Therapy For Compulsive Exercise
What is compulsive exercise?
We live in an exercise-focused world, so our relationship with movement can be complicated. Some people who struggle with compulsive exercising may also struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder, disordered eating or an eating disorder.
It can be difficult for people who are struggling with compulsive exercise to stop the cycle of exercising, as exercise may have been used as a way for someone to meet their needs (i.e. being able to manage the feeling of loneliness or anxiety).
Living trapped by compulsive exercise is exhausting. It’s a tiring cycle that can feel really difficult to break out of on your own. Also exercising can be so praised in our society that it might be hard for others (or yourself) to recognize that you have a problem.
If this resonates with you-we can help!
Our team at The Eating Disorder Center in Rockville, Maryland has therapists that truly specialize in helping teens and adults to recover from compulsive exercise and reclaim their lives. Recovery is possible!
We provide therapy for compulsive exercise in Rockville, Maryland, serving Bethesda, Potomac, Gaithersburg, and Olney. We also provide therapy for compulsive exercise virtually throughout Maryland, Virginia, Florida, New York & California.
We know that part of you may be scared to recover, while part of you desperately wants to be free from this. With specialized therapy geared towards helping you to recover from compulsive exercise, you don't have to continue to feel so trapped.
Symptoms of compulsive exercise:
- Not being able to take days off from exercise or feeling guilt/anxiety when taking rest days
- Working out through injuries or illnesses or when you're really not feeling up for it
- Exercising to a point where it is interfering with other aspects of life (i.e. work and social engagements)
- Using exercise as your main tool to process or manage emotions
- Needing to exercise a certain amount to gain permission to eat food or certain foods
- Rigid rules around exercise and anxiety when they are "broken"
So, how can we help?
At The Eating Disorder Center we are highly skilled in providing therapy for individuals who are struggling with compulsive exercise. We will work as part of a treatment team to help you to recover from compulsive exercise, which may include a physician, dietitian, and/or psychiatrist.
We use evidence-based treatment methods, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skills, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and modified FBT treatment. We are Health At Every Size (HAES) informed providers. We help individuals who are struggling with compulsive exercise to challenge exercise rules and heal their relationship to movement. If there is co-occurring trauma we also offer EMDR therapy for trauma and eating disorders.
We pride ourselves on being action-oriented therapists, setting recovery goals, and doing exposures with clients, such as eating meals or snacks together. We value collaboration with other local eating disorder treatment providers. Many of our therapists are also personally recovered from eating disorders.
We are thankful to have helped many people to heal from compulsive exercise.
Therapy for compulsive exercise in Rockville, Maryland, Serving Potomac, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Montgomery County. Specializing in the treatment of compulsive exercise in Annapolis, Chevy Chase, Germantown and Olney.
Therapy for compulsive exercise, in Arlington, Virginia. Serving McLean, Vienna, Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Leesburg, Purcellville, and Herndon. Specializing in the treatment of compulsive exercise.