Compulsive Exercise Treatment
Compulsive Exercise Treatment in Greenwich, Darien, Westport, Westchester, and Surrounding Areas in Connecticut and New York.
What is compulsive exercise?
Compulsive exercise is not an official DSM-5 diagnosis, but many people struggle with it, and it can have devastating consequences.
Who does it affect?
Compulsive exercise often affects people with eating disorders, perfectionism, and obsessive-compulsive traits.
What are some of the symptoms of compulsive exercise?
Compulsive exercise can manifest itself as exercising to the degree that it interferes with important activities, exercising despite of injury/medical complications, weather, and fatigue, exercising at inappropriate times, intense guilt if unable to exercise, and exercising to "get rid of" calories.
But isn't exercise good for you?
Exercise can be healthy, but whether your relationship with exercise is healthy depends on several factors, such as why you are exercising, how much you are exercising, how you feel about exercise, whether you have an active eating disorder, and whether you are at a healthy weight. Read the blog article here for some questions that you can ask yourself to answer whether your relationship with exercise is healthy.
What are the health consequences of compulsive exercise?
A common consequence of excessive exercise is the loss of a menstrual cycle (in women), osteopenia or osteoporosis, chronic injuries, increased frequency of illness, and altered resting heart rate.
How do you treat compulsive exercise?
Because compulsive exercise is not an official DSM-5 diagnosis, there are limited treatment options that have been researched. We can work with you to identify compulsive exercise triggers, teach you other coping tools, and work with you to reframe thoughts surrounding exercise.
What experience do you have treating compulsive exercise?
Dr. Sala has extensive training in treating compulsive exercise, including publishing several papers in the area. Dr. Sala is the Director of the Mindfulness, Eating Disorders, and Acceptance Lab (MEAL) at Yeshiva University, where she conducts research on excessive exercise. Please contact her to learn more about her experience.