Overtraining = exercise addiction?
As posted about previously, I've been down for nearly a year and a half with "overtraining," or more accurately, HPA Axis dysfunction. With more than enough time for self-reflection and research, I've come to realize that I was truly addicted to riding and to training. My volume and intensity weren't anything superhuman or even out of the ordinary, but it was essentially an obsession to not miss a ride, to get faster and stronger. I'd take setbacks and defeat harder than a hobbyist should. I even sometimes pushed to ride more miles than other people, even if I mentally wanted to go home and relax. Understanding now what addiction actually is -- a imbalance/downregulation of dopamine neurotransmitters in the brain -- it's easy to see how prolonged addiction to exercise (perhaps combined with other obsessions/addictions in life) could break ones brain down and in turn lead to chronic fatigue, ie. overtraining. In my case, detailed labs have shown no abnormalities, and my cortisol levels have been consistently normal. But cortisol is only 1/3 of the equation, as the brain makes up the other 2/3. It's for this reason why many people recover from OTS through the use of anti-depressants: they chemically help rebalance the brain.
Looking at this issue elsewhere on the internet, things seem to line overtraining up with people who obsess about their exercise moreso than overdoing it with volume/intensity. There's a personality type these people (and myself) all seem to share, and it's not of one that approaches their sport casually. If I was making assumptions, I'd say most suffer from varying degrees of anxiety, depression, and OCD.
Has anyone had experience with other athletes around them who have been addicted to exercise (be it aerobic, weightlifting, etc.) and seen it take a physical/mental toll?
Last edited by Dreww10; 09-11-19 at 08:49 PM.