Health Risks of Steroid Abuse

Young athletes see their heroes on television hitting a walk off homerun, scoring a clutch goal or sinking a game winning basket. They also see athletes getting suspended from their professional sport for steroid use. What they likely don’t know is that steroid use can be an addiction and a dangerous one at that. Steroids are most commonly taken by athletes because they think that it will increase their athletic ability. Common steroids that athletes take are stimulants such as ephedrine, human growth hormones (HGH) and testosterone. Steroid abuse is capable of causing both short term and long term side effects. Taking steroids will affect the body’s natural production of hormones which can result in severe mood swings and emotional outbursts. In addition to effecting an individual’s hormone production it can cause fluid retention, an enlarged prostate enlargement, depression, mania and delusions to name a few. In the past there was a lot of debate on whether or not steroid abuse was an addiction. However, after extensive research it was proven that a person who abuses steroids can experience tolerance, withdrawal, desire to use, social problems… These are all symptoms that the American Psychiatric Association uses to define addiction. More reputable addiction treatment centers around the country are seeing individuals whose drug of choice is steroids. Just like alcohol abuse or drug addiction, addiction treatment centers can help an individual who is struggling with steroid abuse.