What first comes to your mind when you hear the word addiction? Drugs and alcohol may top your list. But what if someone told you they had an addiction to exercise? That’s right- exercise. Running, lifting weights, even doing Pilates and Yoga routines, these are all examples of addictions that are more common than you may realize.
Years ago, when I was just starting my freshman year of college, I became addicted to working out. I had been interested in workout routines for health reasons, learning I had high cholesterol, but my workouts took a dangerous turn once I started school. There was a gym on campus, just a few feet away from my dorm, and I took advantage of the track, weight room, and treadmills that were offered at no cost. I found myself spending more than the usual hour in the gym a few times a week- it increased to daily workouts with me spending as much to four hours working up a sweat. I have always been thin; my weight was around 100 pounds when I entered college. Within my first month, I was down to 92 pounds- which looked more sickly than sexy on my 5’5 frame. It wasn’t until I saw a picture of myself in a bikini that I realized I was overdoing it. Nobody can pull off the ‘ribs protruding out of your body’ look. I became so caught up in not gaining the Freshman 15 and staying skinny throughout college that I became obsessive with my workouts. Even after I thought something was wrong, it took me longer than I expected to cut back my time at the gym. I didn’t think I had a problem because I was still eating like normal (which for me means a lot of fast food and candy) and wasn’t making myself throw up after eating. I finally did some research and saw that exercise addiction is very real and can be very serious.
Just because someone works out a lot, doesn’t mean they are necessarily addicted to it. Take for example a teacher of an aerobics class. Just because she spends so much time coming up with routines and doing them along side her class doesn’t mean she is addicted. Or athletes that work out for hours a day to prepare themselves physically for a game- they probably are not addicted. It’s when someone is working out for the wrong reasons, or makes exercise their number one priority. Working out becomes more important than friends, work, school, etc. People that continually blow off plans to go to they gym, or start lying to people about how much they are working out can be signs of a serious addiction. Another common factor in exercise addiction is working out while injured, such as continuing to run with a sprained ankle, or going to the gym even when you are ill. Exercise addiction can become especially serious when someone works out in lieu of eating- this can combine the dangerous eating disorder anorexia- which can lead to serious health effects and even death.
If you think you may know someone suffering from exercise addiction, try talking to thema bout it. Make sure you aren’t placing blame or making them feel even worse about themselves- this will only cause them to pull further away from you. Explain that you are worried, and try focusing on the health concerns instead of just saying they look super skinny. (That’s probably what they are wanting to hear.) If you don’t think that talking is helping them, seek professional help such as a therapist, counselor, or doctor. The addiction to working out could come from deeper problems such as depression or an eating disorder. The important thing is getting help and being able to overcome the addiction.
