A March 2026 feature in The Guardian spotlights this growing clinical concern, using the story of a professional endurance athlete whose compulsive training masked a years-long battle with depression and self-destruction.
For anyone researching addiction treatment, the science behind exercise addiction raises an important question: when does a healthy habit become a disorder that needs professional care?
Same Brain, Different Substance
Exercise addiction isn’t officially recognized as a psychiatric disorder, it doesn’t appear in the DSM-5 or ICD-10, and no standardized diagnostic criteria exist. But the neurological argument for treating it seriously is becoming harder to dismiss.
A growing body of evidence suggests that behavioral addictions function neurologically like substance addictions, both dysregulating the motivational pathways in the brain.
Addictions therapist Kanny Sanchez of the Priory Group puts it plainly: the brain doesn’t necessarily care where it gets its spike of dopamine or serotonin, in all cases, there is the same need for an external source to regulate internal turmoil.
This neurological overlap also explains why exercise addiction frequently emerges as a cross-addiction. The phenomenon of cross-addiction, when a person replaces one damaging substance or behavior with another, is well documented when it comes to exercise.
Someone who stops drinking or using drugs may shift their compulsive dopamine-seeking to the gym, often without recognizing it as a problem.
A Case Study in Hidden Addiction
Former professional footballer Luke Tyburski appeared, to everyone around him, to be the picture of health. At the peak of his adventuring career, he dedicated himself to intense endurance challenges, from a multistage ultramarathon in the Sahara to a self-designed 2,000km challenge across two continents completed in just 12 days.
But what looked like elite fitness was covering something far more familiar to addiction specialists. Privately, Tyburski was dealing with depression related to a loss of identity after the end of his footballing career.
Training and racing created an escape, but when he returned home from an adventure, the lows were stark, because he hadn’t addressed what he was running from.
All the hallmarks of substance addiction were present. He began secretly adding training sessions, developed crippling insomnia, and ran late-night sessions while binge eating between workouts to prolong the high.
Like someone hiding a drinking problem, nobody suspected anything because his weight didn’t change, his performance didn’t change, and his demeanor didn’t change. He was, in his own words, a very good actor.
By 2026, Tyburski was “paying for the detrimental behaviors of 2013 and 2014,” the years when the addiction was at its worst, now unofficially retired from adventuring due to the accumulation of injuries and surgeries.
How Common Is Exercise Addiction
The condition is more prevalent than most people realize, particularly among those already connected to fitness culture. Studies suggest that around 0.3–0.5% of the general population may be dependent on exercise, rising to 3–9% of regular exercisers and athletes.
People in recovery from substance use disorder face an elevated risk. Many turn to exercise as a healthy substitute during recovery, and for some, that pattern can become its own compulsion. Those with a family history of addiction may also be more genetically vulnerable.
The link to eating disorders is also well established. In some cases, exercise addiction may lead to an eating disorder; in others, an eating disorder may come first and then drive compulsive exercise patterns.
Warning Signs That Mirror Substance Use Disorder
Because exercise addiction and substance addiction share the same neurological mechanisms, their behavioral warning signs overlap significantly. Red flags include:
- Training through pain, illness, or injury, just as someone with a substance use disorder continues using despite physical harm
- Experiencing anxiety, irritability, or withdrawal-like symptoms when unable to work out
- Hiding the extent of training from friends, family, or partners
- Abandoning work, relationships, or responsibilities in favor of exercise
- Using exercise as the primary mechanism for managing anxiety or depression rather than one tool among many
- Requiring ever-greater amounts of exercise to achieve the same emotional effect, a pattern directly analogous to tolerance
According to Sanchez, exercise becomes an addiction specifically when it stops being one coping tool among many and becomes the only way a person knows how to manage stress.
Treatment for Exercise Addiction
Recovery from exercise addiction differs from substance use disorder treatment in one key way: the goal is not abstinence, but a healthy relationship with movement.
Treatment options include working with a therapist who understands compulsive behavior, entering a rehab facility that specializes in behavioral health, or leaning on peer support communities.
For people whose exercise addiction developed as a cross-addiction during substance use recovery, or whose compulsive exercise is rooted in depression, anxiety or an eating disorder, dual-diagnosis treatment is likely the most effective approach.
Integrated mental health treatment addresses the underlying emotional drivers, the same internal turmoil that substance addiction, exercise addiction, and other behavioral addictions all attempt to regulate.
What This Means for Treatment Seekers
If you recognize compulsive exercise patterns, in yourself or someone you care about, the neurological and clinical evidence says this deserves the same attention as any other addiction.
Because exercise addiction has no official DSM diagnosis, finding a provider experienced in behavioral addictions and co-occurring conditions is critical.
Look for treatment centers that offer dual-diagnosis care and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is effective for both substance use and behavioral compulsions.
Finding the Right Rehab or Mental Health Treatment
Whether you’re dealing with exercise addiction, a substance use disorder, or a combination of both, specialized treatment can help. Consider:
- Exploring addiction treatment centers with behavioral health and dual-diagnosis programs
- Asking about insurance coverage for mental health treatment and outpatient therapy
- Verifying that a facility offers evidence-based therapies such as CBT or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Discussing cross-addiction risk with a treatment advisor if you’re in recovery from substance use disorder
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