Can You Exercise Too Much? Mental Health Experts Say Yes

[Lisa]

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You run in the morning, train for your next marathon at night despite a nagging injury, and head to the gym to weight train in your free time. Missing a workout is not an option.

Are you exercised obsessed, or just an avid exercise enthusiast?

That depends on your attitude, say mental health experts. If you exercise frequently because you enjoy it and you like the health benefits it provides, you have the right reasons in mind. If you exercise because you feel compelled to do so, and in spite of having injuries, you may be at risk for developing an exercise disorder.

So which one are you? Do you fit the exercised obsessed criteria or is your need to exercise a healthy one. Is the truth really in the eye of the ...err.. exerciser?

 

[Blotan Hunka]

If its a disease, I think more people should be catching it. LOL.

Its funny, in our overweight western society that we would even worry about that one too much.

 

[stickarts]

Whereas most people I know have to try and get motivated to exercise, I have always had to force myself to slow down. For me I think it is just being driven to always want to do better.
You can definately do too much. Our body and mind are meant to work, but they need rest and time to rebuild too!
I have always had to work on moderation.

 

[Callandor]

Nice info, thanks. It's something to look out for - exercise obsession. This is specially true nowadays where teens want to be thin like supermodels even if it means sacrificing their health.

 

[Kacey]

Like anything else, I think you can exercise too much; exercise obsession is often seen in anorexics, bulemics, and other eating/weight disorders. Somewhere, some years ago, I saw an article that equated exercise obsession in men with eating disorders in women; both are seen in both genders, but the numbers of each gender are skewed - men are more likely to be extreme athletes, and women are more likely to have eating disorders, because the afflicted are often expressing extremes of the societal conception of beauty. Exercise can also be an expression of an obsessive/compulsive disorder that is not part of an eating disorder.

 

[IcemanSK]

I had a bit of this in my life at one point. I was one auto-piolot at my job, & my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. I started running at 5:00 am before work, then hitting the boxing gym after work. I was overweight 200 lbs (at 5'9.5") & wanted to lose weight. It didn't take long before it was an obsession for me. I would run & then be envious of folks that I saw running. As my dad got sicker, I trained more. I was very depressed. Somedays, I would run before work, then call in sick because I was so depressed. In 6 months, I lost about 40 lbs. When my dad died, I lost another 15 lbs. I ran & was in the gym every day. It was very much as if, "I can't control everything in my life, but I can control this." (Sound like something else?) I had my endorphin high to make everything ok, for a while. Until I couldn't stop loosing weight! I didn't ever purge, but I ate anything I wanted. I just was compeled to run. I looked very thin!

I did eventually get help & now have a healthy attitude toward training. But, it took time. People who feel this way will give up anything to train.

That's my experience with this. It's been a number of years & I'm a healthy weight & have a good mindset.

 

[Sukerkin]

It's always good on such issues to hear the views of people who have actually experienced the matter 'under the microscope'.

Thanks for sharing that, Iceman :rei:.

Tho' you wouldn't think it to look at me now (to use the local vernacular, the missus has put a right belly on me in the past three years ) I used to excercise a great deal too but I never had any thought in my head other than the fact that I enjoyed it, it was a challenge and it was good for me.

In fact that's the same mindset I have now with iai ... it's just that that doesn't take the pounds off :lol:.