Steroids and depression as a gateway to other drugs

[calstate23]

I'm older and wiser now, something I wouldn't convert back to.

Hypothetically I got an injury and was told I could never lift again? I guess I would start to find out what kind of surgery needed to be done and find out how long until I was able to train again .

In all honesty I would find have to find something else to fill the void. I have more talents and skills I've developed over the years other then learning how to turn an apple into a lunchtime smoking apparatus .

Well I can tell you one thing in life....Everything you have ever believed in or enjoyed has come from upbringing and the culture which you were born....Everything you like can be filled with something else...You just have to look deep inside and say, "Why do I enjoy this"....When you come up with the true meaning then you will understand...

[JohnnnyBlazzze]

Well I can tell you one thing in life....Everything you have ever believed in or enjoyed has come from upbringing and the culture which you were born....Everything you like can be filled with something else...You just have to look deep inside and say, "Why do I enjoy this"....When you come up with the true meaning then you will understand...

I agree with you here! Enlightening!

[calstate23]

I agree with you here! Enlightening!

Ha ha ha......I have more enlightening theories if anyone wants to partake ha ha...

[Flacco]

Pretty sure we aren't supposed to be talking about narcotics but... I've been addicted to everything under the sun. I think its all the way you choose to look at it and how honest you are with yourself. I could say that it was the weeds fault that eventually led me to a heroin habit. Or, if I'm honest, I could recognize that I let myself take it further because I had no self awareness, little confidence, and was just not comfortable in my own skin. I think if you have self esteem issues, and you use AAS to fix them, you're setting yourself up to continue looking for outside influences to fix you. If you're depressed and try a drug, and it fixes your depression temporarily, your mind tells you to continue using bc you see the results you want. If you're in a good mental stay before trying any drug, AAS, or mind altering substance, you won't need those substances to feel good again. So, I think depression is a gateway to AAS and other drugs, but I don't think Steroids are a gateway to depression and other drugs. I have noticed that I don't feel 100% when I come off cycle. Thank god my head has been good for the past few years and I don't let a little depression take me to a place that I don't want to be.

[Permabulk]

I experimented and abused almost every drug when I was younger and had an "out of control" type of lifestyle.

What changed me and kept me on the straight and narrow was the gym and bodybuilding lifestyle, not AAS. Only later in my life after I had been clean for over 5 years was when AAS were introduced. I can comfortably say though that because of my drug past that I was more open to the idea of using Anabolics.

Regardless of being "On" or "Off" I was always still in the gym training and eating right, and that's what kept me away from self destruction.

That's a good way to be. I didn't wait 5 years but I feel your shoes about the other stuff. On a related note I can't stand it when people (My friends really) get on so they feel like training more and eating right.....backwards as ****...

Pretty sure we aren't supposed to be talking about narcotics but... I've been addicted to everything under the sun. I think its all the way you choose to look at it and how honest you are with yourself. I could say that it was the weeds fault that eventually led me to a heroin habit. Or, if I'm honest, I could recognize that I let myself take it further because I had no self awareness, little confidence, and was just not comfortable in my own skin. I think if you have self esteem issues, and you use AAS to fix them, you're setting yourself up to continue looking for outside influences to fix you. If you're depressed and try a drug, and it fixes your depression temporarily, your mind tells you to continue using bc you see the results you want. If you're in a good mental stay before trying any drug, AAS, or mind altering substance, you won't need those substances to feel good again. So, I think depression is a gateway to AAS and other drugs, but I don't think Steroids are a gateway to depression and other drugs. I have noticed that I don't feel 100% when I come off cycle. Thank god my head has been good for the past few years and I don't let a little depression take me to a place that I don't want to be.

What was yout drug of choice?

[Flacco]

What was yout drug of choice?

Hair Oh Inn

[< <Samson> >]

Hair Oh Inn

Damn, I thought I was bad. . .


But, it kinda funny that after I started to juice I stopped 90% of my other shit.

[BurntRbr]

Great thread. I had an alcohol and prescription pill addiction, which led to a fall out with the family and living out of my car at a young age. I began lifting in high school but didnt get into diet and a good training regimen until 19 when my health became the most important thing to me. I was more apt to use AAS but my health remains #1 and would not go back to using alcohol. Pain medication I try to have someone close monitor it for me bc it is to easy to keep at it.

[swm1972]

I was a pot head before a life change opened my eyes and I got serious about my quality of life. So apparently there is something there that indicates at the very least that those of us that experiment with anabolic steroids have an inclination to be more open to use/abuse of various substances. I use many different drugs in my life from pot to coke. But I never got wrapped up into anything to destructive. Was just a lazy ass pot head that sat around and got fat and more lazy.

