What is the difference between healthful exercise and exercise addiction?

What is the difference between healthful exercise and exercise addiction?

Divya Kakaiya (Program Founder and Clinical Supervisor) gives expert video advice on: Why are athletes susceptible to anorexia?; What sports have more susceptibility to anorexia?; What is the female athletic triad? and more...

The majority of my patients who use exercise in a dysfunctional way will say that I only feel deserving of eating if I exercise. There's a thinking pattern that's changed in their mind over here. What we want to do is have them explore within themselves what it is that makes them want to exercise. Most people will exercise because they know it makes them feel good afterwards. They also know it's good for them. Sometimes they hate to do it, but they do it anyway because they know it's good for them. They also know that ultimately they start to feel good after they exercise, whereas the person who's addicted to the exercise, or using the exercise for the wrong reason, is actually addicted to the high they get from the exercise. When they don't exercise, they feel depressed and they go back to the exercise in order to counter that effect of depression.