work, family, and friends. If that sounds like you, then you need to evaluate your relationship with exercise immediately.
- Loss of control: One clear symptom of addiction to anything is a loss of control over your consumption. With EA, this means that you no longer can control your exercising habits. If you can no longer regulate or limit your physical activity, it’s a problem. A good example is a runner who promises to give themselves a rest day, but they feel so anxious or guilty about not running that they do it anyway. This inability to resist the urge to exercise is a clear sign of addiction.
- Exercise withdrawals: How do you feel when you’re not exercising? If you’re experiencing withdrawal symptoms (much more on these later), it’s a warning sign that you’ve become dependent on exercise to function normally. Keep on the lookout for withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, restlessness, and sleep problems.
What Are The Withdrawal Symptoms of Exercise Addiction?
If you’re experiencing any of these withdrawal symptoms, it’s a clear sign of exercise addiction:
- Increased anxiety
- Irritability
- Depression
- Loss of appetite
- Sleeplessness (insomnia)
- Guilt
- Unexplained tension
- Headaches
- General discomfort
Working out is supposed to make you feel good. If you’re experiencing any of these withdrawal symptoms, you should seek help immediately. They will not go away on their own (usually) without treatment.
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Why is Exercise Addictive?
Exercise can be addictive because it triggers the release of chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins and dopamine, which produce feelings of pleasure and well-being. This is very similar to why drugs and alcohol are so addictive as well. In that sense, working out is the exercise addict’s drug of choice.
Addicts engage in physical activity to release these “feel-good” chemicals and get that instant reward.
The result?
The endorphins and dopamine reinforce the behavior and make you want more and more of it.
Before you know it, you’re hooked.
Over time, your brain starts to crave these sensations, just like it would with other addictive substances.
In addition to the brain’s reward system, exercise can also serve as a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, depression, or other underlying emotional issues. It becomes an escape—a way to release tension and avoid dealing with emotional challenges.
This is the paradoxical nature of addiction: What starts as a coping mechanism that “improves” your life eventually becomes the reason that your life is unmanageable.
What Are The Causes of Exercise Addiction?
The causes of exercise addiction are similar to the causes of other behavioural disorders, and risk factors include co-occurring disorders such as ADHD, OCD, impulsivity, and a history of addiction in yourself or your family members.
Some of the main causes of exercise addiction that you need to be aware of include:
- Genetic factors: Your genetics play a major role in your development of EA because your genes influence your neurotransmitters and dopamine regulation. In simpler terms, some people are more easily hooked on the reward that exercise gives them than others. Some people get their “dopamine hit” from exercise and go on with their lives. Others get that hit and get hooked. In fact, a 2014 paper published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry by Leeman, Robert F., et. al., entitled A Targeted Review of the Neurobiology and Genetics of Behavioral Addictions: An Emerging Area of Research” found that genetics played a major role in behavioural addictions such as compulsive gambling, kleptomania, and internet addiction, partially due to reward processing in the brain. These factors almost certainly influence EA as well. They might even influence other addictions like love addiction or sex addiction.
- Neurological adaptation: If you exercise too frequently or intensely, your brain may “downregulate” its natural production of your “feel-good” chemicals to compensate for the flood of dopamine it receives when you train. Again, this is similar to how alcohol and other drugs affect the brain. Alcoholics find it difficult to experience pleasure in life without drinking because their brains stop producing their own feel-good chemicals in the anticipation of a rush of them when alcohol enters the system. This could happen with exercise as well. As your brain gets more and more dopamine from your workouts, it may seek to maintain homeostasis (balance) by down-regulating dopamine production. That makes it difficult for exercise addicts to feel pleasure in anything NOT related to exercise.
- Being an athlete: Obviously, someone who exercises for a living is at greater risk of developing EA than someone who doesn’t. The study we referenced from above – Exercise Addiction: A Narrative Overview of Research Issues – reported that the EA rate among the general population was 3%, but that the rate among indoor cyclists was 13.3% in Spain and 15.4% for runners in Italy.
