Steroids are unfortunately prevalent in the recovery community. Many people do not consider steroid use to be a relapse. However, steroid use goes against the principles that we have made the decision to live by in sobriety. They can also easily lead to addiction and severe health consequences. In recovery, it is easy for one to transfer their addictive behavior to another substance or behavior. Our drug use affected the reward center of our brain, and when the drug is removed it is common for one to seek out the reward feeling in other ways. Behavioral addictions, such as sex, gambling, and exercise, can be just as destructive to our well-being as mind and mood-altering chemicals. Exercising a wonderful way to promote mental wellness in recovery because it releases endorphins that make us feel better. However, in excess, exercise can become another addiction, and steroid use may be seen as a means of increasing the reward we feel from working out. Through the process of recovery, we are attempting to overcome our internal suffering and self-loathing that generally led us into drug abuse. When we use exercise and steroids as a means of creating a sense of self-worth, we are once again relying on something external to fix an internal condition. Steroids may not be considered a relapse by some because they do not create the euphoria provided by other illicit substances, but they do push us away from our adherence to recovery principles and exacerbate a behavioral addiction. Steroids also lead to a litany of health consequences. According to the National Institute of Health: “Anabolic steroid abuse has been associated with a wide range of adverse side effects ranging from some that are physically unattractive, such as acne and breast development in men, to others that are life threatening, such as heart attacks and liver cancer. Most are reversible if the abuser stops taking the drugs, but some are permanent, such as voice deepening in females.” Our goal in recovery is to overcome the internal problems that caused us to seek drugs as well as remove ourselves from the possible consequences of our addiction. Steroids may not be as acutely intoxicating as other substances, but they do move us off the path of recovery and the principles that we have decided to live by to maintain our sobriety.
You can make the decision to change your story and find a sense of ease and comfort with yourself in sobriety. Your life can be one of hope, faith, and courage, free from the constraints of addiction. Oceanfront Recovery, a treatment facility in beautiful Laguna Beach, is staffed with experienced professionals who understand the nature of the disease of addiction, and are dedicated to providing you all the tools needed to achieve and maintain sobriety. For more information, please call: (877) 279-1777