Putting down the water bong was a good move for me. I wasn't hurting anyone, not even myself to any real degree. But I had no idea how much more enjoyable life could be.

[haterade]

the whole "gateway" drug theory is imo false .. **** these idiots that make these theories.. the steroid fairy doesnt sit at your front door with a tray full of dope when you come off.. the "gateway" theory is just there to scare ppl from doing any drugs eventho some illegal drugs have little or no known negative sides..

[Capebuffalo]

the whole "gateway" drug theory is imo false .. **** these idiots that make these theories.. the steroid fairy doesnt sit at your front door with a tray full of dope when you come off.. the "gateway" theory is just there to scare ppl from doing any drugs eventho some illegal drugs have little or no known negative sides..

I don't know about fairies but the shadow people used to hang around my place and make me do more of things I shouldn't have been doing. Somebody knows what I'm talking about. But I had crossed the gateway a long way back.Glenn Fry's Smugglers Blues just came on gotta go.

[MuscleInk]

I don't know about fairies but the shadow people used to hang around my place and make me do more of things I shouldn't have been doing. Somebody knows what I'm talking about. But I had crossed the gateway a long way back.Glenn Fry's Smugglers Blues just came on gotta go.

There most certainly IS a steroid fairy!!! Where else would steroids come from!?!?!

I don't see shadow people......just dead people.....but that's normal right?

[Flacco]

I don't know about fairies but the shadow people used to hang around my place and make me do more of things I shouldn't have been doing. Somebody knows what I'm talking about. But I had crossed the gateway a long way back.Glenn Fry's Smugglers Blues just came on gotta go.

The Tree Police were always outside my windows. LOL

[MuscleInk]

The Tree Police were always outside my windows. LOL

<img src="http://forums.steroid.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=124671"/>

Are they related to the tree huggers???

[Capebuffalo]

The Tree Police were always outside my windows. LOL

Dude that picture is a reality. Thank God not for me anymore.

[stephenschmidt1]

I'm alot younger then you guys most likely but I figure I'd give my 2 cents.

I had multiple combat deployments over seas until I blew my shoulder out and banged myself up pretty bad and was discharged from the military. I never abused any drug before. I smoked pot twice, and drank on occasion at bars but just as much as other college kids.
I guess a mix of PTSD, losing a ton of body weight after surgerys, mild depression, and anxiety issues led me to try aas. I even justified it by telling myself I was only doing it to help my recovery after surgery. <<<---that was a lie
After I got off though it seems like my symptoms were worse and I hit an all time low for about two weeks and even posted some stuff on here about it.
The thought of just blasting and cruising for the rest of my life actually ran through my head!!!

Well lucky for me I finished recovering after PCT and started getting medical help. Now I feel better then ever. But I can def understand how someone could get addicted to aas.

[beeasy1689]

I am also a ex-IV heroin user. Ive been clean for about a year now, and before the last relapse i did, i had clean time too. the main thing that i believe has kept me clean was working out hard and dieting. it made me feel like i was actually accomplishing something and i didnt hang out with my junkie friends anymore, all healthy (fairly) people. I just started TRT and for the most part its been going well, although i do havto get some more blood work done and check with my doc about my dose soon but bodybuilding and on a smaller note, AAS, have probably saved my life.

[Permabulk]

I'm alot younger then you guys most likely but I figure I'd give my 2 cents.

I had multiple combat deployments over seas until I blew my shoulder out and banged myself up pretty bad and was discharged from the military. I never abused any drug before. I smoked pot twice, and drank on occasion at bars but just as much as other college kids.
I guess a mix of PTSD, losing a ton of body weight after surgerys, mild depression, and anxiety issues led me to try aas. I even justified it by telling myself I was only doing it to help my recovery after surgery. <<<---that was a lie
After I got off though it seems like my symptoms were worse and I hit an all time low for about two weeks and even posted some stuff on here about it.
The thought of just blasting and cruising for the rest of my life actually ran through my head!!!

Well lucky for me I finished recovering after PCT and started getting medical help. Now I feel better then ever. But I can def understand how someone could get addicted to aas.

Thanks for serving man, hoah. PTSD can make people do wacky things man. Are you sure AAS was the root of the issue? Not to be offensive in the slightest, but are you saying it was the AAS itself? Your saying that wasn't more of your personality / anxiety / depression / PTSD?

