Symposium question: Can trail running develop into an unhealthy addiction?
Trail Running and Addiction - Staying Mindful
This month’s Blog Symposium question is
a tricky one for me. I’m a
psychotherapist who works with people struggling with addiction, and I’m also a
long-distance trail runner. I’m
reluctant to apply a clinical word like addiction to a generally healthy
pursuit like trail running. Trail
runners, like all runners, are often healthy, happy, functional and
well-respected people. That being said, any activity can lead to
addiction if that activity results in a feeling of elevated affect. In other words, if I get a pleasurable
feeling from participating in an activity, I’m more likely to repeat that
behavior and could become ‘addicted’ to the feeling it provides. If I continue with that activity despite
negative effects on my life and the lives of those I love, an unhealthy
addiction has developed.
On a personal level, I don’t like considering
the possibility that the positive feelings I obtain from trail running might
lead to an unhealthy addiction. I’d
rather move on to a different Blog Symposium question, thank you very much, and
honestly hope that next month’s question is less personally challenging. However, my aversion to openly and candidly answering
this month’s question makes me think there must be some truth to the possibility
that trail running can become addictive in an unhealthy way. My hesitation to answer points to the
possibility of denial, and denial is a common attribute of (an unhealthy) addiction.
I think it’s important to point out
that people also have healthy addictions.
We feel compelled to breathe, eat, sleep, drink, clean ourselves, and
procreate in our everyday lives. Of
course, these activities (with the exception of breathing) have the potential
for abuse and can become problems in our lives.
That being the case, it seems silly to assume that trail running couldn’t
also become problematic in practice.
It would be easy, and far more comfortable, to take a narrow view of this month’s question, and to arrive at the conclusion that trail running, even in excess, doesn’t meet the diagnostic criteria considered to constitute an addiction.
- Trail runners don’t develop tolerance, as drug users do. Or do they? Many ultrarunners I know start with 50k’s and slowly move up to time-consuming 100 mile trail races, presumably responding to an inner need to cover more distance in order to arrive at a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
There are also neurological factors to
consider when answering this month’s question.
Trail running, like other aerobic activities, results in an increase in
endorphins. Running can elevate the neurotransmitters
serotonin and dopamine. The combined
effect is multifold – runners report feeling that famous runner’s high, and may experience a reduction in anxiety and
depression, as well as a sense of satisfaction and consequent relaxation. Personally, during my trail runs, I’m often
aware of feeling more connected to nature, less worried about day-to-day life
stressors, and often drive home feeling very satisfied and more centered
overall. My anxiety lessened, my
restlessness diminished, and feeling generally content - it’s hard to spot a
problem.
I like to think of myself as passionate
about my trail running, and I suspect nearly all of my running friends do the
same. Can passion become addiction? According to Dr. Gabor Mate, author of In
the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, “any passion
can become an addiction; but then how to distinguish between the two? The
central question is: who’s in charge, the individual or their behavior? It’s possible to rule a passion, but an
obsessive passion that a person is unable to rule is an addiction. And the addiction is the repeated behavior in
which a person keeps engaging, even though he knows it harms himself or
others. How it looks externally is irrelevant. The key issue is a person’s internal
relationship to the passion and its related behaviors.”
Perhaps trail running, like other recreational
pursuits in which we engage passionately, exists on a continuum. On one hand we have passion and moderation,
and on the other end, excess and addiction.
I think the question of where we are on this continuum is one we can
either answer honestly after thorough consideration, or one we can dismiss out of
hand as being inapplicable. Speaking for
myself, I’ve noticed that I can, and sometimes do spend too much time online
reading running-related articles and social media posts. I feel compelled at times to buy more running
gear when I know I don’t really need, so much as want the gear. At times, I can be inflexible with family planning,
as I feel a need to get in more time on the trail prior to a long race or
self-supported ultra. In her book Breaking
Down the Wall of Silence: The Liberating Experience of Facing Painful Truth,
Alice Miller asks us, “what is addiction, really? It is a sign, a signal, a symptom of
distress. It is a language that tells us
about a plight that must be understood.”
My personal intention is to be as mindful as possible of the
internal relationship I have with trail running. When I feel compelled to run or pursue
running-related activities, I hope to be aware of that felt need, and to
respond by dialing back my level of involvement (at least on an emotional level). Running should be joyous and generally
pleasurable for a runner (well, most of the time anyway), and family and
friends should be able to look toward a runner’s passion with appreciation and
respect. When these conditions aren’t
present, I think we can safely assume that something is amiss and we’re sliding
toward the wrong end of the continuum.
Post note: Thank you to the editors of Trail Runner Magazine for choosing this article as this month's Editors' Choice winner. Thanks too to everyone who offered their thoughts, comments and congratulatory words this week. I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and am touched that the article resonated with so many.
Post note: Thank you to the editors of Trail Runner Magazine for choosing this article as this month's Editors' Choice winner. Thanks too to everyone who offered their thoughts, comments and congratulatory words this week. I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and am touched that the article resonated with so many.