- Social Pressure: If you associate with a negative peer group that is also addicted to working out, it obviously makes it more likely that you’ll develop the condition too. You may be experiencing peer pressure or a drive to “keep up with the Joneses” by working out harder than anyone in the group. You may also keep associating with others with EA to avoid the embarrassment of looking like a quitter.
- Low self-esteem: Low feelings of self-worth are a major risk factor for developing exercise dependence and addiction. People who see themselves as ugly, overweight, or otherwise “low worth” may become addicted to working out in an effort to look better for others and feel better about themselves. In fact, one study entitled “Associations between Self-Esteem, Psychological Stress, and the Risk of Exercise Dependence” published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2021 found that people who exercised more than 9 hours per week paradoxically had lower scores for self-esteem compared to those who exercised less.
When Does a Healthy Habit Become a Problem?
The difference between healthy exercise and exercise addiction is still not clearly defined. It is a very complex issue with multiple factors at play.
For example, is an Olympic athlete training for her first Olympic marathon “addicted” to working out because she trains 6 hours a day. Probably not.
Or is a guy who loves to be in the gym 2-3 hours every day after work an addict because he likes being in great shape? Not exactly.
The truth is that exercise becomes a problem when it starts causing problems in your life and you can’t stop despite wanting to. If you’re going to the gym to stay in shape, relieve boredom, make social connections, and enjoy the health benefits, then it’s more than fine – it’s GREAT.
But when exercise is no longer about being healthy and instead becomes a compulsive habit that you must perform in order to feel good, avoid withdrawals, and satisfy a craving, and this habit is leading to negative consequences in other areas of your life, then it is a problem.
Remember, addiction is characterised by negative consequences, loss of control, and an inability to stop even when wanting to. If you’re experiencing injuries, interpersonal problems, reduced performance at work or school, and mental health side effects due to working out (or missing a workout), then there’s a good chance you are addicted to exercising.
What Are The Negative Side Effects of Exercise Addiction?
Unhealthy exercising habits cause a number of harmful side effects ranging from minor aches and pains to eating disorders, malnutrition, and social isolation.
In general, the negative consequences of exercise addiction encompass the addict’s physical, mental, social, and professional health, and should be addressed in treatment (we will cover these next).
The negative side effects of exercise addiction are:
Injuries
Exercise addiction can cause you to injure yourself due to misuse, overexertion, and ignoring your body’s need for rest. Signs to look for include constant pain, soreness, or worsening injuries that don’t heal (stop skipping rest days!). And worse, addicts tend to push through these warning signs, which leads to even more severe injuries. The link between exercising through pain and exercise addiction is undeniable.
One study published in Sports Sciences for Health in 2022 entitled Exercise Addiction, pain and Injuries in Amateur Athletes found that athletes who reported pain had much higher scores on the Exercise Addiction Inventory questionnaire.
Weight loss
Excessive training can cause rapid and unhealthy weight loss. If you notice a dramatic decrease in weight, or you’re exercising more to maintain a very low body weight, it may indicate a problem. Severe weight loss is dangerous and is associated with malnutrition, organ failure, and even death.
Eating disorders
Individuals suffering from exercise addiction often develop comorbid eating disorders due to an obsession with controlling their weight or body shape. We often see clients who suffer from exercise addiction also struggle with anorexia, binge eating, or bulimia. This is because EA and eating disorders are both rooted in the same underlying issue: An obsession with body image and perfectionism. Signs you have an eating disorder include restrictive eating, counting calories obsessively, or using exercise to “make up” for food intake.
Social isolation
When you’re addicted to exercise, you’ll do anything to get a workout in, and that often requires skipping social functions. This obsession over fitness often leads to social isolation, since you prioritise working out over everything else (just like drug addicts do). If you find yourself avoiding friends, family, or social gatherings because of your workout routine, it could be a sign. This isolation can worsen feelings of loneliness and damage important connections in your life.