[Permabulk]

I am also a ex-IV heroin user. Ive been clean for about a year now, and before the last relapse i did, i had clean time too. the main thing that i believe has kept me clean was working out hard and dieting. it made me feel like i was actually accomplishing something and i didnt hang out with my junkie friends anymore, all healthy (fairly) people. I just started TRT and for the most part its been going well, although i do havto get some more blood work done and check with my doc about my dose soon but bodybuilding and on a smaller note, AAS, have probably saved my life.

Yeah man, I was crazy suprised how many of us were open and honest about AAS and their drug addictions. This thread is great and I dare say it pulls the forum closer together in a way.

[stephenschmidt1]

No not at all!
If anything AAS made all those symptoms and problems I had disappear.
The way the doctor explained it..in a simple way for us common people to understand. He said pretty much alot of people get PTSD and depression from being at such a high level of intensity for such a long time. The first time you get shot at or you almost lose your life your body releases soo many chemicals that you feel as if your heart is going to explode. Its the whole fight or flight thing...im sure everyone has experienced this to a degree if you have ever been in a fight. People who dont get in fights often or worked up might think they are going to pass out and often start sweating and breathing heavy. Well professional fighters are able to control their breathing and adrenaline so much because they fight soo much their body gets used to the feeling.
Well same thing with soldiers...after a couple months of it my body needed it. I would almost get a hard on from blowing shit up and getting shot at. So when i came back i slowly started to slip into depression because frankly I just didnt feel as bad ass as I once was. I believe this is the same feeling alot of people get when they get off aas.
AAS filled that void in my life. Thats why I was saying I think aas usage can be traced to previous drug usage and mental issues. While on aas I loved life more then ever and felt great, but eventually all great things must end and I reverted back to my depressed PTSD self after. It felt even worse then before probably because I was at a such a high place in life that it felt lower coming off.

I guess the whole point of me posting is because I actually contemplating blasting and cruising for the rest of my life at the age of 24. Not because I wanted to be the biggest and strongest, but because It was the first time I enjoyed life in over 3 years.
So my message to those, esp young people, is that aas should be used to break through physical barriers that cannot be achieved through a perfect diet and training regimen for years. If you use aas to cope with mental issues such as depression, ptsd, anxiety, low self esteem, bi polar, and just day to day stress....THEN YOU ARE ABUSING AAS!!!
Trying aas was the best thing I could have done, because i didnt even realize I had problems until I tried to come off. But believe me there are drugs and other forms of help out there that can help you with these issues, that are not illegal, shut down your hpta, raise your cholesterol, force you to self inject, and could possibly make you sterile.

I would much rather take a zoloft once a day for the rest of my life and be happy then rely on steroids to fix a problem that they were not made to fix.

[swm1972]

I'm alot younger then you guys most likely but I figure I'd give my 2 cents.

I had multiple combat deployments over seas until I blew my shoulder out and banged myself up pretty bad and was discharged from the military. I never abused any drug before. I smoked pot twice, and drank on occasion at bars but just as much as other college kids.
I guess a mix of PTSD, losing a ton of body weight after surgerys, mild depression, and anxiety issues led me to try aas. I even justified it by telling myself I was only doing it to help my recovery after surgery. <<<---that was a lie
After I got off though it seems like my symptoms were worse and I hit an all time low for about two weeks and even posted some stuff on here about it.
The thought of just blasting and cruising for the rest of my life actually ran through my head!!!

Well lucky for me I finished recovering after PCT and started getting medical help. Now I feel better then ever. But I can def understand how someone could get addicted to aas.

Thanks for sharing. Thanks for serving. We might be onto something here. Seems like a lot of us have a past. You randomly selected a non steroid using group and would you see these backgrounds? I don't know. But it sounds like AAS has made a positive impact in our lives for the most part. Of course some would just say we've substituted one addiction for another. But at the end of the day we are better people and far more functional in society for the decisions we've made.

[Capebuffalo]

Thanks for sharing. Thanks for serving. We might be onto something here. Seems like a lot of us have a past. You randomly selected a non steroid using group and would you see these backgrounds? I don't know. But it sounds like AAS has made a positive impact in our lives for the most part. Of course some would just say we've substituted one addiction for another. But at the end of the day we are better people and far more functional in society for the decisions we've made.

Cheers to that. And what a great honest no bullshit thread. I don't know if I feel good that there are others out there like me or sad that there are others out there like me. I always hope no one has to go thought what I have gone through. But feel better Im not the only one. It's a double edged sword. Glad I'm not alone but hate others have experienced it as well. Here's to us. And the better people we have become. Be proud.

