- Hey everybody, today I wanna talk
about exercise addiction, what it is, why it's part
of many eating disorders and what we can do to overcome it.
Now, obviously there are many health benefits
to working out regularly.
It's good for your cardiovascular system,
it can relieve stress
and it releases feel good chemicals like endorphins,
but just like anything it's best in moderation.
And when exercise is done excessively, it can come
with some dangerous health complications of its own.
So let's jump into what exercise addiction is.
Simply put, it's an unhealthy obsession
with physical fitness and working out,
and we feel helpless to stop even if we know
it's not good for us, or is out of control.
Now, it's that second portion,
the part about not being able to stop
that differentiates this from say professional athletes
or Olympians and marathon runners.
Sure, those people could have exercise addiction
but it's not just the amount of exercise we do
that's an indicator or have it, it's much more than that.
And while many reasons researchers have looked
at this issue and used varying criteria to define it,
today I wanna use the definition that's most closely aligned
with the DSM-5 criteria for behavioral addiction.
Which just FYI, in and of itself it was modeled
after the criteria for substance dependence
so that just gives you an idea of where these criteria
and symptoms come from.
And also, I'll link research articles
that I'm pulling this from in the description
if you wanna check it out and learn more
but they describe the symptoms as follows.
Number one, tolerance which is really
just the increasing amount of exercise
that we're gonna need to do in order to feel
the same desired effect like that runner's high or the buzz
or sense of accomplishment that we get.
Number two, withdrawal, so in the absence of the exercise,
like if we can't exercise in the way that we think we should
or want to, the person with exercise addiction
is going to feel negative effects of that, like anxiety,
irritability, restlessness and sleep problems.
I would even argue that whatever we're trying to numb
out from, with the over-exercise when we can't do it
those things are gonna come up.
Number three, lack of focus control
which we kind of talked about earlier, right?
Like you can't stop even if you want to,
so this they're defining this as unsuccessful
at attempts to reduce exercise level or cease exercising
for a certain period of time, so we just can't stop.
Next is what they're calling intention effects
and that's when we're unable to stick
to an intended routine.
So let's say we are like, "I'm gonna go running
"for 30 minutes" or "I'm gonna do yoga for an hour."
We will always exceed the amount of time
that we intended to devote to exercise
or we'll go beyond the intended amount
like number of reps and stuff like that.
The next symptom or criteria is time.
So a great deal of our time is spent preparing for,
engaging in and recovering from the exercise
which moves on to a reduction in other activities, right?
If we're spending a shit-load of time on our exercise
and we're spending a lot of energy
and we're always overdoing it, then other things
we're not gonna be able to accomplish other things.
So as a direct result of our overexercise,
our social life, maybe work or school,
whatever occupationally we're doing
or recreational activities are going to potentially
be stopped or occur less often.
And the next criteria is continuance,
which is continuing to exercise despite knowing
that this activity is creating problems for you.
You know, just like we talked about earlier
even if we know it's not healthy or not good
or it doesn't even feel good maybe anymore,
we have that inability to stop.
And if we think about it, we can imagine a lot of reasons
why someone would become addicted to exercise.
First, it's a distraction, easy, right,
we already knew that.
Two, it can make us feel good, at least sometimes, right?
Like all that release of those feel-good chemicals
and endorphins and things like that.
And third it's something our society supports
that maybe a little too much.
And it's not a big jump from that for us to understand
why those of us with eating disorders
can struggle with it as well.
Since we all know eating disorders are just coping skills
for something bigger, that's going on,
and exercise we know can reduce stress
and sometimes make us feel good.
So of course you would use it, right?
Not to mention that it still feeds
into our eating disorder voice
by giving us a false sense of control.
And it can also make us think
that we are achieving something worthwhile, right?
Eating disorders have these lists of things
that we're supposed to do, or criteria
we're supposed to meet and it's always changing, right?
The goalposts are always moving farther and farther away
but exercise can give us that false sense
that we are moving closer to those goalposts.
Now, I know that you most likely assume
that those who are addicted to exercise are underweight
or when we're talking about eating disorders
they're on the more restrictive side
of the eating disorder spectrum.
Well, I'm here to tell you that that is completely wrong.
Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes
and exercise can be a way that those of us who binge,
quote unquote, make up for that binge.
