Are your workouts making you asocial?

When you cross the line between simply loving exercise and indulging in an uncontrollable pursuit of physical fitness you are addicted for sure.

“I see a lot of people developing social withdrawal triggered by exercise addiction,” says Nisha Varma, an American College of Sports Medicine certified exercise physiologist who runs Spectrum Fitness, an organisation for training fitness trainers.”Even I went through it at one point of time,” she recounts. There was a point of time, way back in the 90s, when Varma used to be on the move for almost 12 hours every day. “Back then, I used to stay in Paris. When I started exercising, I had some weight to lose. So I would wake up at 4 in the morning and exercise till 8, while watching TV and then go for a two-hour walk in a beautiful forest, pretty close to my house. After coming back, I used to take a shower, eat my breakfast ( I would rather call it brunch!) which usually consisted of eggs, toast, fruits and veggies and then take a metro to the farthest part of the city. I would walk the whole day and come back in the evening,” recalls Varma. She could wean herself off this obsession only after she started studying for fitness and realised that it was going against her body and life too.

Well, when you cross the line between simply loving exercise and indulging in an overzealous, uncontrollable pursuit of physical fitness, overlooking or rationalising the harmful consequences it has, you are addicted for sure. Everyone is more or less aware of the physical penalties that we may have to bear due an unhealthy relationship with exercise, but the social and emotional impacts mostly go unnoticed. Exercise addicts have been found to seclude themselves from family and friends, avoid social gatherings, limit their vacations, so on and so forth, simply because they want to ensure that their routine isn’t disrupted and they don’t miss out on their workouts.

“After all, human body needs rest. You need to rest and recover to come back to your workouts the next day. Fitness addicts are naturally over conscious about the necessity of rest. Also, they need more time than others to refuel themselves for the next day as they push themselves harder. So, on most occasions, they prefer to sleep and rest instead of going out and having fun with their friends and family, just to ensure that their tiredness doesn’t impel them to skip the next day’s session. That’s how the social isolation begins,” explains Varma.

Fitness addicts prefer to sleep in their free time instead of going out with friends so that they can work out with a heightened energy the next day. © Shutterstock

Fitness addicts’ normal and essential functions of their life may also go for a toss in extreme cases, thanks to the high that workouts give them as well as the withdrawal symptoms they get on skipping their sessions. According to a study conducted at the University of Southern Denmark, exercise addicts get withdrawal symptoms just like alcoholics: Restlessness, frustration and guilt. They are addicted to their own activity and exercise dictates their mood, observes the study. Scientists at the University of Southern California are of the opinion that 15 per cent of the entire workout-obsessed population are also addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, or illicit drugs. An estimated 25 per cent may have other addictions too, they speculate. Behavioural similarities have also been found between fitness addicts and people with other addictions. In both the cases, people are driven by pleasure and are inflexible in their thinking.

TELLTALE SIGNS OF FITNESS ADDICTION
Addiction is all about being trapped by an uncontrollable desire to do something that one not only likes, but finds tough to stay away from. People who are obsessed with exercise experience an irresistible urge to work out. It becomes their compulsion, so they fail even if they try to stop themselves. A combination of various symptoms indicate that passion has transformed into addiction. These are the major red flags that one should watch out for:

Workout is scheduled for seven days a week and several times a day
Inability to stop despite physical injury
Reduced activities to make more time for workout sessions
Alienation from family and friends
Withdrawal symptoms after a short period of break

THE MAKING OF AN EXERCISE ADDICT

Workouts have been found to release endorphins and dopamine, the neurotransmitters released during drug or alcohol use. © Shutterstock

There are several studies that have associated the brain’s neurotransmitters and reward system with exercise. Workouts have been found to release endorphins and dopamine, the neurotransmitters released during drug or alcohol use. So, like any other addict, a person obsessed with fitness also experiences a feeling of reward and joy while exercising. “It becomes tough for fitness addicts to stop,” says Prachi S Vaish, clinical psychologist and the founder of HopeNetwork.in. The moment they stop, the rush is gone. “When there is a slump, they start feeling low and crave for the ‘high’ again. Due to this, some people work out to such an extent that they land up in a hospital!” says Vaish. Agrees Varma, “This is how it all starts. When you exercise, you get an endorphin hit and you start feeling light, energetic and good about yourself. One starts looking good as well. So, down the line, you start feeling this way, ‘If I don’t burn 500 calories, then I shouldn’t eat those many calories.’ That’s the starting point of an exercise-related compulsion. Addicts burn a certain number of calories and then reward themselves with foods having those many calories. Similarly, if they don’t work out, they may get into a starvation mode as well. So, it becomes a function of reward and punishment for people obsessed with workouts.” Fitness obsession may also be the result of body image issues. “An affinity for exercising to the level of addiction which leads to social withdrawal suggests issues with body image. What starts out as an effort to ‘get in shape’ turns into an obsession with how one looks, constant weight watching, a glance into the mirror every few minutes, severe dietary fads, etc.,” says Vaish. This syndrome can be an escape route from depression or relationship crisis as well.

GETTING RID OF YOUR OBSESSION
While we talk about getting rid of fitness addiction, we are not doubting the innumerable health benefits those squats and lunges offer. Exercise is a must and if you want to amp up your workout plans in the coming year, you are most welcome. But if you are overdoing it, then that’s a sign of obsession which may establish an unhealthy relationship between you and your workouts. So, like any other addiction, it needs to be addressed. Our experts tell you how.

Start working out with friends or gym buddies. “This way, the social contact is maintained even while you’re exercising. It also helps you keep a reality check on our exercise goals and achievements and stops you from getting carried away by the feeling of ‘I’m not doing enough’,” says Vaish.

Working out with friends helps you keep a reality check on our exercise goals and achievements. © Shutterstock

Set realistic goals and stick to them. Once you achieve them, give yourself a break and let yourself enjoy the feeling of accomplishment instead of immediately trying to push for more and more. This helps to pace out the exertion and creates a mental state where you actually enjoy the ‘high’ of exercise for a longer time rather than experiencing it in short bursts. “Also, you should take off once a week. I would suggest a Monday. This will put a brake to the routine. Get up late, don’t exercise. Do everything that you don’t do on the day that you are working out,” says Varma.

Schedule post-workout chores. This will help you stop. “Moreover, the energy you gain from the workout can be immediately utilised into another goal accomplishment which will help to sustain the positive mood and prevent you from getting into a slump,” says Vaish.

Spot the cause behind your addiction. This is very important. If you find out that your obsession stems from body image issues or depression, then you need to seek professional help. Yoga and meditation will also help.

Join a class with a fixed duration. “Instead of running on the treadmill, join a Pilates, Zumba, swimming or spinning class that runs for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you have a gym membership, talk to your instructor and other stuff about your condition. Ask them to alert you after an hour of workout and make sure that you are out at the right time,” says Varma.

Stop watching every calorie that you burn. Don’t be paranoid about burning every calorie that you have earned. If you are on a weight-loss mission, then you need to just modify your eating habits, include and exclude certain foods from your plate and watch your portions.

Published: December 30, 2018 6:10 pm | Updated:December 30, 2018 10:50 pm

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