"Runnorexia": the modern addiction to running

The practice of physical exercise produces benefits psychological and physical. The running, specifically: reduce stress, improves cardiovascular capacity, reduces the risk of disease, and so on. Therefore, to have a healthy life, it is advisable that running or practicing physical exercise is part of our lives, as it is an important component of the wellness.

But anything taken to the extreme can be detrimental, and running is no exception. Today, the fashion of running leads many people to become obsessed with this practice. Richard Benyo, in an article published in Road Runners Club of America, affirms that "there is a negative side in the practice of physical exercise that, little by little, insidiously, can replace the positive effect".

Running addiction is not the same as overtraining

Runnorexia is not the same as overtrain. The obsession with running can lead an individual to train too much, which can cause overtraining. The symptoms of overtraining are short-term, and have to do with the recovery and rest period. In this sense, it can be affirmed that runnorexia is linked to 

Overtraining syndrome.

Runnorexia or running addiction, on the other hand, is a loss of perspective on the role of physical exercise in the person's life. While a person may suffer a period of overtraining because a competition is approaching important and has poorly planned its set-up, a person with runnorexia suffers from another problem I laughed. In this case, there are important psychological aspects: irrational beliefs, low selfsteem, etc.

In addition to these aspects, social factors They are a source of this disorder, since culture and social pressure for aesthetics and image play an important role in the development of this pathology. On the other hand, some experts also claim that there are biological factors that cause this addiction, as there seems to be a connection between the pleasant chemicals released by the brain when practicing physical activity (endorphins, dopamine, etc.) and this disorder, as occurs with addiction to drugs. Namely, the reinforcement brain area It is involved in addictive and obsessive behaviors. It is also involved in runnorexia.

The psychologist Eduardo Carreño, in an interview for the newspaper Asturias 24, explains: "There are two types of addictions: addictions to substances (drugs) and to behaviors (addiction to work, shopping, sports, etc.)". As we can see, the case of the addiction to jogging is an addiction to an activity and the pleasure generated by the practice in question.

Symptoms presented by the person with runnorexia

The person with runnorexia overvalues ​​running, making it the most important element of their life even above family, friends, work, etc.

Able to cancel appointments or skip the workplace in order to go for a run. Fatigue or injuries do not prevent you from performing your training sessions, since the discomfort you feel if you do not do these sessions is greater than it. His spare time is meant to run, and his life moves with a single idea in his head: running.

The symptoms it presents are identical to those of the addict to any type of physical exercise (for example, the fitness). These symptoms appear when the person cannot perform physical activity, and can be: anxiety, depression or irritability.