Sports addiction or fitness addiction is a behavioral addiction that describes the addictive compulsion to engage in sports or fitness. To date, SPortucht is not officially considered a disease in its own right, although it can certainly be assumed to be a mental disorder.
What is sports addiction?
In times of passive locomotion, sports are gaining more and more importance in health care. With slogans such as “Fit for Fun” and numerous mass events, popular sports and awareness of the positive effects of physical training are specifically promoted. For the majority of recreational athletes, sport is indeed beneficial to health, but for an estimated 1% of those who are active, training triggers an undesirable effect: sports addiction.
Causes
Sports addiction is defined as a typical behavioral addiction based on addictive substances that are not externally supplied. The original assumption that sports addiction is triggered by endorphins seems only partially correct. Recent studies show that the endogenous messenger dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is also involved in the development of addiction. Apart from endorphins and dopamine, psychological factors play a major role in sports addiction. These include body image and eating disorders. For a long time, “anorexia athletica” was considered a phenomenon of elite and competitive sports, but today it is increasingly found in popular sports. Societal pressure for a body to be very slim and athletic seems to influence not only eating behavior but also sports participation. An additional reinforcing factor could be “reality escape.” Due to the continuous activity until complete exhaustion, the addict experiences himself exclusively in the here and now, which enables him to suppress problems and difficulties.
Symptoms, complaints and signs
The core characteristic of sports addiction is excessive sports participation. The type of sport does not matter. Affected individuals may enjoy exercise despite their sports addiction. However, it is also possible that they feel that exercising is purely a duty. To make more time for the gym or for jogging, swimming, cycling and other activities, sufferers cut back on other hobbies. They often withdraw from friends and family. As with classic addictions, an escalation is typical with sports addiction: sports addicts often start with a normal amount of exercise, but this is soon no longer enough for them. In the case of a pronounced sports addiction, most of those affected do sports every day. If they are unable to do so, they feel guilty, are tense or suffer from nervousness, mood swings, anxiety or outbursts of anger. An inner compulsion to exercise despite an injury can also be a sign of a sports addiction. Many sports addicts endure pain or take medication to block out the body’s warning signals. Some exercise to the point of complete exhaustion and throw up or suffer a circulatory collapse. Therefore, in many cases, sports addiction entails other physical ailments. In addition to injuries and signs of fatigue, weight changes can also occur. Unlike an eating disorder or dysmorphophobia, however, weight, figure, and appearance are not the main focus of sports addiction.
Diagnosis and course
Sports addiction is difficult to diagnose by the sufferer himself, as he subjectively feels good about himself and, like any addict, does everything he can to maintain the status. He will not admit compulsion to himself or to others. Usually it is the people around him who notice the changes for the negative. Sports addiction manifests itself in many ways. First, the training volume is increased more and more. Even in the case of illness or injury, the addict is not able to take a break. If he still tries, he suffers from withdrawal symptoms. These include headaches, stomach aches, tremors, anxiety and depression, as well as aggression or irritability. As the disease progresses, the sufferer breaks off social ties and contacts, as he needs all his energy for training and is subsequently too exhausted for conversation or outings. The consequences of sports addiction for the organism are serious. Due to the constant physical overload, the immune system is weakened and the affected person is more susceptible to infections.However, since he will not skip his workout under any circumstances, he sets in motion a spiral of deteriorating health. Furthermore, the extreme stress on bones, muscles and ligaments carries a high risk of injury. With additional malnutrition, anemia and severe hormonal imbalances can occur, as in anorexia. Concentration disorders may also occur, which have a negative impact on professional life.
Complications
Sports addiction can have serious consequences for the organism if no consideration is given to the body’s signals. It is particularly dangerous to ignore cardiovascular complaints such as dizziness, a feeling of weakness, lightheadedness, and heart palpitations, or to exercise at full intensity despite a febrile illness: In the worst case, irreparable heart muscle damage or fatal cardiac arrest can result. The use of drugs to enhance performance increases the risk of a life-threatening complication. Overused tendons, muscles, ligaments and joints wear out prematurely, and acute injuries very often become chronic without sufficient recovery time. Constantly exceeding the performance limit can also be noticeable in the form of headaches, insomnia and muscle pain. If sports addicts also suffer from an eating disorder, they are usually malnourished or undernourished: A weakened immune system with increased susceptibility to infections and reduced physical and mental performance can be the result. In women, excessive exercise in combination with being underweight often leads to hormonal imbalances, which can result in the absence of menstruation (amenorrhea) and a decrease in bone density (osteoporosis). Due to the porous bone substance, the risk of suffering a bone fracture from harmless falls increases. If social contacts, the job and the relationship with the partner are neglected in favor of excessive sports practice, complete isolation is imminent in the long term if countermeasures are not taken in time.
