The Body in the Mind
Exercise Addiction, Body Image and the Use of Enhancement Drugs

Explores the emergence of exercise addiction, body image disorders and the use of enhancement drugs in a society that strives for appearance.

Ornella Corazza (Edited by), Artemisa Rocha Dores (Edited by)

9781911623724, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 April 2023

192 pages
19 x 11.9 x 1.3 cm, 0.25 kg

In a society that strives for appearance, fitness is increasingly viewed as a means to reach a certain aesthetic ideal, rather than a way to improve health and physical performance. Every day millions of posts appear on social media promoting a visual representation of apparently fit, healthy and 'perfect' bodies. Combining personal accounts, clinical cases, and scientific research, this book explores how such new trends in society can lead to the development of exercise addiction and body image disorders. It explains how such a concern with physical appearance can act as a precursor or be symptomatic of other conditions, such as eating disorders, mood disorders, and the use of performance and image enhancing drugs. It highlights throughout the importance of raising awareness amongst health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers and primary care physicians, of this growing challenge to prevent harm and improve treatment.

Section 1. From exercise to addiction: an introduction to the phenomenon
1. Exercise addiction: evolution and challenges for its recognition as a clinical disorder Álvaro Sicilia, Manuel Alcaraz-Ibáñez, Adrian Paterna and Mark D. Griffiths
2. From exercise to addiction: the fitspirational era of image and performance-enhancement Stefano Pallanti and Alice C. English
3. The Covid-19 pandemic: a novel risk factor for exercise addiction and related disorders Franca Ceci, Francesco Di Carlo, Julius Burkauskas, Giovanni Martinotti and Massimo Di Giannantonio
4. Excessive exercise and image- and performance-enhancing drug use among sports disciplines and the role of mind-body training Hironobu Fujiwara and Mami Shibata
5. The ideal of the perfect body: appearance anxiety, excessive exercising and use of image- and performance-enhancing drugs Artemisa R. Dores and Irene P. Carvalho
6. Exercise, fitspiration and the role of social media Ilaria De Luca, Dorotea Cicconcelli, Valentina Giorgetti and Ornella Corazza
7. Eating disorders and over-exercise Charlotte Taylor, Kate Brown and Konstantinos Ioannidis
8. Exercise and the use of image- and performance-enhancing drugs within the gym environment Jim McVeigh, Martin Chandler and Gemma Anne Yarwood
9. Bodybuilding, exercise and image- and performance-enhancing drug use during the Covid-19 pandemic Honor D. Townshend and Anna Tippett
10. How to treat exercise addiction: psychological interventions and new pharmacological perspectives Ilaria De Luca, Attilio Negri and Giuseppe Bersani
Section 2. Reaching the extreme with exercise: a collection of clinical case studies 11. Being versus appearing: two sides of the same coin? A case report Artemisa R. Dores and Pedro Morgado
12. Reducing excessive exercise behaviour using online Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: the case of a middle-aged adult Merve Denizci Nazl?gül
13. The story of my life Thomas Brosnan
14. Money Honey: an interview with an 'informed' patient Silvia Rossato, Pierluigi Simonato and Angela Scoppettone
Section 3. Exploring the motivations behind exercise addiction 15. Bodybuilding saved my life Andrea Corbett
16. An interview with James Hollingshead: exploring the balance between focus, professionalism and addiction Roisin Mooney
17. An interview with Dave Croslands: a life with performance-enhancing drugs Valeria Catalani
18. Being comfortable in your own skin Oluyinka Idowu.

Subject Areas: Nursing [MQC], Addiction & therapy [MMZR], Clinical psychology [MMJ], Psychiatry [MMH], Mental health services [MBPK], Social work [JKSN]