Sports addiction what is, causes and consequences

Physical activity is healthy for any organism, as long as it is done in optimal conditions; This means that it produces a certain degree of physical and mental well -being. This is seriously affected when the limits are exceeded and turns into an addiction, Sports addiction addictive behavior that is harmful to anyone, This phenomenon is increasingly common for the constant concern of physical appearance, that ideal of dangerous and quite misleading.

For this reason on this occasion we will talk about sports addiction, what is its causes and consequences to be alert to possible signs that indicate the presence of this addictive behavior.

Content

• What is sports addiction?
• What are the causes of vigorexia?
• Consequences of sport addiction
  • In conclusion…
  • Bibliography

What is sports addiction?

Also known as: Vigorexia, reverse anorexia, muscular dysmorphia and Adonis complex. It is a type of behavioral addiction, that is, an addictive behavior where the person demonstrates an obsessive compulsive concern against their muscle mass, perceiving as weak. Some of the people who practice bodybuilding present this pathology.

The person who presents this addictive behavior abruptly changes his lifestyle, doing Exaggerated exercise routines, consuming protein and carbohydrates in a uncontrolled way; along with steroids (which by definition is any synthetic substance that produces musculoskeletic growth and the development of male sexual features) (1).

As in any chemical or behavioral addiction, the following terms must be taken into account: dependence, which is the uncontrollable desire to consume a substance or to perform some addictive activity; For example, in this case, it would be exercised all day (2), when a person has a dependency towards sport, he must not only do it all the time, but increasingly in a greater number of hours and effort so that at the brain level produce the same feelings of pleasure. On the other hand, abstinence is a syndrome characterized by the physical reactions produced in an individual due to the absence of substance consumption or addictive behavior (3).

What are the causes of vigorexia?

There are 2 related aspects at the etiological level: physiological and psychological mechanism. Regarding the first of these, it has been found that Endorphine level increase (Neurotransmitter that produces sensations such as: happiness, pain, excite That is done.

In addition to this at sympathetic activation level You have the hypothesis that people practicing exercise tend to increase the level to reach the total activation state. There is another assumption about the temperature, when the temperature is increased by physical activity, a positive reinforcement is generated (any stimulus that when it appears tends to increase the possibility of some behavior) (5), that is, a state of relaxation and decrease in The anxiety that will work as a maintenance factor of the addictive behavior of sports.

Likewise, the psychological component works thus, at the cognitive level a person begins to exercise as a mechanism of coping with stress, replacing the other daily activities with this. When it is reduced in quantity, emotional reactions are evidenced as lack of control and perception of vulnerability.

Finally, At the affective level it is assumed that this addictive behavior is presented because exercise produces positive emotions and feelings that improve the emotional state, reducing negative (like anger and sadness). When trying to reduce the amount of exercise that does an inversely proportional effect with emotions, increasing negatives and decreasing the positive.

Consequences of sport addiction

Like any addiction (either chemical or behavioral) there is a remarkable deterioration in all areas of adjustment of the person, that is, as focuses exclusively on the performance to avoid with abstinence syndrome and increase the degree of dependence to produce constant liberation of endorphins and other psychological effects that mention earlier.

It is important that the person be aware of the consequences at mental, emotional, physical, family, work, affective and social level; since this is the first step to start a motivation towards change. There they must constantly support loved ones so that the change is stable in time.

In conclusion…

A behavioral addiction such as sports addiction must be something that is avoided, everything is excessive is detrimental to health and sport is no exception.

Bibliography

• (1) Nida (2007). Abuse of anabolic steroids. Extracted from: https: // www.Drugabuse.GOV/es/abuse-de-los-steroides-anabolic in 2018
• (2) Gimanez Ba. (2011). Dependence, addiction. Extracted from: https: // www.Onmeda.is/addiction/addiction.HTML
• (3) Fernández V. (2017). Abstinence syndrome. Extracted from: https: // www.Webconsultas.com/mind-and-emotions/addictions/syndrome-abstinence-9069
• (4) Science and. (2018). Endorphine definition. Extracted from: https: // concept of the definition.of/endorphine/
• (5) Pérez J. and Gardey a. (2014). Definition of positive reinforcement. Extracted from: https: // definition.OF/REINFORCEMENT-POSITIVE/