Psychology..let's talk

[Lee Penman]

Okay, so when FBB take any form of steroid they get results on a physical level...but what about mentally. Do hormone based drugs affect you mentally? How do you find your mental state altered when you began steroid use?

[Angela123]

I hate to bring up the stereotype...but I have to agree with the whole 'roid rage' thing...in regards to me anyway. I take it like this, if you're a dick, you'll become a bigger dick. For me, I have a very short temper, get irriatated easily and am very moody. Steroids make all of those worse for me. The only things I've ever ran have been primo by its itself, only one time though and my other cycles have been winstrol and anavar. I believe it is the winstrol that causes me to have such flare ups in my personality.

I notice a HUGE change in my demeanor when I am off a cycle. I never think that I have changed during my cycle, but when I get off, I notice big time that I am a lot different and calmer...different in a positive way. It is almost like as soon as I am off, I am not as self absorbed and I start to notice more how I treat people and how I re-act to situations. I start to then think back to how I acted when I was on.

I certainly lose my temper even quicker. I lose my temper over very petty stuff. I let out actual screams. I am not a screamer at all. But I have been known to screech in a fit of rage while on stuff. I remember driving and some car did something stupid in front of me, I seriously screeched and yelled so loud just bc I was irritated with them. Where normally, I would raise my voice and maybe say, "fucking shithead doesn't know how to drive." My best friend who hadn't seen me in months just looked at me. She was like, 'OMG, Andrea wtf was that just about. Totally not needed."

I become more selfish and don't seem to care so much about other people's feelings. I usually am a very compassionate person but I lose some of that when I'm on. It is my way or the high way! And I really am not that sort of person at all! Maybe I have that trait in my personality a tad, but I guess the steroids intensify it greatly.

I become more moody. I am very moody naturally. All I'll say is that steroids make it worse!

I am not in an angry mood all the time while I'm cycling but I am a moody person in general. So I do always tend to have ups and downs. When I'm on, the downs are certainly full of a lot more anger. And since I get irriated more easily when I'm on, I will in turn get in a bad mood after irriation. Just a vicious cycle.

It's funny. Sometimes I am driving and someone pisses me off and yes, I do get mad but I'll manage to keep stuff inside. I always think in my head, "If I was on winstrol right now, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs and punching the steeringwheel right now." Which is basically what I did everyday when I'd get behind slow drivers, while I was on winstrol.

My mom even said a comment. I never came out and said I was on steroids but I think she eventually figured out or maybe my brother told her. Anyway a couple months ago she even told me how much calmer I am and how I am not mean or get real angry all the time (I have been off everything since Oct). I felt so bad! I don't want my mom to be thinking I'm mean! I seriously can't think of a moment when I have been mean to her. But I think she noticed that I would get very irriated so easily.

I really am going to try and be more aware of myself and how I treat others when I start up with a cycle again. I will let you all know how I do. I really don't like looking back and realizing I was an ass.

[Lee Penman]

I look forward to meeting you when you are off-cycle...lol!

[GirlyMuscle]

From a PM with permission....


I haven't done a lot of steriods and I've done low dosages. I'm usually a happy, positive person for the most part. When I'm on, I'm even more happy and positive. I feel so GOOD. I wish I could stay on a little something all the time. Sex drive is higher, focus is better, mood is almost always a bit happier. I'm just more positive about my life overall when I'm on.

[Angela123]

I look forward to meeting you when you are off-cycle...lol!

LOL, ouch! Well, I don't think you're ignorant or annoying! I think you'd be safe. It is just the ignorant and annoying things/people who may be around me if I meet you, then watch it. Like driving...I really don't think I'd recommend driving with me. lol.

I am a pretty sexual person in general. But I would say it does give me a higher sex drive.

Goodness, that PM below is the total other side of the spectrum from me LOL! I will say that yes I am very happy also when I'm on, but it is because I am prepping and I look damn good, so of course I'll be happy that I look so good. I never really thought it was the drugs that made me feel so happy and confident. It was just how I looked. Sadly, I equate my body to happiness. I'm working on getting better though, I used to be worse! The better I look (better meaning leaner and tinier), the more confident and happier I feel overall.

[MASTER9]

Steroids dont change who you are, they merely enhance how you are.

[sassy69]

I think two things come into play as well:

1) the hormone levels you had to begin w/ and the relative amounts you introduce
2) as Ondrea mentioned, awareness of how they do change you, and subsequent behavior management so it doesn't control you as much as you control it.

The second is something that was fundamental to my ability to function under two other mood influences - the day my period hits (I'd get so depressed and snappy and it took my mom to point it out "Is it that time of the month.?", to figure it out.) The other is low-carb days.

Basically you've either chosen to alter your mood as a result of something (i.e. diet or AAS use) or you have to live w/ a change (i.e. menstrual cycle) and its not everyone else's job to deal w/ you & your mood swings. Learning to recognize the changes and manage them goes a very long way towards success in your goals w/o distractions and drama created in your personal or professional life from seemingly enexplained random hissy fits. :)

[Tatyana]

Steroids dont change who you are, they merely enhance how you are.

People repeat this over and over again on bodybuilding forums so often that it has become 'true'.

I don't think that it is possible to generalise, people have different responses and sides to ALL drugs, for example there are people who don't respond to aspirin, and antidepressants only work on 40-60% of people.

Just as there is a variable response in muscle growth to steroids, it stands to reason there is a variable response in the psychological effects.

There are people who experience 'roid rage', and while I realise why the BBing community wants to play this down, it really doesn't benefit those that do experience this unfortunate side.

I am sure Dr. P mentioned that there is a significant amount of 5 alpha reductase in the brain, so obviously test has some function.

[LookImDancinCrazy!]

I'm roughly one month into a cycle that has had some effects on my mood. Oddly I'd say in general it's actually improved it. More often than not I feel really positive and am almost obnoxiously smiley and friendly. However, when I do get angry, which granted is more frequent than normal, I really get angry.

I never used to have any particular mood problems just before menstruating, but I realized this AAS cycle really exacerbates what mood changes I do have. A few weeks ago while cutting the grass the handlebars on my junky lawn mower completely folded up on me. I shut the mower off, snatched the whole thing up in my arms to the level of my chest, carried it around to the garage side of the house and threw the bastard down. If someone had touched me just then to try to calm me down I think I might have hurt them. The feeling of rage actually frightened me. My heart was really pounding.

Next day I started, and the temper problems immediately declined substantially, and has really been less troublesome than even the few weeks before that outburst. I'm wondering if part of what happened was my brain chemistry was able to adapt to the hormones after a few weeks.

[Sistersteel]

I am a far more pleasant human being on certain steroids than I am off them. After having established my bodily responses to various compounds, my list has dwindled down to a select few drugs that I will use almost exclusively and rotate around as needed.

I will tell you this though...the psychological impact of swapping drugs around and altering dosages mid cycle, is far worse than the negative effects caused by any one drug alone.

If a certain drug makes you snappy and irritable, yet you choose to run it anyway, then any subsequent anger issues that should arise as a result are very manageable with a little diligence. However, coming off completely has resulted in suicidal urges in many women, requiring extensive medical attention.

Many women prefer to stay on to avoid sinking into this dreadful abyss that most cannot pull themselves out of for months.

SS