Counseling for Compulsive Exercise
You have a strict workout schedule. Let's be honest, strict is an understatement.
If something gets in the way of that schedule, it causes you a lot of guilt and anxiety.
You can't stop thinking about missing your workout.
Your workout routine has become disruptive to your life. You pass on plans with friends. Or, you rearrange your schedule to make sure you can get that workout in at the time it is planned for. You workout despite pain or injury. The doctor has suggested rest. But, the thought of taking time off becomes more distressing than the pain itself. If this sounds familiar, you may be engaging in compulsive exercise.
Working out and exercise have been an important part of your life for a long time. You’ve been praised for your discipline. But you’ve noticed that it’s become more than discipline, it’s become an obsession. Any opportunity to critique your appearance you take. It doesn't matter how much you're working out, you always feel like you could be doing more.
Common Reasons People Pursue Counseling for Compulsive Exercise
Compulsive exercise can be hard to spot because it can look so much like behavior others strive for. However, there are some important differences. Compulsive exercise looks different for every person that engages in it. Some questions you may ask yourself to know if your exercise has become problematic may be:
Do your have any rules around movement? This may be the amount of time you engage in movement, reaching a certain goal each day (I have to run 5 miles every day). It can also be rules around the time of day you need to work out.
Do you take rest days? Not 'active rest days', legitimate rest days. Days when you don't work out or purposefully plan intense activity to supplement not going to the gym.
If you miss a workout, do you feel guilt or anxiety? More importantly, think about how long this guilt sticks around. Does it stick around all day or just briefly after you 'miss' a workout?
Do you tie how much your exercise to how much you’ve eaten? For example, this may be using exercise as a punishment for eating or not eating because you did not work out.
Counseling for Compulsive Exercise in Missouri Can Help
You know that your relationship with exercise is something you can't change on your own. You want your freedom back. And with some help, you can. Imagine being able to enjoy vacations, girls weekends, and rest days. I know, taking time off from the gym doesn't seem like an option. But, you can get to that point without the anxiety or guilt from missing a workout.
Like other eating disorders, compulsive exercise is about so much more than the actual behavior itself. I strongly believe that everybody has a right to pursue health and happiness. Your relationship with movement can and should bring you both. But healing that relationship with movement is more than what we see on the outside. In this case, the actual exercise. But, it is also important to really look at the stuff on the inside. By this, I mean the feelings and emotions connected with movement.
My Approach to Counseling for Compulsive Exercise
I am a HAES therapist. I know that health is a whole self thing, mind and body, but that weight or body size is not an indication of that health. I believe in the power of a genuine therapeutic relationship and its ability to heal. I make this a priority throughout the course of our relationship together. It's through this that I strive to help clients develop an awareness about their relationship with movement. In addition, I help them take steps to find a healthy way forward that includes movement, but in a joyful way. Ultimately, my goal is for you to not feel like you have to engage in compulsive exercise.
Beginning Counseling for Compulsive Exercise in Missouri
Right now, it may feel like rigidity around exercise is controlling your life. But the movement is something that should be enjoyed. It shouldn't be done out of feelings of obligation. Or, to follow a set of arbitrary and unforgiving rules you have made for yourself. Counseling can help you get there. Addressing compulsive exercise can give you your life back. In addition, it heals your relationship with movement and your body. To begin counseling for compulsive exercise, follow these three steps:
Contact Embodied Self Counseling
Meet with me, Erin, for a 20-minute consultation
Exercise because you want, not because you feel like you have to.
Other Counseling Services Provided in Missouri
Counseling for compulsive exercise is not the only service I offer. I previously saw clients in my counseling clinic in St. Louis, MO but have transitioned to online therapy in Missouri and online therapy in Wisconsin. I provide eating disorder treatment for a variety of disorders. This includes Binge Eating Disorder, Anorexia, Atypical Anorexia, and Bulimia. In addition, I provide counseling for body image, anxiety, and perfectionism treatment. Additionally, I am experienced in working with athletes and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. I also offer eating disorder treatment for men.