I've always considered exercise as a form of purging
because I, in my practice define purging
as us finding a way of getting out the food
that we don't want to stay in our bodies.
So this can be done through actually throwing up,
abusing laxatives or through overexercise.
And many of my eating disorder patients,
both the restrictive and the binge types,
struggle to build a healthy relationship with exercise
because it's so closely linked to our body.
And when we have an eating disorder,
we aren't healthfully able to connect to our bodies, right?
Not to mention that many of my eating disorder patients
have been through a trauma in their lifetime, not all,
but a lot of them and trauma, if you yourself
have been traumatized, think you can attest to the fact
that it can make that connection
to our body even more difficult.
So now that we understand what exercise addiction is
and why it's often linked to eating disorders,
how do we overcome it and go on
to have a healthy relationship with exercise?
Is that even possible?
Well, yes it is.
And my first tip is to learn how to be in your body
and actually feel it.
I know it's hard and it's gonna take some practice
but we can get there and it can help to start
out by trying some light stretching and consider
if I'm trying to touch my toes,
where do I feel that stretch?
What if it's too much?
Is it not enough or does it feel good?
Think about those things, kind of tap in.
And one of the tricks that we use in DBT
is called the white light.
And you imagine that this white circle of light
is coming down and starting above your head
and working its way down and around your entire body
kind of going around you.
And as it passes each area very slowly,
notice how that area feels.
If any muscles there are very tense, and if they are,
see if you can relax them and do this all the way
from the tippity top of your head to your toes.
And it can help with that brain-body connection
because getting a bit more comfortable with our bodies
can help us stay in them more, listen to them more easily
and hopefully heal the relationship.
Because let's be honest, we all have been abusing our bodies
and not listening to them all the time
and all that they tell us, right?
We're not always receiving those messages
and this can be really, really healing.
My second tip, learn how to play again.
I'll even be honest that I need a little more play
in my life or just goofy, nonsensical,
not geared toward any final destination.
So have fun with exercise like a child does.
Can you join a softball or soccer team?
Maybe you can play in the park with your
or your friend's children,
maybe play with your cat or your dog.
And summer's coming, maybe we can go jump
on a slip and slide or a trampoline or go paddle boarding,
maybe try kayaking with a friend.
Moving our body, just to have fun and enjoy others
and the outdoors is important
when we're trying to overcome the urge to overdo it.
Just make sure that when we are having fun,
we aren't competing with anyone and even ourselves, right?
No competition, it's just play.
My next tip is when reengaging with exercise at a gym
or a studio, only sign up for group classes.
This ensures that there is a warmup,
there's the time for the class and then a cool-down.
And if we sign up for like a 30 minute class
or an hour long class, it's only gonna last that long.
We won't be able to keep adding in reps
or lapse or time onto the end of our workouts
like we used to, kind of holds us accountable.
So we start when the teacher starts and we end on time
with everyone else.
Not to mention that workout classes
can actually be a great place
to meet new people and be social.
Instead of what those of us with exercise addiction
tend to do is shut down, numb out an exercise
until we just can't even think anymore.
My next tip is to please see a therapist and a dietician
and also just get regular physicals
from your primary doctor.
When we are working to heal from exercise addiction
or an eating disorder, it's really important
that we have a licensed team there to support us.
There's a lot we can do on our own
but to ensure that our body and brain are healed,
we're gonna need some professional help.
And there's always a reason for our unhealthy coping skills.
And working with a therapist can help you uncover that
so that you can overcome it and heal.
That way, the reason that you're addicted to exercise,
the root of the root whatever's driving it,
we can work to heal that and then it won't be there anymore.
Therefore, neither will the urge to overexercise
or engage in that unhealthy behavior.
And my final tip, never, I said, never work out alone.
Working out alone gives us too many opportunities
to overdo it or push past our limit.
And that's why I recommend to taking classes
or playing with friends and family instead.
And I know with COVID, this can be tricky, but get outside,
go for a hike with a friend
or something that you feel safe doing.
Until we get a handle on our relationship with working out,
let's have people around us to hold us accountable
and ensure that we stop at a reasonable time
and don't get carried away.
I hope you found that helpful.
Have you personally struggled with exercise addiction
or known someone who has, what did you find helpful
when you were working to overcome it?
Please share any additional thoughts and resources
down in those comments and I will see you next time, bye.