Powys runner’s fitness addiction made him ‘obsessive and anxious’

Dafydd Judd, a personal trainer in Cardiff, said he felt the “lines are blurring” between fitness and technology addiction.

He said calorie counting apps can become “highly addictive” if you are weighing, measuring and adjusting your calorie intake.

“There’s way more food to track than there is with exercise, so I can see how that can get extremely obsessive,” he added.

Dafydd encouraged people to seek help if its starts to become an unhealthy relationship to ensure you are “channelling your energy in the right way”.

He also advised people to be wary when seeing fitness records posted online as there are an increasing number of people “fudging the numbers and lying to to create this illusion that they’re better than they are”.

He described social media as a “double-edged sword” when helping people to stay fit.

“Companies are tapping into social media to help promote their business, but on the flip side, it creates these communities,” he said, adding that “healthy competition” online can spur people on.

Fionnuala Clayton, project manager of NHS Wales’ Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Service, said they were “grateful that Wayne reached out during a “challenging time in his life”.

Clayton said that while exercise has mood-boosting benefits, “too much can can have negative impacts on both mental and physical health”.

She said it was important to reach out for support if a routine starts to dominate other areas of your life.

“Talking to someone and exploring other sources of support can be an important step towards a healthier balance,” she said.

“Stories like Wayne’s remind us why accessible mental health support matters.”