[warmouth]

I started using AAS when i was 27. I have been a recovering alcoholic from the age of 24. I found AA at 25 years old and went through my 12 steps on my own. Have i had a few drinks since then? Yes. but i felt guilty as hell about it. Did i have other "stuff" presented to me? Yes. Did i accept or partake? No. My lifestyle is working out and taking care of myself. This is my life.

On the other hand, i have lost friends to drugs. One of my friends died from alcohol poisioning. Another, cocaine. They were in the gym just like me but went partying all the time. Over time, they allowed the drugs to take over cause they lost site of their job, their family, what they really wanted in life. But those of us who could have went down the same road, stayed the same. And we're still around showing the younger cats how to grab some 150lb DB's and flat benching them for 15-20 reps. Cause we can!

And we ultimately said no to the temptations.

Man I hope I can get to that! Ihave found mhself nolonger abusingPain meds, butstill take a couple AM andacouple afterworkout. Getting better, asIwas at 8-10 daily. I am hoping this lifestyle changes meto be theperson Iwas meant tome. Thank you!

[Jonnyg419]

Wow, just read the whole thread. I am right there with a lot of you. I have been clean for 3 years now and working out is my favorite recreational activity. It gives me new goals to set for myself every day and I love it. I feel aas is in no way similar to drugs like oxycontin or cocain, but people can theorize all they want. It is always good to keep a healthy conversation going about such subjects.

[< <Samson> >]

So we all stopped huh?

Yeah


I say the most important thing is to keep your habits well under control. . . There are so many, from drugs to eating yourself fat. Nothing is really better than the other if you let it take you over. Is doing anything like this physically bad for you? Well, I know juice can't be a "true" positive for our health. And look at all the nut kids coming through here saying they want to stay on for life.

[DigitalGorilla]

hmmm...Im a late bloomer? 34 and never tried anything but pot....and TEST of course!
lol

[< <Samson> >]

hmmm...Im a late bloomer? 34 and never tried anything but pot....and TEST of course!
lol

You are not missing out if you never do shit. It's a whole lot harder to say no the 2nd time around.

[DigitalGorilla]

Yea i know --- Ive been in the club buisness since Im 15 or so - im always surrounded by people with habits that are slowly killing them.

[DigitalGorilla]

Not to mention a little brother - presently in jail for 10 years - who has been in a battle with pills and dope since he was 14....some people cant shut it off I guess. Me - im addicted to chicken salad. Seriously. Theres no 12 step for that!!

[Permabulk]

Cheers to that. And what a great honest no bullshit thread. I don't know if I feel good that there are others out there like me or sad that there are others out there like me. I always hope no one has to go thought what I have gone through. But feel better Im not the only one. It's a double edged sword. Glad I'm not alone but hate others have experienced it as well. Here's to us. And the better people we have become. Be proud.

**** yeah man..

So we all stopped huh?
Yeah
I say the most important thing is to keep your habits well under control. . . There are so many, from drugs to eating yourself fat. Nothing is really better than the other if you let it take you over. Is doing anything like this physically bad for you? Well, I know juice can't be a "true" positive for our health. And look at all the nut kids coming through here saying they want to stay on for life.

Why you gotta pick on us like that man!?!?! Lol jk, it does take a special kind of whackjob to have that mindset.

I think alot would agree that the dicipline involved in BB'ing has helped us gain an unimaginable amount of self control! When a buddy is having a smoke, and you think, "Nope, can't smoke that cig / have that beer, gunna affect my lifts..." That's downright crazy for some of us, no?

[Jonnyg419]

I still haven't' completely dropped smoking yet, I started back in high school and it is the hardest thing to get rid of, I have cut back to a pack a week since I started lifting. So I am only smoking like 2 or so a day. I know that it is a bullshit excuse and I can quite. I am literally paying a company my hard earned money to **** my lifts up, and **** with my health.

[< <Samson> >]

I still haven't' completely dropped smoking yet, I started back in high school and it is the hardest thing to get rid of, I have cut back to a pack a week since I started lifting. So I am only smoking like 2 or so a day. I know that it is a bullshit excuse and I can quite. I am literally paying a company my hard earned money to **** my lifts up, and **** with my health.

I stopped smoking cigarettes but I still smoke

[jasc]

Cheers to that. And what a great honest no bullshit thread. I don't know if I feel good that there are others out there like me or sad that there are others out there like me. I always hope no one has to go thought what I have gone through. But feel better Im not the only one. It's a double edged sword. Glad I'm not alone but hate others have experienced it as well. Here's to us. And the better people we have become. Be proud.

