Non-stop fitness: 7 signs of sports addiction

Path to Obsession

Until the age of 45, Marina was not particularly interested in physical education. But the sedentary lifestyle made adjustments: Marina’s lower back ached from sitting at the computer for a long time, and the osteopath advised her to master stretching or Pilates. She bought a subscription to a fitness club and started exercising.

The back pain eased, the creases on the stomach disappeared, muscle tone and emotional uplift returned, but most importantly, after each workout, after the excitement and tension, a heady feeling of fatigue appeared, as if a magic elixir was pouring through the body. Thoughts about current problems dissolved.

Two evening classes a week seemed not enough. Marina began to resort to training at lunchtime. And then spend the whole weekend in the gym. If Marina has to miss a workout, she becomes irritable, unable to concentrate on work and has difficulty falling asleep.

The threat of closure of sports facilities due to the pandemic sends her into a state of horror. She can no longer do without regular, exhausting, but enjoyable workouts.

Marina’s story is quite typical. This is the most paradoxical among modern addictions, that is, dependencies. After all, physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, which means that fitness is a useful thing. But for some, this passion imperceptibly turns into an obsession.

What’s wrong with taking care of your body? A sporty lifestyle is encouraged by society, causes respect and even envy among less mobile colleagues and relatives. That is why diagnosing an addiction to exercise is quite difficult. A person addicted to excessive physical activity may become a patient in an emergency room, but is unlikely to come to a psychotherapist for help.

The withdrawal syndrome

Sports addiction as an independent disorder is not included in the official manuals for the diagnosis of mental disorders. But already in the eighties of the twentieth century, the press began to mention “running addiction”, which manifested itself in a kind of “breaking” when regular classes were stopped. Runners during long breaks noted irritability, anxiety, muscle tension.

Today it is obvious that not only running can cause a similar syndrome, but also any other sport. But frequent and prolonged exercise does not always lead to addiction. Otherwise, all professional athletes who train for hours and years on end would be at risk.

Desperately practicing extreme sports could also be suspected of “adrenaline addiction”. But in fact, extreme sports, on the contrary, are recognized as a healthier alternative to chemical addictions and are even recommended for difficult teenagers.

Amateurs who are so actively involved in the training process are in the zone of greatest risk for sports addiction that they easily cross the line beyond which a healthy hobby turns into an obsession.

How to determine that the problem really exists? Italy, for example, has its own method of diagnosing sports addiction. And as a result of a survey of visitors to fitness clubs, 500 sports addicts were identified there.

According to the Italian psychotherapist, specialist in sports psychology Monica Monaco, one can speak of sports addiction in the presence of three of the seven signs described below.

Signs of sports addiction

1. The need to constantly increase the number of training sessions (“dose”) to achieve the desired psychophysical state, since the effect of the previous volume of training is no longer enough.
2. Psychological and physical symptoms reminiscent of “withdrawal” that appear in the absence of training: irritability, emotional decline, tension in the body, anxiety. And in order to eliminate these negative feelings, it is required to return to the usual, or even more physical exercise.
3. Strengthening the intensity and duration of training, and for the athlete himself this remains imperceptible and unobvious.
4. Loss of control – persistent desire to exercise and the failure of attempts to reduce physical activity.
5. Increasing time devoted to sports and exercise.
6. Conflict of Interest: Reducing other significant activities (professional, recreational, socializing with friends, family activities) if they interfere with or distract from planned workouts.
7. Permanence – “addicted” to physical activity continues to train hard, despite fatigue, mental exhaustion, injuries, protests from loved ones.

Checklist for self-examination

Since few exercise addicts are willing to admit their addiction and seek professional help, it’s important to learn how to self-diagnose. Monica Monaco offers a 13-point checklist for introspection.

To assess your own risks, take a piece of paper, reflect on your relationship with the sport over the past three months, and honestly answer the questions posed.

1. I increased the intensity, frequency and/or duration of my workouts to achieve the same results.
2. I trained to avoid or reduce stress, anxiety, irritation.
3. I practiced more than I intended.
4. I have not been able to reduce the frequency or duration of my workouts.
5. I kept thinking about training instead of focusing on work and other things.
6. I had conflicts in the family due to excessive fitness.
7. I continued to train despite feeling unwell.
8. I had sleep or mood problems when I stopped exercising.
9. From too much zeal in training, I was exhausted or injured.
10. I could not reduce the intensity of the sports load.
11. I felt alienated thinking about training outside the gym.
12. I devoted most of my free time to training.
13. I trained without worrying about being tired.

If you answered yes to 1-5 questions, then the problem of sports addiction is not familiar to you. If you scored between 6 and 9 points, then there is still a risk with low symptoms. The numbers 10-13 indicate dependence.

With what and how to work?

Specialists divide sports addictions into primary and secondary. Motives of primary dependence are often not realized. This is a loss of contact with your emotions and feelings or an attempt to get away from negative experiences.

Secondary dependence is born for the same reasons as, for example, an eating disorder – dissatisfaction with one’s appearance, a desire to control weight. According to statistics, running, fitness and bodybuilding are considered the most “dangerous” in terms of addiction.

Monica Monaco offers the following ways to get out of sports addiction.

• Recognize that a problem exists.
• Listen to your condition, stop at the peak of physical activity, do not continue exercising through pain and fatigue.
• Draw up a program to gradually slow down the pace of the load.
• Analyze what needs are being supplanted by increased training.
• Find healthier ways to resolve inner conflicts and desires.

During the pandemic, the risk of sports addiction has greatly increased, because active physical exercises help to cope with anxiety, fear, and stress. In the conditions of quarantine, sports lessons online can seem like a salvation. But in order for fitness to bring not harm, but rather benefit, it is important to dose the load and listen to your condition.