Find out if anabolic drugs are really addictive and if there is a psychological dependence on steroid courses in professional bodybuilders. For the first time steroids were created in the thirties, but they began to be actively used only in the fifties. It should be recognized. That they are used in medicine, but they can only be purchased at the pharmacy with a prescription. Athletes, in pursuit of high results, often use AAS in huge doses. Today it is often said that steroids are dangerous to health and can even cause addiction. This article will answer the question, what is steroid addiction?
What are steroids used for?
A person suffering from this type of psychological dependence. When using drugs, it exceeds the therapeutic dose by 10-100 times. Moreover, they often use at least two drugs at the same time. It is generally accepted that such a regimen of steroid use allows you to get maximum results and avoid serious side effects. AAS is similar to testosterone in terms of its effect on the body and is highly effective and fast-acting.
With their help, you can quickly gain muscle mass, increase strength and endurance. All this makes anabolic steroids very attractive in the eyes of a certain part of the world's population. Drugs in this group have some medical indications and can be prescribed by a doctor. Most often they are used to treat anemia or restore normal hormonal levels.
However, today any person, regardless of age. Can safely purchase AAS in numerous online stores. In most developed countries, the sale of AAS is prohibited and punishable by law. These drugs have a fairly large list of positive effects, but the number of negative properties is no less. Improper use of anabolic steroids can cause serious disruption to the body.
The most popular steroids today are testosterone esters, boldenone, stanozolol, turinabol and some others. A small number of preparations are approved for human and veterinary use. By purchasing them from an unknown supplier, you can cause serious damage to the body.
Anabolic drug abuse and steroid dependence
Steroids are produced by large pharmaceutical companies, but their products are used exclusively for solving medical problems. We have already said. That in many developed countries the AAS were outlawed. Of course, we are talking about their application outside the medical field. It is the ban on the uncontrolled sale of anabolic drugs that is one of the reasons for the start of their mass production in mini-laboratories.
It is quite obvious that low quality raw materials are used for such production, and sanitary conditions are often far from ideal. Speaking about what steroid addiction is, we primarily mean bodybuilding lovers. Professional athletes use steroids under the supervision of a professional sports physician.
Amateurs, in turn, often do not have a sufficient stock of knowledge to use these powerful drugs that disrupt the work of the hormonal system. Wanting to achieve their goals in a short time, they use AAS in large dosages. The body has the ability to adapt to the work of anabolic drugs and their effectiveness gradually decreases.
It is quite obvious that sports fans do not want to put up with this state of affairs and are starting to use higher doses of AAS. Speaking about what steroid addiction is, its psychological nature should be noted. If drug addiction is primarily physical, then in the case of anabolic steroids, everything is somewhat different.
The most dangerous side effect of this type of addiction is depression. In some cases, the attacks can be severe. According to experienced psychiatrists, in the absence of special treatment, depression can be observed even one year after stopping the use of AAS. Studies show that in the United States alone, steroids are misused by approximately one percent of the nation's population.
Moreover, about 78 percent of them are not professional athletes. The greatest concern is the use of anabolic drugs by adolescents aged 13 to 17 years. More than 20 percent of them use steroids only in order to acquire an athletic physique in a short time.
What side effects can steroid abuse cause?
Anabolic medications can benefit the body, but only when used correctly in certain situations. Many drugs are no longer used in medicine today, due to the large number of side effects. For example, immediately after its creation, Masteron was actively used to treat breast cancer. Despite the fairly good efficiency. This powerful androgen has been known to cause serious disruptions in the female endocrine system.
Steroids do not have many side effects. Moreover, their manifestation largely depends not only on the dosages used, but also on the individual characteristics of the human body. These drugs can be especially dangerous when used by persons under 25 years of age. In this case, premature growth arrest, accelerated puberty and complete imbalance of the endocrine system are possible. In the latter case, the teenager will have to use anabolic drugs for hormone replacement therapy until the end of his life.
In the course of research carried out by a group of scientists from Boston, it has been proven. That in people who used AAS, the left ventricle (the main cavity of the heart muscle, which is responsible for the supply of blood to all organs) was weaker than the right one. Among the possible side effects of anabolic steroids, it should be noted:
- Changes in the structure of the tissues of the heart muscle, which increases the risks of developing ailments of the cardiovascular system.
- The possibility of developing blood clots.
- Violation of the balance of lipoprotein compounds.
- Active fluid retention in the body.
- Increased blood pressure.
- The appearance of problems with the liver.
- Sleep disturbance.
These are the side effects that can occur in both sexes. However, anabolic drugs also have negative effects that affect human health, depending on its gender. For men, these can be:
- A decrease in the size and even complete atrophy of the testicles.
- Slowing down the processes of spermatogenesis and reducing the quality of semen.
- Baldness.
- Gynecomastia.
- Increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
For the female body, steroids pose an even greater danger:
- Uncontrolled growth of the clitoris.
- The appearance of facial hair.
- Violation of the menstrual cycle.
- Decrease in the timbre of the voice.
- Severe acne.
We have already noted above that dependence on steroids is primarily psychological. Thus, speaking about what steroid addiction is, the most serious problems with the human psyche should be noted:
- Increased aggressive behavior and mood swings - even with ordinary everyday problems, a person may experience bouts of rage. Constant mood swings can be an equally serious problem.
- Memory problems and distraction - if on the course most often attentiveness and concentration increase, then after the abolition of the AAS, the opposite situation is possible.
- Depression - Many people who use steroids take pride in their physique. However, after the course, a rollback effect is observed, in which most of the results obtained are lost. Not everyone is psychologically ready for this and depression may develop.
- Hallucinations - for some people, they may believe that others are constantly evaluating their appearance. This can be a serious test for the psyche.
Should you fight steroids?
This is a difficult question. However, when it comes to the use of anabolic drugs by adolescents, the answer is definitely yes. For an immature developing organism, they pose a serious danger. Steroids, unlike alcohol and drugs, do not destroy the human brain. Undoubtedly. They have certain side effects that you should be aware of and their presence is foolish to deny. Most often, the answer to the question of what steroid addiction is, is sought by athletes who are not psychologically prepared for the rollback effect.
Agree, it is difficult to see how muscle mass and strength parameters are gradually lost. At the same time, most athletes are ready for this and do not experience severe depression. You can often hear the statement that steroids are almost poison for the human body. However, there is still no scientifically proven evidence of such a destructive effect of AAS on the body, as is the case with the same alcohol.
Do not forget that even from approved medications for use, millions of people die every year on the planet. In certain situations, even aspirin can be more dangerous than methandienone or turinabol. Of course, if steroids are taken uncontrollably in huge doses, then the risks of developing serious problems increase significantly.
At the same time, these drugs are not capable of causing cell mutations, and there is no evidence of deaths associated with the use of AAS. Many supporters of the fight against anabolic steroids assure of their high danger to the liver. However, many scientific studies do not confirm this fact. For example, oxymetholone is considered one of the most toxic drugs for the liver. But according to the results of one relatively recent study, the use of 0.1 gram of anabolic for two months did not cause a deterioration in the performance of the organ. Moreover, elderly people aged 65 to 80 years old took part in it.
In our opinion, it is definitely worth fighting steroids when they are used by teenagers. If AAS is taken by an adult and does it correctly, then the risks of developing side effects are reduced. Perhaps it is not worth prohibiting anabolic drugs, but giving people the right to choose. It is equally important to provide quality information on how to use them. The Internet is not always suitable for solving this problem, because no one controls the articles posted there.
Learn more about steroid addiction from this story:
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