What is an Addiction?
An addiction is a strong need to do or have something which in turn will cause one a lot of harm both to one’s physical and psychological self. It involves compulsive behaviour, a repetitive action and upon withdrawal, the sufferer develops various symptoms which can range from anxiety and depression to suicide attempts in major cases. People with an addiction have no control over their addiction. The sufferer is barely aware that he or she is suffering the consequences of an addiction. Usually it is the family of the sufferer or a friend who raises concern about the patient’s behaviour.
What is an Exercise Addiction?
Exercise addiction usually accompanies an eating disorder. I have been through it and I can assure you that it is as dangerous as anorexia and bulimia. After my dancing and gymnastics days were over, my eating disorder to over my life by storm. My self-esteem was so low that I was too shy to participate in any sport. To cut my long and complicated story short, I found myself skipping school and social events in order to spend hours upon hours exercising.
To clarify things out, there is a difference between exercising and training. There is a difference between an exercise addict and an athlete. An athlete does spend a lot of time training for his or her sport for performance purposes. The mindset of an athlete is to be better than one’s previous best and to obtain good performance results out of the hours the athlete spends training. Also the athlete seeks to fuel his or her body properly in order to have enough energy to accompany the intense training. The mindset of an exercise addict is waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy different.
An addiction is a strong need to do or have something which in turn will cause one a lot of harm both to one’s physical and psychological self. It involves compulsive behaviour, a repetitive action and upon withdrawal, the sufferer develops various symptoms which can range from anxiety and depression to suicide attempts in major cases. People with an addiction have no control over their addiction. The sufferer is barely aware that he or she is suffering the consequences of an addiction. Usually it is the family of the sufferer or a friend who raises concern about the patient’s behaviour.
What is an Exercise Addiction?
Exercise addiction usually accompanies an eating disorder. I have been through it and I can assure you that it is as dangerous as anorexia and bulimia. After my dancing and gymnastics days were over, my eating disorder to over my life by storm. My self-esteem was so low that I was too shy to participate in any sport. To cut my long and complicated story short, I found myself skipping school and social events in order to spend hours upon hours exercising.
To clarify things out, there is a difference between exercising and training. There is a difference between an exercise addict and an athlete. An athlete does spend a lot of time training for his or her sport for performance purposes. The mindset of an athlete is to be better than one’s previous best and to obtain good performance results out of the hours the athlete spends training. Also the athlete seeks to fuel his or her body properly in order to have enough energy to accompany the intense training. The mindset of an exercise addict is waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy different.
An exercise addict has a dependence on exercise in order to achieve a sense of euphoria. As time goes by, the intensity of exercise increases as well as the tolerance of the euphoric state is increased. The sufferer starts avoiding social events such as work, school and family time in order to exercise. If he or she does not exercise, the sufferer experiences withdrawal symptoms which include anxiety, low self-esteem, restlessness, depression, guilt, headaches and discomfort. The addict also exercises through pain. All this continues until the body of the sufferer starts to burn out.
As time went by, I experienced brain fog and loss of concentration. I was unable to think well and fatigue set in. My muscles started losing strength and deteriorated. Along with that I experienced heart palpitations, acid reflux, low blood pressure, weak bone mass, hair and nail loss and loss of menstruation. All this ended about three months ago when I really decided that enough is enough and instead of harming my body, today I train with purpose and a FAR stronger mindset.
As time went by, I experienced brain fog and loss of concentration. I was unable to think well and fatigue set in. My muscles started losing strength and deteriorated. Along with that I experienced heart palpitations, acid reflux, low blood pressure, weak bone mass, hair and nail loss and loss of menstruation. All this ended about three months ago when I really decided that enough is enough and instead of harming my body, today I train with purpose and a FAR stronger mindset.
What causes an Exercise Addiction?
For the sufferers, exercise acts as a coping mechanism. Addicts deal with their stress, insecurities and burdens through exercise. Exercise stimulates the neurotransmitters in the brain’s rewarding system thus releasing endorphins and other hormones which makes oneself feel good, relaxed and fresh. The sufferer gets addicted to this kind of feeling and thus one controls his or her life through exercise.
For the sufferers, exercise acts as a coping mechanism. Addicts deal with their stress, insecurities and burdens through exercise. Exercise stimulates the neurotransmitters in the brain’s rewarding system thus releasing endorphins and other hormones which makes oneself feel good, relaxed and fresh. The sufferer gets addicted to this kind of feeling and thus one controls his or her life through exercise.
Exercise bulimia is very common but is less known that the other common eating disorders, but it is as dangerous as its symptoms are similar to those of anorexia and bulimia.
Exercise is a great way to manage stress and increase your self-esteem. It is a pity that such a good and necessary life tool can be abused and used as a method of self-harming. It is very important that if you are planning to start working out, PLEASE CONSULT A CERTIFIED PHYSICAL TRAINER AFTER YOU CARRY OUT MEDICAL TESTS. Along with that make sure that you ARE REPLENISHING WELL in order to supply adequate amount of nutrients for your body in order to recover from the workouts.
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Exercise is a great way to manage stress and increase your self-esteem. It is a pity that such a good and necessary life tool can be abused and used as a method of self-harming. It is very important that if you are planning to start working out, PLEASE CONSULT A CERTIFIED PHYSICAL TRAINER AFTER YOU CARRY OUT MEDICAL TESTS. Along with that make sure that you ARE REPLENISHING WELL in order to supply adequate amount of nutrients for your body in order to recover from the workouts.
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