Difficulties in relationships
Exercise addiction can strain relationships, especially when workout routines take priority over spending time with loved ones. If you’re frequently cancelling plans, arguing about your exercise habits, or your partner feels neglected, these are clear signs. Many of our clients in Sydney often require marriage counselling or family therapy in addition to treatment for EA because of how they’ve neglected their families and partners.
Mental health problems
Exercise addiction can increase anxiety, depression, or feelings of guilt when a workout is missed. You might notice heightened irritability, mood swings, or using exercise to cope with emotional issues. According to one study in Addictive Behavior Reports and published in The National Library of Medicine entitled Mental disorders in individuals at risk for exercise addiction – A systematic review, individuals at risk of EA exhibited higher rates of at least one mental disorder, anxiety being one of them.
Lower performance at work or school
When training becomes all-consuming, it often affects performance at work or school. You may find yourself tired, distracted, or unable to focus because of fatigue or preoccupation with workouts. This drop in productivity or engagement can lead to further stress and negatively impact your career or academic progress.
Getting Help for Exercise Addicts
Process addictions like exercise addictions can be hard to spot in yourself or a loved one. If you believe your exercise obsession is taking over your life, contact us today to find out how we can help.
What Are The Treatments for Exercise Addiction?
The treatments for exercise addiction centre around exploring the reasons why you are dependent on exercise, and trying to help you understand them better so that you can replace them. Depending on your circumstances, you may also receive medication or a mix of therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy and one-to-one counselling.
The most common interventions for exercise addiction are:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT helps you identify and change the harmful thought patterns that fuel your exercise addiction. Once you understand why you’re exercising too much, you’ll be able to cut down or replace the behaviours with something healthier. In therapy sessions, you’ll work with a counsellor to recognise negative beliefs about your body or exercise and replace them with healthier ones.
The vast majority of our patients here at The Cabin use CBT for behavioural addictions and report that they feel a sense of happiness and relief within a few short sessions. One study published in The Psychology of Sport and Exercise in January 2023 entitled “Psychological well-being and exercise addiction: The treatment effects of an REBT intervention for females” cited a study wherein a form of CBT known as REBT “reduced exercise addiction symptomatology and irrational beliefs”. The participants in that study also demonstrated more universal self-acceptance (USA…not the country). It’s clear: Recovery is possible. Behavioural therapies have proven to improve well-being and stop you from being obsessed with working out. If it’s destroying your life, get help and make the change today.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT focuses on managing emotions and improving relationships. You know all those feelings of anger and guilt that you feel when missing a workout? This is what DBT aims to cure. During therapy, you’ll learn how to balance your emotions with healthier behaviours and make more mindful choices about exercise.
- Medication: In some cases, doctors prescribe medication to manage symptoms like anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive behaviours linked to exercise addiction. These medications help stabilize your mood, making it easier to reduce compulsive exercise and focus on healing.
- Lifestyle Changes: Sometimes, there’s no other choice but to change your lifestyle. This might involve creating a more balanced workout routine, incorporating rest days, or finding new hobbies that don’t revolve around exercise. You’ll find that, over time, your physical and mental health will improve the less you exercise and the more you find healthier substitutes.
- Motivational Interviewing: Motivational interviewing helps you explore your reasons for wanting to change your behaviour. During your sessions, a counsellor will guide you in setting realistic goals and finding personal motivation to cut back on excessive exercise. This approach encourages self-reflection and supports positive change at your own pace.
How Can The Cabin Sydney Help Treat Your Addictions?
Here at our outpatient clinic in Sydney, we’ve helped countless Australians recover from exercise addiction (and other behavioural addictions) using a mix of therapy, medication, and aftercare.
We understand that treating EA is NOT easy. You shouldn’t have to cut exercise completely out of your life, but it can’t go on this way forever either.
You can live a happier life with a healthier relationship with exercise by speaking to our trained counsellors on your time. And you might not even have to miss work – we can work around your schedule.
Many of our patients claim they feel better after just a few sessions. At the very least, give us a call for more information. Your initial consultation is free and we can get back to you within 24 hours, usually less.
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