AAS use in teens and its underlying effects
This is part one of a three part article inteneded to shed some light on AAS use in teens.
Throughout the decades we have had a desire to push our selves to limits beyond our normal capacity. In competitive sports, pageantry, and overall health we try all too often to replace our natural abilities and capabilities with standards that fall short of perfect but nonetheless leave us with a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. When discussing appearance the standards are often set by Hollywood images of perfection and fitness that most people will never achieve. Now imagine the effects all of these elevated standards must have on our youth.
There are many different reasons teens choose to alter their looks for perfection: physical beauty, physical strength, and mental well being. So many times I have heard one teen telling another how they would like to change just one thing about them if only they could. I am going to attempt to outline several reasons as to why our youth are pushing themselves beyond their limits and in the process shed light on several disorders which come into play throughout all of this.
BDD—(also known as)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder, (BDD) is listed in the DSM-IV under somatization disorders, but clinically, it seems to have similarities to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
BDD is a preoccupation with an imagined physical defect in appearance or a vastly exaggerated concern about a minimal defect. The preoccupation must cause significant impairment in the individual’s life. The individual thinks about his or her defect for at least an hour per day.
The individual’s obsessive concern most often is concerned with facial features, hair or odor. The disorder often begins in adolescence, becomes chronic and leads to a great deal of internal suffering.
The person may fear ridicule in social situations, and may consult many dermatologists or plastic surgeons and undergo painful or risky procedures to try to change the perceived defect. The medical procedures rarely produce relief. Indeed they often lead to a worsening of symptoms. BDD may limit friendships. Obsessive ruminations about appearance may make it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork.1
Although obsessing about ones looks to the point which might lead one to become more motivated towards improving their physical wellbeing does not suggest a problem I strongly believe that it does become a problem when this obsession leads to a desire for a quick fix to what is nothing more than a poor self image. Should this poor self image lead one to believe that using AAS will improve their problem the teen will become less happy with the achieved results based on the fact that their motivation is for all the wrong reasons. Having a positive self image is, in my opinion, a prerequisite to any AAS use. Most of us who are either career body lifters or just warriors to the game have some form of BDD. Though we fail to see the resemblances it is to our own bodies we are slaves and thus, we will continue to push ourselves to such great extremes.
Health risk of AAS use in Teens
Should a teen choose to experiment with AAS they should be aware that once they have taken that step towards “the dark side” as many of us call it, they have begun a cycle of irreparable damage that most likely can not be turned back. Using AAS at an early age, pre-pubescent and early teen years, may leave the user not only wanting and pursuing higher levels of AAS use in order to achieve more noticeable gains but it will shut down the bodies natural abilities of producing specific hormones needed for growth that AAS can not provide. Once this has been stopped…it is done and the resulting case is a young person who very well may have grown to be taller than they are, who’s body frame will not be properly developed to support the muscular gains they desire achieving, thus the possibility exist that whatever gains are obtained through AAS might be short lived and in order to maintain any satisfactory gains continual AS use will be needed. As young people are becoming more interested in reaching new goals in bodybuilding I can assure that any one who has ever done AAS can tell you they tried to achieve natural maxims before ever attempting to dabble in AAS.
High Blood Pressure—many of use who uses AAS experience from time to time elevated blood pressure levels. This can not only cause fatigue but may lead to other more serious health risk such as more permanent cardiovascular strain resulting in heart failure and death. As we become older we begin to learn, understand and realize the risks of high blood pressure. In this increased knowledge brought upon by age we also learn to take natural and some times medical measures to correct such problems. When we are young we do not have a sufficient understanding of our body and what makes it produce for us. I, an individual who is nearly half a century old, know more about the specific functions ins and outs of my own body that I had no clue of 25, 30 and nearly 40 years ago and in recognizing this, I knew I was by no means mentally or physically ready to begin using a substance that would have short term and long term effects on my body.
Look forward to next months article for part two of AAS use and teens discussing growth spurt interruptions, Chemical imbalances that will need constant medications to maintain a healthy yet laborious life as well as further psychological reasoning behind why teens desire to use AAS. Amongst those reasoning’s discussed will be pressures placed on youth to perform due to an ever increasing threshold of acceptable performance.
