Sargent Solutions: Exercise Addiction

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Updated: 12:11 PM Feb 24, 2011

More and more people are heading to the gym in an effort to lose weight, however working out can quickly become a dangerous addiction. This week's Sargent Solutions highlights a problem that affects hundreds of thousands of people across the nation.

Posted: 5:33 PM Feb 9, 2011
Reporter: Tiffani Sargent
Email Address: tiffani.sargent@newsplex.com

Sargent Solutions: Exercise Addiction

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February 9, 2011

"In my case, exercise became a coping mechanism," said Kate Bruno.

Bruno said that she suffered from anorexia at age 11, which sparked her compulsion for excessive exercise.

"It actually was not about so much my weight as it might have seemed on the surface, but about much more about depending upon this activity and the stimulus that the chemicals in my brain provided," said Bruno.

For Bruno, it took years of treatment to learn to cope with the anxiety, which she believes stemmed from puberty and wanting to hold onto her childhood.

"I think the first thing to recognize is, that the rest of my life isn't going according to plan, my fitness is actually controlling me, as opposed to me controlling my fitness," noted Bruno.

Similar to a drug addiction, those addicted to exercise rely on needing more and more exercise to receive enough of an adrenaline rush to satisfy the brain.

"Really it's about trying to find alternative strategies or behaviors that can take over the same kind of reward that the exercise was producing for the individual," explained Dr. Jason Freeman, PhD, of the University of Virginia Health System.

Alternatives such as hobbies and other social outlets can help. Once Bruno had control of her eating disorder, she began to look at exercise in a different light.

"I got very involved in weight lifting and actually decided that I was going to motivate myself to be stronger and a better athlete," said Bruno.

Now that Bruno has found a healthy balance in her exercise, she teaches others to do the same in her own gym. She is a registered dietitian and certified fitness trainer.

"For me it was very rewarding to feel that exercise didn't hold me hostage anymore. I felt like I was in charge of when and why and how I wanted to do it," said Bruno.

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