Yes...it's possible! The word
"addiction" give us images of people in dark rooms, listening to bad
music and sticking needles in their arms, but many addicts can be found in the
gym or on the local school track, getting just as addictive a fix. In fact, the
positive nature of the word "healthy" makes health and fitness
addiction all the more alluring. Despite the positive media, health addicts
have done as much damage to their families and lives as any other kind of
addict. In this article, we'll look under the surface of health and fitness
addiction and find a path to recovery.
How Can Something So Good Be Bad? In our
modern Western culture, those willing to pay the price for fitness are to be
applauded. There are just so many temptations to do otherwise. Exercise is
mostly boring, painful and smelly, so those who endure it for about an hour,
3-5 days a week, have achieved a level of discipline most only dream of.
Health and fitness addiction is not about
health or fitness...it's about a compulsion to use healthy activities to fill a
void we see in ourselves. Addicts are compelled, not disciplined. The addictive
chemicals involved in exercise are much the same as those in sex and porn
addiction. This may explain why many people suffer from both sexual addictions
and health addictions.
Types Of Health And Fitness Addiction: These
are addictions to the activities of health and fitness, as opposed to the TV,
Internet and shopping addictions which could involve health themes. Health and
fitness addictions are compulsions to engage in "healthy" activities,
like exercise, dieting, etc. In fact, anorexia and bulimia nervosa have both
been described as severe health and fitness addictions. Two key symptoms of
these mental disorders are exercise and dietary control to a compulsive and
excessive extreme. The specific exercise or diet plan doesn't matter. It's an
addiction when you feel compelled to do it.
How Do I Know I'm Addicted? We addicts don't
often recognize addiction because a common symptom of addiction is denial,
which is even easier to have about health. That's why it's easier to find out
from a friend or loved one if you have a problem in this area. For health
addiction involving eating, see Anorexia Nervosa Quiz.
Here are some things to watch out for concerning fitness exercise addiction:
1. Do you regularly spend more than 8 hours a
week exercising and is the time you spend increasing?
2. Does your exercise schedule interfere with
normal family activities, home or work responsibilities?
3. Do friends or family members complain about
the time or money you spend on fitness?
4. Have you wondered if you're being too
compulsive about your fitness program?
5. Have you lied to your family, friends, or
employers about the time you spend in fitness activities?
6. Do you often see fitness as a way to gain
acceptance or praise from others?
7. Have you ever pushed so hard in your
fitness program you hurt yourself?
If you answered yes to any of these questions,
you should consider yourself at risk of addiction. If you answered yes to 3 or
more, you're probably addicted.
How Do I Recover From Health And Fitness
Addiction? This is caused by a negative self-image, like any other addiction.
Instead of alcohol, you use exercise to fill a void you feel in yourself. Since
the relief produced by exercise is only temporary and you become conditioned,
you need regular increases in the activity to produce the same relief. Unlike
alcohol, a certain amount of fitness activity is required for health, so, you
can't just quit. Instead, we have to hold ourselves to no more than an hour a
day, 3-5 days a week.
Spend the rest of the time you used to
exercise going to AA or other addiction meetings and engaging in
self-development activities. You could read, go back to school, join a
volunteer group. You could take up a hobby, like gardening or building model
airplanes. To help in building yourself up, avoid negative mental inputs, like
the news, drama, negative, insulting friends. Replace those with good music or
reading or other activities that build you up. Push all the negative,
self-defeating, limiting thoughts out of your mind with positive, uplifting,
encouraging thoughts.
Because there are risks that health and
fitness addiction could develop into full-blown anorexia, if you try and fail
to get a handle on your addiction, please see a doctor. Sometimes medical and
psychological therapy can prevent a more serious condition from developing, and
allow you the mental energies you need to get control of yourself.
Health and fitness addiction can be just as
severe as any other addiction. It can imprison us into destructive, compulsive
activities. We can place our families, our careers, even, ironically, our
health at risk through addiction to exercise and other fitness activities. The
good news is, there is hope for anyone willing to live in and work on recovery.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/1230074
