Exercise Identification & Exercise addiction; Understanding it and How to Change

When we think of the idea of “addiction”, it’s normal for most of us to associate it with typically addictive things such as alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. Whereas, quite the opposite – exercise is typically perceived as beneficial and not usually viewed in such a harmful light.

As a society, we are constantly reminded that it’s essential to exercise – which it is, in moderation. This is what makes it so easy for an equally as dangerous addiction to go unnoticed – it’s not as obvious as lighting up a cigarette or being intoxicated. However, just as with anything – when taken to the extreme, even healthy behaviours can become anything but; severely damaging our health and wellbeing.

It’s not too difficult to understand how and why over exercising and exercise addiction happen to so many people. Sadly, with factors such as added pressures from social media to achieve ultimate body perfection, compulsive exercise is becoming more and more customary. We can easily consume the idea of “the more exercise the better” by what we see. Constantly posted ‘fit inspiration’ or ‘fitspo’, can spark the urge in us to push ourselves to get there too. Competitive aspects and feelings of shame or guilt can emerge and take over, drowning out what our bodies could desperately be trying to tell us.

Social media can be full of inspiration, but it can also be full of shame, guilt and not-good enoughs. It’s so easy to get caught up in the tumbling and swirling of the social media washing machine, all up in your face all of the time. If you’ve just rolled out of bed, seeing gym check-ins and #postworkout selfies plastered all your news feed can understandably make you feel more motivated to get a workout in yourself, whether out of inspiration, guilt or competition. However, our relationship with exercise becomes potentially poisonous when we start to associate with it more than we should, or exert ourselves to unnatural lengths; unknowingly damaging our beautiful, incredible bodies.

Exercise addiction, or an unhealthy over-identification with exercise can be incredibly sneaky, as it’s very easily disguised as a problem wearing the cloak of a passion. “”Wow, you’re so passionate! So dedicated! I wish I had your discipline! You’re an inspiration!”, people may comment when they see you at the gym for the second time in 24 hours or the 10th consecutive day in a row. The problem arises when fitness and exercise becomes who you are – slowly robbing you of all of the other wonderful aspects of life that should make you, you.

This post is not personal, and neither do I want it to be, but over-exercising and fitness identification is something I can totally empathise with, and I know too well some the destructive things that it can do to your life. The reason I am writing this is because I’m worried that it’s scarily easily place for both girls and guys to get to – or even feel that they should get to. Exercise can very easily become an activity of the ego and a means of validation, and with encouragement can worsen. It’s becoming a regular occurrence; people pushing themselves through injury and sickness to exercise, being called inspirational or heroic. People’s schedules and lives becoming more and more based around working out or eating healthy all of the time – even when on holiday. Sometimes when we become too consumed with something, it takes too much time to realise that there is more – and we can lose out on making memories with our friends, disregard our relationships, confuse our priorities and leave little space for any learning, personal growth or just purely appreciating the world around us. I know for fact that no amount of regret or realisation can bring that lost time back.

Sometimes we really do need to loosen the reigns we’ve put on ourselves and create a life outside of exercise and nutrition, as having fun with life is way more emotionally satisfying and much easier to create than a perfect appearance. Sometimes, we need to ask ourselves if it’s really making us joyful and giving us what we ultimately want to get out of life. I don’t think anybody genuinely wants to be a 93-year-old man or woman worrying about calories/carbs/ab definition/weight, do they?! No, you want way more than that.

What you can do

If over-exercising or exercise addiction affects you or someone who you know – understand that blaming or shaming yourself or others is not answer. The impulse to exercise can feel completely out of a person’s control – with them often not knowing what they’re doing to themselves. Even if they do realise, it can be difficult for them to stop. Ridiculing them or approaching people judgementally is not a compassionate way to respond to anyone who may have fallen into a concerning relationship with exercise. Developing a much healthier relationship is so completely possible. It can just be a process of stepping back, resetting and realising that it’s a problem – whether it be a big or a small one. Problems don’t stay problems – they turn into something else. They become means of growth and understanding and working through them means that you are in a place to help others work through theirs too.

Take a break

Take some time off. And absolutely as much as you need to. Stop tracking your food, stop wearing your polar watch to see how many calories you’ve burnt, do not weigh yourself. It will be the hardest but most worthwhile thing to do. Do light activity such as walking and yoga to bring you into your body. Spend time with loved ones. Watch movies, take baths. Read. Learn something new. Eat good food. Meditate if you’re open to it. It will help you with the panicked feelings you may get when your mind is telling you that you should be exercising. Don’t listen to it. Listen to something else – your favourite music. Spend some time in nature. Do something you know will make you REALLY really laugh. Try and avoid, or reduce, social media for a while and anything fitness related. It could be a few days, a week or a month but really take some time off to recuperate. If you have been over exercising, your body needs it and will thank you and come back strong. Your body is too full of miracles to give it a hard time, or keep wishing it was something else.

Check Your Motivations

When you start exercising because you are afraid of what will happen if you don’t – that’s when you reach dangerous territory. The motivation comes from a place of fear instead of love, and an ugly cycle of guilt, self-punishment and shame can cause what should be a healthy habit to a toxic one. Of course, the benefits of exercise are endless, but without regular rest, they can completely backfire, leaving you burnt out. For example, if you feel like you need to exercise rigorously every day of the week because you’d like to lose weight – exercising too much can possibly suppress your thyroid and inhibit your weight loss efforts. Find another motivation to exercise other than your appearance. This one is important. Numerous research studies show that exercising solely to improve appearance is related to higher levels of drop out and dissatisfaction (Markland and Ingledew, 2007). When your motivations are based on an external outcome, it can leave you feeling like a failure when that outcome does not materialise. Intrinsic motivations on the other hand, have been linked to higher satisfaction and health. Find a reason to exercise such as, “to be strong”, “to raise your energy levels”, “to have fun” or even to socialise with friends, if you exercise with a partner or in a group setting.

Find another hobby

Find something else other than exercise to answer the question “What do you do for fun?” with. Make your life and what you’re about bigger. Cultivate and express passions that you have – find something that you authentically love doing. It could be painting, dancing, writing, stamp collecting, chess, gardening, cooking, adventure…ANYTHING. Do it. Expand yourself. Be more than just a #girlwholifts. Have a #regularhumanmode as well as #beastmode. Creating a rounded, healthy life is about balance and moderation – that goes for absolutely everything. It will help take you away from the heavy, yet unnecessary pressures of exercising and being in shape. It will give you something else to positively invest your energy. Spend as much time working in, on yourself, as you do working out.

Get support

Being honest with yourself and others is more than completely okay. If you need help, do not be afraid to ask. It takes massive amounts of courage and character to want to make positive changes to yourself and work through insecurities and issues. The first part is knowing that you can do it – and inviting the people who care about you to help you will make you feel like it’s possible. There is no shame in recognising that you may have become a bit tied up with the pressures of exercise. Be compassionate with yourself and take small steps to reset. Get back into exercising slowly and build up – 3-5 times a week is always enough. Be wary of being influenced by other people who might make you feel as if you should be doing more. Support from the right people can help you be careful not to let your ego overtake your health.

Be Patient

Lastly, be unconditionally patient with yourself. If you have an unhealthy relationship to exercise, it has most likely been wired into your thought patterns over a period of time. It can take a lot of self-compassion, awareness and work to re-wire negative self-talk, compulsiveness and anxieties. Keep at it – if you have been dedicated enough to push yourself to exercise, you are already wonderfully strong and resilient.

All love,

Adéle x