Excellent post and great thread all together. It seems as though Lifting, dieting, and eventually AAS have saved many of us from stopping before it was too late. Here's to a better life and enjoying reality sober! I know for many of us being able to enjoy life sober is HUGE!

[spoon69]

Dam missed a great thread. this makes this forum feel even more like family to me. man a lot of us have been through the ringer..... through everything i went through drugs prison illegal fights collecting everything i always was a beast in the gym. its the only thing i ever held onto and when i cleaned up it gave me something familiar and comfortable to cling to and also gave me a way out and a lifestyle to replace my compulsiveness with. im clean for a couple years now with my first baby on the way getting my life together can't keep up with my word of mouth clients as a trainer doing awesome and if it was not for the gym i would not even be alive right now. aas just adds to the opportunity that we have when we really take control of our lives body and health. i would not give up this lifestyle for anything....... i like who i am now.

[Permabulk]

Dam missed a great thread. this makes this forum feel even more like family to me. man a lot of us have been through the ringer..... through everything i went through drugs prison illegal fights collecting everything i always was a beast in the gym. its the only thing i ever held onto and when i cleaned up it gave me something familiar and comfortable to cling to and also gave me a way out and a lifestyle to replace my compulsiveness with. im clean for a couple years now with my first baby on the way getting my life together can't keep up with my word of mouth clients as a trainer doing awesome and if it was not for the gym i would not even be alive right now. aas just adds to the opportunity that we have when we really take control of our lives body and health. i would not give up this lifestyle for anything....... i like who i am now.

Yeah man, I think alot of us feel that way, it DOES make the forum feel more like a family. Good luck with the baby.

[John Andrew]

I am also an alcoholic, I stopped drinking at age 24, now I am 56. I turned to the gym when I stopped the alcohol and there have been occasions where I have returned to drinking. I will not go to AA although they were a big help to me the first 2 years I was sober! I realized a long time ago that I have no desire for a dependance on God or AA meetings.

Other recreational drugs have never been of any use to me. I have tried them all and find them boring.

Steroids came into my life 6 years ago. By then I had become a competition power lifter but had severe back injuries. My doctor recommended them. I do not believe they are addictive nor habit forming. They are just effective.

My experience has also led to to seek psychiatric help when my doctor; an well intentioned friend put me on Prozac then Zoloft and other anti-depressants, I became suicidal and sought help. My psychiatrist told me that for people like myself anti-depressants were lethal. He also stated that in his opinion my desire to be the way I am today and my desire to live were the best treatments possible. I had to later talk to a group of trainees as they all believed that medication was the only answer to everything.

Clinical depression is a serious disease, it is often associated with drug dependence: Suicide is too often the result, my own feeling is that leading a healthy lifestyle and hard training is of enormous benefit, Once the body and brain have matured fully I am sure that steroids are of benefit. I have worked counseling addicts and alcoholics for a very long time. Most will never recover. Most can never find the courage or determination to stay clean because they do not believe that their craving will ever leave them. This is the sad truth, after watching hundreds of good people die I hate recreational drugs. I have never ever had any person ask for help or seen them self destruct on steroids! One thin I am certain of is that making drugs illegal does not solve any problem, in fact it exacerbates the situation. Prisons are filled with victims and the guilty make the profits. The decriminalization of all drug use could would be of enormous benefit to all societies world wide.

Sorry to rant, watching good people die seems to make me sad! Watching great athletes improve performances year after year makes me happy! Politicians and lawyers should be forced out of their clubs and bars and into the real world.

Good luck to everybody here, keep improving all the time, Winning always feels good.

Regards John

[Angel of death]

When you're going through these problems with addiction and substance abuse it feels like you're the only one in the world going through it...I hope anyone that comes across this thread who might still be struggling with addiction can realize that it happens to way more people then they could ever imagine...

I once mentioned I struggled with opiates to a new guy at my job, anyway he was acting real weird...started getting sick a lot at work and eventually quit. Then he texted me admitting he had a problem with oxycontin and asked me for advice. I was more than happy to help the guy out...but it also reminded me how you never know what struggles the next guy is going through or has been through. Which is why I treat everyone with respect until they show me they deserve otherwise.

[frsttmer]

I found this on the center for addiction and mental health

Steroid use has also been found among people with a history of abuse or assault who wish to build muscles in order to protect themselves better.

I've never read something like this or even thought of it either but I feel I fall into this category.
I've thought of how a history of abuse got me into drugs but not juice

Hopefully that's not to off topic. I read that and thought of this thread