MdTNT
MC enthusiast
This is part one of a three part article inteneded to shed some light on AAS use in teens.
Throughout the decades we have had a desire to push our selves to limits beyond our normal capacity. In competitive sports, pageantry, and overall health we try all too often to replace our natural abilities and capabilities with standards that fall short of perfect but nonetheless leave us with a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. When discussing appearance the standards are often set by Hollywood images of perfection and fitness that most people will never achieve. Now imagine the effects all of these elevated standards must have on our youth.
There are many different reasons teens choose to alter their looks for perfection: physical beauty, physical strength, and mental well being. So many times I have heard one teen telling another how they would like to change just one thing about them if only they could. I am going to attempt to outline several reasons as to why our youth are pushing themselves beyond their limits and in the process shed light on several disorders which come into play throughout all of this.
BDD—(also known as)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder, (BDD) is listed in the DSM-IV under somatization disorders, but clinically, it seems to have similarities to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
BDD is a preoccupation with an imagined physical defect in appearance or a vastly exaggerated concern about a minimal defect. The preoccupation must cause significant impairment in the individual’s life. The individual thinks about his or her defect for at least an hour per day.
The individual’s obsessive concern most often is concerned with facial features, hair or odor. The disorder often begins in adolescence, becomes chronic and leads to a great deal of internal suffering.
The person may fear ridicule in social situations, and may consult many dermatologists or plastic surgeons and undergo painful or risky procedures to try to change the perceived defect. The medical procedures rarely produce relief. Indeed they often lead to a worsening of symptoms. BDD may limit friendships. Obsessive ruminations about appearance may make it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork.1
Although obsessing about ones looks to the point which might lead one to become more motivated towards improving their physical wellbeing does not suggest a problem I strongly believe that it does become a problem when this obsession leads to a desire for a quick fix to what is nothing more than a poor self image. Should this poor self image lead one to believe that using AAS will improve their problem the teen will become less happy with the achieved results based on the fact that their motivation is for all the wrong reasons. Having a positive self image is, in my opinion, a prerequisite to any AAS use. Most of us who are either career body lifters or just warriors to the game have some form of BDD. Though we fail to see the resemblances it is to our own bodies we are slaves and thus, we will continue to push ourselves to such great extremes.
Health risk of AAS use in Teens
Should a teen choose to experiment with AAS they should be aware that once they have taken that step towards “the dark side” as many of us call it, they have begun a cycle of irreparable damage that most likely can not be turned back. Using AAS at an early age, pre-pubescent and early teen years, may leave the user not only wanting and pursuing higher levels of AAS use in order to achieve more noticeable gains but it will shut down the bodies natural abilities of producing specific hormones needed for growth that AAS can not provide. Once this has been stopped…it is done and the resulting case is a young person who very well may have grown to be taller than they are, who’s body frame will not be properly developed to support the muscular gains they desire achieving, thus the possibility exist that whatever gains are obtained through AAS might be short lived and in order to maintain any satisfactory gains continual AS use will be needed. As young people are becoming more interested in reaching new goals in bodybuilding I can assure that any one who has ever done AAS can tell you they tried to achieve natural maxims before ever attempting to dabble in AAS.
High Blood Pressure—many of use who uses AAS experience from time to time elevated blood pressure levels. This can not only cause fatigue but may lead to other more serious health risk such as more permanent cardiovascular strain resulting in heart failure and death. As we become older we begin to learn, understand and realize the risks of high blood pressure. In this increased knowledge brought upon by age we also learn to take natural and some times medical measures to correct such problems. When we are young we do not have a sufficient understanding of our body and what makes it produce for us. I, an individual who is nearly half a century old, know more about the specific functions ins and outs of my own body that I had no clue of 25, 30 and nearly 40 years ago and in recognizing this, I knew I was by no means mentally or physically ready to begin using a substance that would have short term and long term effects on my body.
Look forward to next months article for part two of AAS use and teens discussing growth spurt interruptions, Chemical imbalances that will need constant medications to maintain a healthy yet laborious life as well as further psychological reasoning behind why teens desire to use AAS. Amongst those reasoning’s discussed will be pressures placed on youth to perform due to an ever increasing threshold of acceptable performance.
MdTNT
MC enthusiast
