Dear Dr. Greg -- Am I addicted to working out?
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Advice for the gay community -- but helpful for all.
Dear Dr. Greg,
I go to the gym every day (1-2 hours) to look better than everybody else. If I miss a day, I feel guilty and bad about myself. Am I addicted to working out?
So many things have become “addictions” and now some add exercise to the list. People who are truly addicted generally have a compulsion to do something (e.g., take a drug) and cannot limit the amount. Athletes work out more than you do and I would not call them addicts.
Your problem is not that you workout, but that you 1) THINK you should look better than “everybody else” and 2) make yourself FEEL guilty when you miss a day. Someone better looking, with a better body, is probably skipping the gym right now and at a movie with some friends. I suggest you do the same.
While you are there ask yourself, “Why must I look better than everybody else?” While it may be unfortunate when you skip a day at the gym, it is no reflection on you as a total person. Changing the way you think and feel will do more to make you “look better” than an extra hour or two at the gym.
Get off the addiction bandwagon and take responsibility for the way you are inside and out. Use one of those hours in the gym and either take a yoga class or meditate to quiet that unforgiving mind.
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Yeah, I agree with Doctor Greg you are working out for all the wrong reasons. That is a shallow superficial way you look at life, don't you want to go deeper? To me the most attactive feature of a person is a natural, healthy, beautiful self confidence that is more than surface.
Maha 4 years ago
i suffer from the exact problem. this article was helpful for me in a way. i kinda feel less guilty abt missin a day at the gym.