What is overtraining syndrome and what are its symptoms?

This psychological phenomenon appears in those who are obsessed with exercise and sport.

Physical fitness and health is important. Today there seems to be a greater awareness of this aspect, and physical exercise is even fashionable, but it happens as with everything, that an excess can carry certain risks.

More and more often people come to therapy complaining of extreme exhaustion, the causes of which derive from too much physical exercise without sufficient rest time for the body to recover. Added to this is the fact that maintaining muscles, shape and surpassing the mark on a daily basis, becomes an obsession that maintains a compulsive behavior.

Therefore, in this article we will see what overtraining syndrome consists of, as well as its symptoms and main characteristics.as well as its symptoms and main characteristics.

What is overtraining syndrome?

Overtraining syndrome is a set of symptoms that appear due to an excess of physical due to an excess of physical exercise without adequate recovery time.. Fatigue, insomnia, depressive symptoms and stress are some of its symptoms.

The excess of sport together with work and family demands, emotional state and an inadequate diet favor its appearance.

This syndrome usually occurs in athletes or elite sportsmen, but sometimes people who are not professionally engaged in sports develop a compulsive behavior around exercise. develop a compulsive behavior around physical exerciseThis is an addiction to sport that can lead to exhaustion or overtraining syndrome.

An important fact to be added is that people with overtraining syndrome are more vulnerable to infections, due to a weakened immune system.. What is positive in principle, both physically and psychologically, can be distorted if it leads to obsession. A good example of sports addiction is vigorexia.

Main symptoms

Let's see what are the symptoms of overtraining syndrome.

Physical symptoms

These are the physical repercussions of overtraining syndrome.

• Breathing problems.
• Hypotension.
• Loss of weight and appetite.
• Muscle aches and pains.
• Increased heart rate and Blood pressure.
• Digestive problems.
• Physical fatigue.

Psychological symptoms

Among the most common psychological alterations associated with this syndrome are the following.

• Low mood, even depression.
• Anxiety.
• Physical and emotional exhaustion.
• Low self-esteem.
• Difficulty in coping with daily problems.
• Low attention and concentration capacity.
• Insomnia and nightmares.
• Irritability.
• Inhibition of sexual desire.

Psychological treatment

Psychological treatment addresses the causes of the onset of overtraining, ie, what were the factors that predisposed physical exercise to become an obsession?. Thus, the state of self-esteem, work and family burdens and personality traits such as over-demandingness and perfectionism, often related to physical exercise addiction, are evaluated for treatment during therapy.

From the psychological point of view, one of the possible causes could well be, in some cases, the compensation of certain deficienciessuch as unsatisfactory personal development, low self-esteem and the stress of everyday life, with physical exercise.

The treatment of anxiety and low mood is also essential for the person to regain self-confidence and motivation. for the person to regain self-confidence and motivation.. Special emphasis will be placed on the progressive resumption of physical exercise, ensuring that its maintenance is alternated with a correct physical and psychological recovery, taking into account the social and personal context of the patient: work demands, family, etc. and their coping tools.

Bibliographic references:

• Asensio García, Concepción. https://www.efisioterapia.net/articulos/sindrome-sobreentrenamiento.
• González Boto, René. Tuero de Prado, Concepción. Márquez Rosa, Sara; "Aportaciones de la psicología en el estudio del sobreentrenamiento en el deporte" (Contributions of psychology in the study of overtraining in sport). http://www.infocop.es/view_article.asp?id=993
• González-Boto, R., Molinero, O. and Márquez, S. (2006). Overtraining in competitive sport: psychological implications of stress-recovery imbalance. Journal of Anxiety and Stress. 12 (1), 99-115.