Do You Have a Running Problem?

The Office of Health Care Programs at Johns Hopkins University Hospital developed this screening quiz for alcoholics. The word “drinking”  has been replaced with “running.” Take the quiz to find out if you have a running problem.

1.      Do you lose time from work due to running?
2.     Is running making your home life unhappy?
3.     Have you had financial difficulties as a result of running?
4.     Do you run to escape from worries or trouble?
5.     Have you ever been to a hospital on account of running?
6.     Do you crave running at a definite time daily?
7.      Do you run alone?
8.     Do you find it necessary to run with companions every weekend, no matter what their pace?
9.     Have you ever been lost while running trails, and when you realized it, didn’t care?
10.  Has a physician ever treated you for running?

According to the experts at Johns Hopkins University Hospital*, answering “Yes” to even one of these questions is a sign that your running habit is harmful and you may be a run-o-holic. You probably have a serious mental illness, a shopping addiction to Fleet Feet Sports, and a problem with eating carbohydrates 80% of the time.

Seek an evaluation by a licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible. (Massage therapists/therapy, so that you can run more often, don’t count.)

*No one at Johns Hopkins had anything to say on this survey or possible running-related addictions. Yet. (adapted from a poll at the Horse Nation blog, April 2014).