Understanding Excessive Exercise as part of an Eating Disorder
8. Understanding common characteristics
Now that you have watched the animation: The notes you have taken in the previous section are likely to vary for each character, taking their individual situation into account. This emphasizes that excessive exercise feels and looks differently for each person.
However, identifying common characteristics also helps us to develop a broader understanding.
Consider the following common characteristics of excessive exercise as part of an eating disorder.
Excessive exercise as part of an eating disorder, may include exercise that...
- continues despite injury, illness or lack of enjoyment;
- is time consuming and affects someone’s finances, work, family or social life negatively;
- someone feels they need to do in response to an obsession or rigid rules (these can also include rigid rules around food and eating);
- is aimed at preventing or reducing dreaded consequences, e.g. the fear of putting on weight or the fear of loosing muscles.
- You can find different terms used for such behaviour in the appendix (e.g. ‘exercise addiction’; ‘compensatory behaviour’).