I hadn’t heard of one until recently, but the more I read about it, the more sense it made. An exercise disorder is similar in nature to other excessive disorders such as eating disorders. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a difference between an exercise enthusiast and someone who has an exercise disorder.
Exercise Obsessed
Someone who is exercised obsessed, you exercise in spite of injuries, when you feel poorly and when you are in danger of really hurting yourself, because you feel you have to and you can’t stop yourself.
An exercise enthusiast is one who exercises frequently because they enjoy both the activity and the health benefits that those activities provide. They take care to avoid injury and care for the injury, even if it means missing an exercise session or two.
Essentially, if exercise is enhancing your life and your emotional well being, you’re probably an enthusiast. If exercise is interfering with your life and is more like a compulsion that you can’t stop – then you’re probably dealing with an exercise disorder.
How Can You Really Know the Difference?
Seriously, if you think you have a genuine problem, then it may be time to consult your physician or mental health specialist. They are far more qualified to diagnose you if you have the genuine article.
Some individuals who suffer from eating disorders will over-exercise in an attempt to reach the physical perfection they are convinced they must. Eating disorders often appear to go hand in hand with exercise disorders.
Exercise Disorders Can Affect Anyone
Men and women may both experience exercise disorders. Men who experience it may be suffering from the Atlas syndrome, wanting to be bulkier. Women want that lean look, desperate to be the perfect size 0 like some model they see on television or in the magazines.
When you suffer from a disorder whether it’s eating or exercise, it’s often related to a self-perception of inadequacy whether it’s based in reality or not.
Individuals in the acting and other high profile occupations are extremely vulnerable to this type of dysmorphia.
What’s Dysmorphia?
It’s a distorted or exaggerated view of yourself. Teenagers often experience this. As a teenager, I was a size 7, but most of my friends were a size 2 or 3 – as a size 7, I felt huge in comparison. I thought I needed to lose weight, to be thinner and I was suffering from dysmorphia. Self-perception is half the battle when it comes to a healthy self-image and maintaining a healthy level of fitness.
When you are exercise obsessed, whether it’s related to dysmorphia, an athletic goal or something else – you are far more likely to do permanent and harmful injury to yourself. My husband severely damaged his Achilles tendon when he was a teenager. He kept pushing past the pain, he kept going, he refused to stop – and to this day, he has to be careful because of the permanent injury he did to himself.
When we do something that’s bad for us – like over-exercising or over-training – we need to give it up. You can’t give up exercise, but you can learn to perform it in moderation.
So if you think you have a problem and that you are obsessed with exercise and overdoing it, then please talk to your physician or to a mental health specialist or both. It’s important that what you do help you – not hurt you.
Have you ever experienced dysmorphia?
Related Articles:
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Helping A Person With Body Image Issues