Exercise addiction: Are you hooked to your workout routine?

While exercise addiction has not been accepted as a mental health disorder in the DSM-5, (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition), researchers describe it as a behavioural addiction, or excessive behaviour that results in adverse consequences. Similar to other addictions, a person with the addiction will be aware of the negative impacts of their behaviour and consider these consequences, but they proceed with exercise anyways.

Exercise addiction, also known as exercise dependence, is an unhealthy relationship with working out, where one feels the need to work out excessively in order to function normally.

Many people with this problem do not realise they are struggling until it becomes too late and their lifestyle starts affecting everything else around them. If you think that you might be suffering from exercise addiction, read on to learn more about what it means and how you can get help.

The process of addiction

Exercise addiction does not happen overnight. In some cases, it can take years before a problem is identified. This means that it may be hard for someone who has an addiction to realise that they have a problem.

How much is too much exercise?

It is easy to get caught up in the idea of exercising for your health. Unfortunately, there is no exact definition of how many workouts you should do per week or what counts as excessive, so only you will know when enough is enough.

When someone starts experiencing negative effects from their workouts, when they feel like it is the only thing getting them through their day or if they cannot stop working out even though they do not want to, that is a sign that something needs to change.

Do not compare your workout schedule with that of another person. Everyone has different health goals and abilities, so what you might consider too much exercise could be just right for someone else.

Four stages to exercise addiction

Exercising for enjoyment

At this stage, you are doing it for fun. You work out because you enjoy it and find pleasure in the process. You do not need to do a specific number of workouts per week, but you go as often as your schedule allows.

Exercising for stress relief

At this stage, exercise becomes something you do to reduce stress after a hard day at work or home. For example, someone might have a set number of exercise sessions that they complete per week. However, they may start to feel anxious when they miss one of their workouts because it throws them off schedule and causes stress levels to flare up again.

This is the first time you experience symptoms related to exercise addiction. You find yourself exercising more than intended or not taking breaks when you should. It is also common to take part in exercises that are risky or outside of your comfort zone.

Difficult to complete

At this stage, you might feel like your addiction is out of control. It is not unusual to push yourself too far, and while it feels good at the moment, you may experience adverse effects later on. You also start feeling guilty when you do not go through with a workout or miss one because it throws you off your schedule for that day.

The exercise addiction

At this point, it becomes impossible to stop working out even if you want to or feel like the workouts are negatively impacting your life. In addition, you might start feeling a strong sense of withdrawal when you miss a workout.

According to verywellhealth.com, some of the risk factors that predict whether a person may become addicted to exercise are biological, such as genetics, or psychological. Psychological risk factors include negative peers, parental drug use, low self-esteem, juvenile delinquency, and low social conformity (they do not adapt their behaviours and beliefs to fit in with a group).