We all know sports enthusiasts. Men and women who get up at dawn to run, who put on their shoes like others drink coffee, who find vital energy in the effort. Some don't hesitate to brave the rain, the wind, the biting winter cold so as not to "miss their session." For many, it's a healthy passion, a driving force in life. But sometimes, something changes. The activity that once made you smile ends up isolating, the vital impulse turns into a constraint, the passion into an obsession. And we have to admit it: we too, at 3bikes, we may be concerned...
By Jeff Tatard – Photos: DR
It is this invisible border, this insidious shift, that we wanted to understand.. At 3Bikes, we took the route to meet Dr. Jean-Christophe Seznec, psychiatrist, sports physician and author of the recent book Sport, the psychology of a passion (Odile Jacob). This expert reconnaked, passed by the French junior cycling team on route and by the medical committee of the French Rugby Federation, received us with kindness and frankness. As he had already done in his teachings and his books, He opened our minds to the ambiguities of sport: a formidable tool for health and balance, but also fertile ground for excess..
When passion remains a choice
From the outset, Dr. Seznec offered us an enlightening distinction. Passion, he said, is " a controlled, voluntary activity that brings you closer to what matters to you "It fuels joy, enthusiasm, and the desire to go further. It adapts to life's constraints: you can slow down, interrupt a workout for a family dinner, or put your practice on hold in case of injury. Passion opens, connects, and enriches.
What struck us was how he describes freedom as the decisive criterion. A healthy passion always leaves room for choice.It remains a tool at the service of existence.
When addiction imposes its law
Conversely, addiction is a hold. " It feeds on impulsiveness and generates a loss of control ", he explains. The athlete no longer chooses: he is forced. Stopping is no longer an option, because it triggers anxiety, guilt, and a feeling of loss. Time, relationships, and sometimes money, are sacrificed on the altar of practice.
This shift is rarely spectacular. It happens in small steps: one more outing, one more weekend of competition, one evening missed for a session deemed " an essential " Until those around you get worried, or the body gives out.
The warning signs are clear: isolation, conflicts with family or friends, rigid schedules, and the inability to slow down despite injuries or fatigue. Whereas an enthusiast knows how to stop practicing to preserve their health, the addict persists, even if it means losing everything.
"The athlete no longer has a choice: he is forced. Stopping is no longer an option, because it triggers anxiety, guilt, and a feeling of loss."
Very real damage
One might think that sports addiction remains a benign matter., almost enviable. After all, running is better than drinking or smoking, right? Dr. Seznec challenges this preconceived notion. Addiction, he reminds us, is always a source of suffering. It leads to isolation, conflict, breakups, and loss of professional opportunities. Sport, which is supposed to support health, can become destructive.
He also insists on the place of the entourageToo often, loved ones oscillate between reproach and resignation. However, it is in kind words, in the expression of sincere concern, that help lies. Helping someone is not about saying “you must,” but about inviting them to observe their own choices. He says.
Heal, rebalance, restore meaning
Should we have asked if we can live? with a sports addiction? Seznec's answer is clear: no. An addiction cannot be managed, it must be treated.It deprives of freedom, it locks up, it damages.
But that doesn't mean we should cut ourselves off from sport altogether. The psychiatrist likes to use a telling metaphor: " Sport is like a hammer. Used well, it builds. Used poorly, it causes damage. "The challenge is not to ban, but to rediscover a free and flexible practice.
He also points out that high-level sport has recently incorporated longitudinal psychological monitoring, a sign that society is beginning to become aware of these risks.
The example of rats placed in a wheel—to the point of preferring to run rather than eat—particularly struck us. This experiment, he says, illustrates the extent to which movement can become pathological. In humans, too, the search for effort can obscure fundamental needs.
At the roots of addiction
Why do some people switch, and others don't? Here, Seznec blends biology and psychology. Some individuals are more sensitive to activation of the dopaminergic system, the reward circuit. Others exhibit narcissistic fragility: they only feel they exist through their performance. Still others, particularly those suffering from ADHD, are more vulnerable to compulsive behaviors.
He also warns us against the simplistic idea of a transfer : that by stopping sport, the addict will inevitably fall into another addiction. In reality, When treating an addiction, we act on the overall situation, on the difficulty in managing emptiness, anxiety, the quest for value.Treating sports addiction also means calming other excessive behaviors.
And in a message he sent us after our interview, Dr. Seznec also reminds us that " the race for results increases the risk of addiction "What makes champions like Léon Marchand so strong," he explains, "is having learned that their worth doesn't depend on their performance. Thanks to this work with his mental coach, Marchand can focus on what he truly loves: swimming and competing against others. Victory comes afterward." In individual sports, focusing on the clock increases the risk of becoming addicted, especially when performance matters more.tagand the life experience that is sport. « The practice of sport is bigger than a stopwatch “, he insists.
Finding an open relationship
So, how can we regain a peaceful relationship with sport? For Seznec, it's about giving the practitioner flexibility and awareness. Life is a huge playground " he said with a smile.
This goes through diversification of sources of balance : social relationships, creative activities, family or community commitments. But also through the use of concrete therapeutic tools:
- On cognitive-behavioral therapies, to deconstruct automatic thoughts.
- THEACT, which helps to act according to one's values rather than under the constraint of a desire.
- La meditation, who learns to observe emotions without getting stuck in them.
These approaches, by giving back room for maneuver, make it possible to transform sport into an ally rather than a tyrant.
When society encourages excess
What we also take away from our meeting is the lucidity with which Seznec analyzes the cultural context. Our era values performance, surpassing oneself, and an obsession with efficiency. In this climate, sports addiction is tolerated, even encouraged, because it feeds the spectacle..
« Sports addiction is more accepted than others because it masks the suffering behind the show. " he observes. But more and more athletes are daring to talk about their mental health. Perhaps this is a sign of a change to come.
The real line, he says, lies between effort and obsession. Effort is formative; it teaches humility and endurance. Obsession, on the other hand, is a mental prison. It's up to us to choose which model of sport we want to promote.
Testimonies and concrete images
Throughout the interview, we thought about those amateur cyclists who, week after week, increase their mileage, convinced that will always be better. To the runner who refuses to go on vacation without his shoes, unable to imagine two days of rest. To the triathlete who, injured, pedals through the pain and ends up compromising her entire season.
So many scenes which, put together, illustrate what Dr. Seznec describes. Passion, yes. But when it devours, it ceases to be an ally.
A book to go further
His latest work, Sport, the psychology of a passion, extends these reflections. It contains precise analyses of the psychological mechanisms of sport, but also a plea for a more conscious, less sacrificial practice. It is a book that speaks as much to high-level athletes as to amateurs, and which questions our collective relationship with performance.
As a conclusion
When we left Dr. Seznec, we felt we had taken a step forward. Not only did we understand sports addiction better, but we also looked at our own practices and our own excesses differently. What he offered us was an open mind, an invitation to reflect on the deeper meaning of our efforts.
As we already felt with Dr. Stéphane Cascua a few weeks ago, this meeting was a stroke of luck. So, once again, we want to say thank you. Thank you to Dr. Seznec for taking the time to enlighten us, bytagshare with us his knowledge, but above all remember that behind every pedal stroke, every stride, every drop of sweat, there should always be freedom, meaning and joy.