When should you go to the doctor?
In most cases, a patient with a sports addiction is in need of medical consultation and examination to prevent further complaints and complications. In extreme cases, sports addiction can even lead to death if the excessive exercise overstrains the body to such an extent that a heart attack or stroke occurs. For this reason, a doctor should be contacted at the first signs of a sports addiction. Above all, outsiders must recognize the symptoms and persuade the person affected to seek treatment. A doctor should be consulted in the case of sports addiction if the affected person performs sports activities very frequently. In this case, the sufferers become nervous in case they cannot do sports. They suffer from anxiety or severe mood swings. General depressive behavior can also indicate sports addiction and must be examined by a doctor. A doctor should also be contacted if the person suffers from an eating disorder. Sports addiction is usually treated by a general practitioner or a sports medicine specialist. In further treatment, the advice of a psychologist is usually also necessary.
Treatment and therapy
Sports addiction is usually treated as part of psychotherapy. Therapy can be done on an outpatient basis, but is done on an inpatient basis if eating disorders are present at the same time. Self-therapy is rarely successful, as the affected person usually lacks insight. For him, his training workload, even if it already completely determines his everyday life and relationships break down because of it, is nothing more than a hobby. With the support of a therapist, however, the chances of success are very good. Each therapy is based on the needs of the patient and neither the exact duration of the therapy nor the number and frequency of the necessary sessions can be determined in advance. Cognitive therapy approaches have proven to be quite successful. Talk therapy in particular should be used by the therapist to treat sports addiction. If one does not know as a person affected, to which doctor one should turn for this, the first course to a psychological counseling center or practicing sports psychologists is always the right choice.
Prevention
Education is the best way to prevent sports addiction. Knowing that you can fall into addictive behavior even when playing sports heightens your vigilance.Healthy sports behavior is considered to be training that takes place three times a week and lasts no longer than one and a half or two hours. Experts call for information work at schools in particular, as young people between the ages of 11 and 17 are a group at high risk of addiction. Self-monitoring, but also an attentive environment, can make a big difference at the first signs of addictive behavior. Honesty, both to oneself and to others, is important here.
Aftercare
The treatment of a sports addiction requires consistent aftercare after therapy, so that the patient does not fall back into old behavior patterns. The aftercare can be arranged with the psychologist, but also with trusted persons or the family doctor. The reason for the sport addiction is not only important for the treatment, but also in the context of the aftercare, because it also involves discovering and trying out alternatives to sport. Especially people who want to generate a sense of achievement through sports can achieve this in other ways. Social commitment such as coaching can be just as important in this context as a professional career or an artistic hobby. On the other hand, those who cite health as a reason for sport addiction can also achieve this with hiking or water sports, sauna or healthy nutrition. Sports addiction is not a reason to stop doing sports. Therefore, the goal in aftercare is not to consistently avoid sports, but to practice them in healthy doses. It can be helpful here to do sports with friends, as this avoids overdoing sports activities and offers the experience of sports in moderation. At the same time, it can be experienced that the social component of sport, and not just success, can also make people happy. Setting deadlines for sports times can also accompany aftercare in a goal-oriented way.
Here’s what you can do yourself
Sports addiction is difficult to resolve without therapeutic help. It is a disorder in which those affected suffer from a false perception. They usually do not even perceive negative consequences. Neglect of other areas of life is approved of for the sake of the good goal. Experience shows that only clear physical problems lead to a willingness to change the rhythm of life. By then, however, the musculoskeletal system of many patients has already been permanently damaged. There is only a chance of success away from medical treatment if people are prepared to be self-critical. The environment should help with the treatment. Patients should confide in their parents, siblings and friends and ask for support. Reducing the amount of exercise and monitoring agreed-upon times by confidants has proven to be promising. A written daily plan can help. The diagnosis of sports addiction is not recognized as an illness by many health insurance companies. Nevertheless, one can expect help from a doctor. Because behind the sporty mania often other causes hide. For example, women want to achieve their dream body through exaggerated exercise sessions. Basically, the longer one has suffered from a sports addiction, the sooner one should refrain from self-therapy and consult a doctor.
