If you just look at the nature, most of the animals are hormone-driven. The cute pink domestic pig becomes the wild boar (they are the same species: sus scrofa), when it goes feral, as in wild environment they start to produce more and more testosterone.
Cats go frenzy when march comes, due to increased androgens. Yet all human embryos start the journey as females until the androgens start to transform the embryo to a male.
What makes us different is that we are conscious. We are not solely based on our instincts. But what I really want to point here is that the androgens can really change our reasoning, the way we think and alter our personalities.
After all, our brain makes us who we are. Our bodies naturally produce steroids and some of them are called
neurosteroids. They play crucial role on our mental health and sanity. Deprivation of neurosteroids can lead to depression, memory and cognitive dysfunction, mental fog and many other issues. This is why many of people with hypogonadism go the TRT route: to feel and function better.
There are many neurotransmitters in human brain, but to name few I can count serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. These three are members of a family called monoamines that scientists blame their imbalance are responsible of many mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. As GearHeaded mentioned many times, our brains have both androgen and estrogen receptors. And supraphysiological levels of
steroids can play role in up/downregulation of such monoamines.
My point is that if you have any underlying mental illness or lack enough knowledge about human body and endocrinological systems, you should steer clear of irresponsible use of any AAS unless you know what you're doing really well and conscious.
I can't talk for all but certainly some of us, including myself, had self-esteem issues in the past (rooting from childhood or teenage years may be) and this is one of implicit reasons we choose AAS to perfect the imperfections we have seen in ourselves. People can't see our personalities but they can definitely see our bodies and how strong we may appear. In such cases, stupid decisions and psychological problems can lead to even worse cases of mental issues. I don't want anyone to destroy their lives, upping the tren may even make things worse in some cases lol.
In the end this is either a recreational activity/hobby for us to live our lives better or a tool we use to rise on the contest stage. It is up to us to differentiate what we do from addiction. If there is nothing else makes you happy other than AAS, then definitely things are not going well for you. (not targeting anyone in this thread with this sentence)