What Do Steroids Do to Your Mind?
Many people know the physical effects of anabolic steroids on the human body. These synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone, sometimes used illegally in order to build stronger, more powerful muscles, have a whole host of terrible side effects. Just a few of them include tendon ruptures, enlarged hearts, heart attacks, liver cancer, balding, yellowing skin (jaundice). That’s bad enough, but there can even be a greater cost to what these substances might do to your mind.
Anabolic steroids affect the limbic system in the brain. This part of the brain influences mood, as well as memory and the ability to learn. When doctors use steroids legitimately as a therapy for a number of conditions, they’re usually using a small dose. When steroids are used to enhance performance and power, the dose is increased dramatically. The normal dose range in regular use might be fifty to a hundred milligrams per week, while illicit use of the drug might see a thousand milligrams a week or more, producing much different effects. While many abusers of steroids claim they feel good while on the drugs, research has shown that radical mood swings may occur, causing manic-like and aggressive symptoms, sometimes ending in violent acts. There are changes in mood and in depression. Users may be subject to paranoia, to delusions, as well as judgement that’s impaired due to feelings that you’re invincible. While that feeling might seem nice at first, it can lead to very destructive behavior. At these high doses, steroids can make a person extremely aggressive. Animal researchers have shown that the neurochemicals controlling stimulation and inhibition of aggression are affected, essentially increasing the desire for aggression while simultaneously removing the inhibitions that would keep a user from acting out violently.
Just a casual look at the research should let anyone know that the effects of anabolic steroids may have severe and, in a few cases, life-threatening consequences, not only on the body, but also on the only organ that allows us to perceive the world around us: The human brain.
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