Fitness addiction

For many of us the gym is a place to develop our body and mind.

Whatever level you train at and in whichever capacity that is, chances are you've heard of eating disorders, body dysmorphia and fitness addiction. It seems ironic and quite unfair that the effort we put into fitness can actually have a detrimental physical and mental outcome.

At what point does it become an addiction?

Many view addictions as drink, drugs, gambling and so on in nature. But an addiction is any kind of powerful experience which is in any way destructive.

Some addictions are obvious to both the suffering individual and those around them – but often addictions are silent in nature, in that they are learned behaviours which become instinctive and subtly go unnoticed.

Attaining an aesthetic appearance is a common goal in the fitness industry. In order to achieve this goal we need to be disciplined and mindful with our training and diet – but how far does 'disciplined' stretch before it becomes an addiction?

Recognising addictive behaviour in ourselves

There is a conscious and unconscious pathway to thinking. Our choice to go to the gym 'x' days a week and eat 'x' meals a day is a subconscious habit; it is learned behaviour that requires no active thinking on our part – more often than not it seems to just happen. Whereas conscious thinking is our here and now – everything we experience with our senses, i.e. the taste of our pre workout meal, the feel of a dumbbell, the pain of an injury and so on.

This is why it is sometimes so difficult to recognise addictive thinking and behaviour in ourselves. The automatic nature of these thoughts and actions are unconscious, learned behaviour – and so it feels normal to us.

A tactic for exploring any underlying fitness or diet motives is to evaluate our thoughts and actions in the 3rd person.

In effect we become an observer and not a thinker; we become mindful of our thought patterns and notice any repetitive, obsessive or frequently negative thoughts which surface throughout the day.

Being honest and provoking yourself with uncomfortable questions around the subject of fitness and diet motives can also be beneficial for discovering addictive behaviour.

Some example questions could be,

Do you...

Feel internal or external pressure to attain a specific physique?

Get upset or unhappy regularly regarding your physique or diet?

Feel pressure to obsess over food habits, or count calories?

Dwell on criticism for long periods?

Prevent yourself from eating despite being hungry/excessive eat (binge) when full?

Seek external reassurance on your physique?

Have a frequent negative self perception or negative self talk in the context of physique or diet?

We may feel in touch with our motives on the surface but there are likely other motivating factors which drive us to act and think the way we do.

Be aware of our own defence mechanisms

It is natural for humans to avoid pain and discomfort. In psychodynamic psychotherapy these are classified as defence mechanisms and we all, at some point, have utilised them. Defence mechanisms (especially denial and rationalisation) can prevent us from accurately assessing if, and to what extent, we are affected by addictive behaviour.

On the other hand a 'positive' defence mechanism is sublimation. You may have adopted this after a stressful day at work where you focussed this frustration in to your workout. Sublimation in therapy is the process of diverting energy of a destructive behaviour to a more constructive behaviour.

You are not alone

Fitness addictions present in a variety of ways. If any part of your training or diet is making you consistently unhappy then that is something which should be explored.

If you would like to talk through any issues you, or someone else may have, please get in touch for a confidential chat with myself.