Anabolic Steroids Essay

There are many articles that will explain the physical side effects of anabolic steroids but there are few that tell us about the psychological effect. A person may start to develop a psychosis (a break in reality). The steroid user doesn't feel connected with the real world and is instead living and thinking in his own world. In this reality he is all-powerful, invincible and capable of anything. It is in the psychosis state that the violence associated with "roid rage" comes into play. Another effect is depression. Depression is a common side effect and can be so severe that it even leads to suicide. Steroid users often use other drugs to combat the many side effects that accompany the use of steroids, like depression. Insomnia is a common side effect, so the steroid user may abuse sleeping pills. Knowing that she is abusing a drug can then lead to depression, which can just deepen the cycle of drug abuse. Not only can steroids effect people psychologically but it can also have a major effect on the liver. The body reads steroids as fat so it passes through the liver. To maintain their anabolic effect, oral steroids are altered to resist being broken down while this alteration does allow the majority of the steroid to complete this ‘first pass’ through the liver without being deactivated, the use of inefficient enzymes to attempt to break the steroid down places considerable stress on the cells of the liver. The damage to the liver occurs when it is damaged faster than it can repair itself. Since liver stress is cumulative, using oral steroids for a longer period of time will increase liver stress, and using oral steroids for a shorter period of time will reduce liver stress. When stressed, their function will begin to deteriorate. Stress them too hard, or for too long, and one by one they will die. If caught early enough, removing the stressor (oral steroid) will allow the cells of the liver to repair themselves and return to health. However, if the cause of the liver-stress remains, the cells of the liver will gradually and permanently die. These dead liver cells cause the liver to take on a dark and hardened appearance, a condition known as ‘cirrhosis’. Dead liver cells do no regenerate, and individuals with cirrhosis will have reduced liver function for the remainder of their lives. Further, as a result of liver stress, oral steroids disrupt the body’s management of cholesterol. This is why oral steroids are associated with such a dramatic increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Liver damage can cause so much stress to the body. Anabolic steroids can also effect another part of the body, the endocrine system. Anabolic steroids imitate the endocrine hormone testosterone, leading to the many possible side effects. They cause the pituitary gland to stop secreting FSH and LH, which results in temporary infertility in men and menstrual Irregularities in women. Since the female body differs from a males steroids effect women differently. Anabolic steroids are very powerful messengers that signal cells to behave in specific ways, many of which never become outwardly visible making the exact extent of the harm unknown to the user. Although type, dosage and duration play significant roles in the severity of negative effects, even a one-time cycle (use over a specific time period) at very low doses can cause irreversible damage even well after the cycle is completed. Adverse physical conditions can and do occur in women using anabolic steroids. In biology and medicine, ‘virilization’ refers to the development of secondary changes,

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