What is exercise addiction?
While yet to be formally recognized as an eating disorder, exercise addiction has long been understood by doctors, scientists, and other experts. Generally, it's considered a form of behavioral addiction, which is when someone engages in compulsive behavior not related to substances despite any negative consequences they may experience from their actions.
As such, exercise addiction (sometimes called compulsive exercise) describes the compulsive urge to work out to the point where it becomes disruptive to someone's everyday life. This frequently looks like workout sessions that are continually made longer and harder and an eventual loss of control over the need to work out.3
It's possible for someone to have primary or secondary exercise addiction. When the condition is primary, it means the addiction to working out is the main driver of someone's behavior. Secondary exercise addiction happens when the condition develops alongside or because of another issue, such as an eating disorder.3
In either case, finding appropriate care and treatment for exercise addiction is essential for recovery.
Exercise addiction vs. working out
It can be difficult to tell when someone's interest in working out becomes problematic. Even healthy workout-related goals are usually long-term and require consistent time and energy to achieve. As the body adjusts to certain output levels, it can take longer or harder workouts, mimicking the dependency that develops in most addictions.
The risk of developing exercise addiction can be high, ranging anywhere from 3-9% among regular exercisers.1 So, how can you tell the difference between healthy growth and addiction?
The motivation behind the behavior can play a big role in clarifying exercise addiction and healthy exercise:2
- Healthy exercise: Motivated by health and raising the quality of life.
- At-risk exercise: Primarily motivated by the desire to ease anxiety or stress.
- Problematic exercise: When frequent exercise leads to injury and/or days are organized around workout routines.
- Exercise addiction: When one continues to work despite injury and exercise routines become disruptive to everyday life. Primarily motivated by the need to avoid the stress, anxiety, or guilt related to not working out.
If you or a loved one are exhibiting some of these thoughts or behaviors, it may be time to consult a mental health professional.
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How to treat exercise addiction
As with all eating disorders and behavioral addictions, exercise addiction treatment should be comprehensive, addressing the various mental, physical, and emotional drivers of the behavior.
Treatment programs should be unique to each person and take into account factors like any co-occurring disorders and the depth of addiction or compulsive behavior. However, there are a number of treatments and treatment modalities that can help someone achieve exercise addiction recovery.
Psychological exercise addiction treatment
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy is the leading evidence-based treatment for many mental health conditions, and it may also be helpful for someone in overcoming exercise dependence.
A highly structured type of therapy, CBT focuses on several major concepts, including:
4- Gaining a better understanding of unhelpful thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
- Analyzing the underlying factors behind those thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
- Learning problem-solving skills to help cope with stressors in a healthier way
- Learning self-monitoring techniques to continue healing after CBT sessions end
As the goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is ultimately changing someone's behavior—by changing the way they think and react to stress—it can be especially helpful for someone struggling with compulsive actions.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Mental health disorders, including behavioral addictions, are often connected to the way people handle stress.
Dialectical behavior therapy helps address that connection by teaching patients different coping mechanisms and skills, including:
- Mindfulness skills
- Distress tolerance
- Emotion regulation
- Interpersonal effectiveness, or how a person communicates with others
Teaching someone healthier alternatives to deal with triggering situations can go a long way toward helping them ease away from compulsive behaviors. DBT is often administered alongside other therapies, like CBT, to create further change.
Group therapy
The idea behind
group therapy is to help people help each other by creating a safe and understanding environment where they can share their experiences.
Guided by one or several trained therapists, these sessions can take a structured approach or offer a more open platform for working through various concerns. In any case, the hope is to help:
- Create a strong base of support
- Offer a sense of catharsis
- Expand a patient's perspective
- Give a safe space to practice new skills
People seeking exercise addiction treatment may find it helpful to hear from others who are going through or have gotten through, similar struggles.
Physical exercise addiction treatment
Exercise addiction may be driven by mental health concerns, but it involves an unhealthy level of physical activity, and those effects on the body must also be addressed in exercise addiction recovery.
Despite often presenting as "fit," many people struggling with exercise addiction have been found to have poor nutrition.5 Nutritional counseling can help by giving patients information and guidelines about healthy eating and physical activity.
Sessions may address issues like the importance of getting enough vitamins, minerals, and calories or offer proactive recovery strategies, such as instituting a meal plan. Counselors may also sit with patients while they eat a meal to monitor progress, offer support, and help instill a more regular eating schedule.
Patients who have struggled with physical injuries due to exercise addiction may require additional treatment or care to address those issues, including physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, or other healing modalities.
Additional treatments for exercise addiction recovery
Exercise addiction has yet to be added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the official guide on all recognized mental health conditions. As such, studies looking specifically at treatments for exercise addiction are rare.
In most cases involving behavioral addiction or eating disorders, psychotherapy is considered the primary approach to treatment. However, some people may require additional types of care.
Medications
Medication is sometimes used as a secondary treatment for these types of conditions. While this should only be done under the recommendation and instruction of a medical professional, medications may help ease symptoms of anxiety and other related issues, which can help encourage exercise addiction recovery.
Self-care
Other approaches may not address the addiction specifically but can help bolster self-esteem, mental clarity, and a positive outlook. Meditation, journaling, joining a support group, reciting positive affirmations, hanging out with friends, and practicing other
types of self-care can help someone feel better about themselves and improve their overall outlook on life.
Treating exercise addiction at Within
Exercise addiction can disrupt a person’s life and do serious damage to their physical, emotional, and mental health. Because our society is so focused on fitness, it can be hard to recognize a problem and even harder to ask for help. But the compassionate team of professionals at Within Health is here to help every step of the way.
We offer virtual care programs for anyone who may need help in treating exercise addiction or co-occurring eating disorders. Our team of experts come from multidisciplinary backgrounds and work together to create comprehensive treatment plans tailored to your unique needs.
With the proper care and commitment to well-being, recovery from this disorder is possible.
