OVER-EXERCISING
What is Over-Exercising?
The foundation to good health is exercise and nutrition, but too much of a good thing can be a big, red flag. Extreme behaviors can indicate unhealthy behaviors. Excessive exercise falls into that category, but it can also be hard to recognize. A person’s health can be negatively impacted when nutrition and exercise are taken to extreme levels. Over-exercising can cause depression, isolation, anxiety, exhaustion, and injuries.
Signs and Symptoms of Over-Exercising:
Exercise is part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. When a person constantly prioritizes exercise before other things, it is the beginning signs of a problem. A person who is struggling with over-exercising will:
- Avoid social functions to exercise
- Have an extremely regimented exercise regime
- Continue to exercise when injured or sick
Treatment for Over-Exercising:
It’s important to stop exercising and seek help from a therapist to develop healthier coping skills and to learn the root cause to the excessive exercising. Exercise should be refrained for a period of time to learn to have a more balanced life. A specialist or exercise coach can help determine a healthy work out schedule when exercise can be resumed.
What is Orthorexia?
Orthorexia is a fixation to only eat “healthy” foods and avoid entire food groups. Each person suffering from orthorexia has their own food preferences and what they will and will not eat. Orthorexic individuals feel isolated from people who consume food that they will not eat and have an obsession with extremely healthy foods. A person suffering from orthorexia will go to great lengths to never consume undesired food groups.
Signs and Symptoms of Orthorexia:
Orthorexia is categorized as disordered eating and not necessarily an eating disorder. Symptoms include: extreme limitations in food choices often avoiding entire food groups such as fats or carbohydrates, feeling superior due to self control with food, and a obsession with extremely healthy eating. A person suffering from orthorexia will:
- Be emaciated
- Lose bone density
- Have cardiac complications
Treatment for Orthorexia:
A person suffering from orthorexia should work with a team of eating disorder specialists. These professionals may include a nutritionist, therapist, physician, and psychiatrist. It’s important to maintain a healthy weight and resolve the underlying issues that are causing the behaviors associated with orthorexia.
