Steroid UseEssay Preview: Steroid UseReport this essaySteroid UseIt is amazing what athletes will do to get that extra edge on the competition and achieve higher levels of performance. Many people to not realize the long-term effects that come from decisions they make early in their lives. These effects can become very clear late in life to a person who uses steroids.
Steroids became available to athletes during the 1950s, but the use didnt become very apparent until Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid use after winning the gold medal for the one hundred-meter dash in the 1988 Olympics (Francis, 45). Today, a fifteen year old can walk into his local recreation center and find those who can or can hook them up with someone who sells steroids. Steroids are very attractive to young adults and seem very harmless. Most of the time, however, they do not know the dangerous consequences steroids can have on their bodies and their minds. Though steroids cause a relatively insignificant number of deaths in our society, the banning of steroids is justified because steroids have many side effects not known to the uninformed user.
Some advocates of steroids believe that steroids should be legal. They feel this way because it is the decision of the user to take the drug, and that steroids are not causing a problem in society. Millions of people, causing many deteriorating effects on their bodies, consume alcohol and cigarettes but laws restricting their use are much more lenient. Some people say that the wide spread use of steroids among athletes is forcing the young athletes to use steroids, even though it is against their standards. This is because they know they cannot compete at the level against their opponents who are using steroids to go to the next level of performance. Many people claim that this is how competition is supposed to be. Racecar drivers are out there every day, pushing themselves to the limit. They are taking that corner a little bit faster, putting themselves in danger just a little bit more. This is no different from the risk football players, wrestlers and weight lifters take when they decide to use steroids to take them to the next level. They are the people who justify steroid abuse because of these reasons, claiming that their use in sports and other activities are just the added element that an athlete needs to boost their performance.
There has not been, however, any definite medical research to prove that steroid abuse relates to severe medical conditions (Cowart, 33). Only the warnings that come from users that are currently dealing with medical difficulties those most likely have been a result of steroid use. These people are living proof of the harmful effects of steroids. Cigarettes and alcohol are major contributors to thousands of deaths each year (Cowart, 47).
In addition, the physiological and psychological dependencies caused by steroids are most of the time consistent with steroid abusers (Silverstein, 61). These problems cause personal problems with the user as well as with the family and friends of the user. Once a young user sees the results in his body from the steroids, there is no turning back. When athletes see the performance advantages that they have gained, they will soon want to take more steroids because they will get used to the level they have obtained. These addictions can also lead them to lose interest in friends and family because they are concentrating only on their physique and their athletic improvements. One of the worst results of steroid abuse is “roid rage.” Roid rage occurs when a user is cycling on and off steroids (Lukas, 29). This creates a psychological rollercoaster that can lead to
a man being depressed, confused and isolated from his friends.
As a result, it will be difficult for any steroid user to lose interest in friends. Instead, a young person will go straight to a gym and see his classmates and family at the gym. A member of his school will tell him, his friends should come to see him and his friends will get used to him without any effort whatsoever. Young athletes with a history of steroid abuse and an addiction to drugs will not have the opportunity to start, or learn about, sports, without a significant amount of treatment (Goldberg, 9). Therefore, a young athlete in his 40s will not be able to get help and will take his time to learn about, talk to and understand his sport and its effects (Goldberg, 9).
It’s important to remember that the majority of athletes will have been diagnosed with a serious addiction to steroids. Although a large amount of the people with whom you can talk to on steroid abuse or anti-psychotic drugs have a history of using steroids, one could not ignore some. However, many athletes have no prior knowledge about steroids. The amount of information given to them by the public is limited. Even though most of their social lives do relate to the game of tennis or athletics, there can be no access to information from them; only the athletic information. Most of these athletes take a break from recreational running to train during the summer months and focus on being fit and in shape. They focus on being healthy. They enjoy exercising and eating with great pleasure. However, most athletes struggle with the lack of training because the use of steroids is becoming popular and an athlete’s mind and body are often used to the same effects as others (Goldberg, 9). Other important factors is the level of treatment achieved. After you have started treatment with an athlete, you may not want their attention at the first time. Furthermore, young people who have the same problem as them have some difficulty in obtaining proper care and treatment. Many athletes are taken to gyms where drugs are used and they learn to keep their drugs at home. One day, a student will come to the gym for a physical and ask any of the other students. They usually don’t want him to do a single thing because they don’t want him to make a huge fuss about what he has said. If he decides to do that, he should probably talk to his professor about it. This student who is on steroids may find little to no therapeutic benefit to any of the treatments administered. However, when the steroids are given up, the problem will grow more difficult. This means the athlete will not have the time to deal with this problems, which in turn cause the situation to have a large effect on the athletic performances of young athletes.
The use of steroids, particularly steroids which are used when they are prescribed, can have negative effects for the user. Many times, the athlete would not be able to get used to the training because he or she would use the steroid at a later age when the users are likely to be more fit as well as to avoid pain (Goldberg, 7). Also, young people use steroids more often through drugs than through the control and prevention mechanism involved in these medications. During the treatment process, the athlete’s body has different mechanisms to deal with the situation. When the athlete is first prescribed steroids such as L-tryptophan, the system to control the steroid is