When the use of any drug or substance, including steroids,
fits this description, the drug user has an addiction
problem.(1) The characteristics of steroid addiction have
been described as follows2)
1) Hormone is used over longer periods than desired.
2) Attempts are made to stop without success.
3) Substantial time is spent obtaining, using, or recovering
from the hormones.
4) Use continues despite knowledge of significant
psychological problems caused by the hormones.
5) Characteristic withdrawal symptoms occur.
6) Hormone use is resumed to relieve these withdrawal
symptoms.
People who are dependent on anabolic steroids frequently began
to use them before age 16.(3) They take more cycles of
steroids for longer periods of time, and take many different types
of steroids at once.(3,4) They feel that their peers
use anabolics, and perceive themselves as having less strength or
smaller body size than their peers.(3,4) By contrast,
there are no reports of anabolic steroid dependence caused by
legitimate medical use.(3) In a psychological study of
eight weightlifters, all eight had at least two symptoms of drug
dependence on steroids. Six of them met the American Psychiatric
Association's DSM-III-R definition of addiction.(5)
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