Addiction or motivated?

[DeeTray]

So was thinking about this the other day.... when you ‘need’ to go for a run - isn’t that addictive behaviour?!!! Anyway, thought about it again today after ice skating and falling heavily on both knees and 3 hours later I’m off out for my run! Later I have compression socks and ice on my knees! No pain from running just falling 😂

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Wonderfully hooked.... but be careful..falls on ice.. eeekekkeke!

[Hidden]

If you do something that makes you feel good, then you want to do more of it!

[ktsok Graduate]

It’s an interesting one. I don’t think it’s as simple as ‘want’ vs ‘need’. We need to breathe, but we don’t describe ourselves as addicted to oxygen, for example.

The endorphin rush, the sense of achievement, are experiences we naturally want to have again and again. When you are feeling fit (or fitter) you can feel like you are bouncing along in life, maybe even in control of it! You might even say you need to run - that’s the place where you recalibrate and you feel low, or lost, without it.

The NHS define addiction as not having control over doing taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you. Ie, addiction = unhealthy/risky behaviours. I think I’d agree with that.

🤔

[Realfoodieclub Graduate]

I believe I have a healthy addiction to be motivated to run. 😂😂😂. I am a great believer in balance in life and because we should have rest days we naturally curb the addictive side by having to rest and find other things to do aside from running, on a serious note i do think I am slightly addicted to exercise as my brain has trouble on non movement days, when I have heavy training session I really have to force myself for a rest day afterwards which I think is slightly on the unhealthy side but I stay strict with myself because I know too much would cause injury.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

In my opinion, we are just a bunch of chemicals.

Exercise changes our chemical balance.

Hormones, such as endorphins (endogenous morphines) and endocannabinoid receptors in our brains drive our behaviour in ways which are generally beneficial to our overall good health and wellbeing.

We all like to think that it is our rational consciousness controlling our actions.................... I suspect we are all junkies.

Keep running, keep smiling.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Speaking as one who is not getting the runs in at the moment due to caring for an ex-obsessive runner/exerciser at the end of his life... there's a difference. An *urge* to do something healthy (lots of normally poor eaters may be craving a spot of salad on these few days of the year!) is different from a compulsion that leaves you in a poor mental state when you can't do it. Occasionally we might do something ill-advised but if we generally learn from that and don't keep repeating the mistake regularly in the face of the evidence, we're good.

[Biddy62 Graduate]

My name is Biddy and I have an addiction!😜

Today I was walking with my other half and two friends ( we go rambling every Friday) but I did have a couple of things I needed to do plus I had felt unwell this morning so at lunchtime I used these as an ‘excuse’ to drop out of the afternoon leg of the walk and come home. Before I started my chores I threw on my running gear then headed out to do my second consolidation run having graduated (2nd time) on Christmas Eve and then running my first consolidation run on Boxing Day. I’ve been running every other day for a couple of weeks solid and didn’t like the idea of breaking that pattern. Is it wrong that I stuffed all my running gear in the laundry basket and put my trainers back EXACTLY where my husband had tidied them away to on Wednesday. Then prayed for my red face to subside before they all got home? 😂😂

Sssh! I am a secret runner!!! 🤣🤣🤣