Sports addiction can be caused by too much sport

Too much sport can become addictive with physical withdrawal symptoms

31/03/2014

Sport is generally assumed to have a fundamentally positive effect on health, but sporting activities can also become a kind of addiction, experts from the German Association for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN) report. Phases in which the usual sports program can not be carried out cause withdrawal symptoms for the affected persons, which also include physical complaints.

Sufficient physical activity has been shown to prevent obesity, cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis and many other diseases, not least because exercise also strengthens the immune system. However, with a pronounced fitness program, sports addiction can develop that leads to discomfort as soon as the training is canceled. Possible warning signals are „Withdrawal symptoms like alcohol addiction: headaches, stomach aches and nervousness if you do not exercise“, quotes the news agency „dpa“ the DGPPN expert and director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Bonn, Professor Wolfgang Maier.

Withdrawal symptoms as soon as training sessions are canceled
The expert comes to the conclusion that sports addiction is a more common phenomenon than widely believed. Anyone who has to contend with withdrawal symptoms when the training sessions are canceled should, according to Prof. Maier, seek medical help. „There are sports physicians and sports therapists, but this can also be a family doctor“, said Prof. Maier to the news agency „dpa“. In the context of the therapy, among other things, physical activities are sought which do not provoke addictive behavior and nevertheless convey personal satisfaction. Here, for example, help a strictly prescribed training plan, the typical would sports addicts also more and more and harder to complete training sessions. „The body demands more and more and more often for physical activity, so that the dose increases over a certain time“, Maier explained, adding: „Some get up in the middle of the night to train.“

Consequences of sports addiction
As a result of their addiction, many sufferers suffer from sleep deprivation and muscle problems, according to the expert. In addition, they would increasingly isolate themselves to be able to train more. The fitness program is their central purpose. If affected persons recognize signs of sports addiction, Professor Maier recommends first of all to deliberately reduce the training sessions on a trial basis. In addition it is „important to find another form of wellbeing“, since the so-called „Exercise Addiction“ - as well as other addictions - work on the reward system. (Fp)

Image: Stephanie Hofschlaeger