Korean Job Discussion Forums

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

Sorry, but to be clear - don't you have to be using a substance to be addicted to it? You're calling me out on something that I haven't used in 15+ years - do tell - how am I addicted to it?

You've accused me, back it up.

And FYI, denial is the first stage of grief, not addiction.

liveinkorea316 · Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Location: South Korea

Still denying after 15 years sounds like a pretty strong addiction to me.

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

liveinkorea316 · Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Location: South Korea

The first step to getting help would be to admit you were addicted. It's obviously what blinded you to the harmful effects of the drugs and still does. Everyone can see that.

Titus · Joined: 19 May 2012

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

Yeah, sure, Titus - I get that. I think, no matter what drug, you're going to have that certain percentage of outliers. The ones that "react badly" to that drug. I think your point is very reasonable, and as you said, we never know what can add to that chain of consequences.

But with all substances we choose to ingest (or choose not to), we see it as a trade off. Will this give me what I want vs. will it harm me at all? For me, this is biggest when I buy street food - I'm hungry, but I know that it's possibly not clean.

In the case of steroids, I honestly wish there were more (double blind) studies that would ascertain better how many (%) are prone to react to the drug(s) in a negative way. I'd also like to see more doctors willing to acknowledge the widespread use of it, and to inform themselves better about it in relation to their patients.

My hopes for the MSM... well, that'd be asking too much. lol

Strike that, maybe there's a small hope.

Bigger Stronger Faster - deleted scenes on roid rage

20/20 on Roid Rage

KimchiNinja · Joined: 01 May 2012 Location: Gangnam

I appreciate that someone with actual experience (Captain Corea) is posting here, while the rest of you are just spouting silliness you read on the internet.

While I don't know anything about steroids, I know the US demonizes many things that are completely harmless. So it's nice to hear first hand experiences on the topic.

DurugonSeGi · Joined: 08 Nov 2015 Location: Seoul, Korea

I'd like to weigh in here philosophically.

I don't think this "are steroids addictive" discussion is "possible." Because, the question of, "what is addiction" comes in - in a way that's practically impossible to definitively separate what IS and ISNT addictive.

Are steroids "addictive?" I think that playing a musical instrument is addictive, I think playing Piano or Guitar is addictive, I think that studying math is addictive. I think that anything you commit yourself to on a regular basis, your nucleus accumbens will acclimatize to and condition you to want to do some more often and continue to do on a regular basis.

If you put it that way, then YES, i think that steroids apply to the same rules of reality that literally everything else in human experience applies to. What's the point of that though? There really is none. It's a meaningless, in a superlative sense, statement. Superfluous discussion.

Not to be inappropriate, and I do apologize if this is untasteful to the forum and will not bring it up again if so, but to go to the extreme --- we even find, in the sexual realm of BDSM, people find experiencing pain, or humiliation, to be addictive.

So, you know, what does that even mean --- for something to be "addictive" ?

-------

Changing tone a little bit, let's try a less philosphical - more contemporary definition of addiction - for the sake of discussion. Let's say, "addiction" means something that explicitly causes the irresponsible and self destructive use of something. I think that's a fair attempt at a definition.

And if it is, then, I definitely don't think that steroids EXPLICITLY fall into that category. I mean, does anyone here feel that Lance Armstrong's legacy is nothing but garbage? You might, but does anyone think that he was a no-name loser who never did anything with his life? If you do, I think we disagree.

If you think, steroids don't NECESSARILY lead to disaster, but observe a very high proclivity towards it -- then we're getting to something discussable. And, again, I would disagree that such superlative proclivity.

Still, I will weigh in my opinion on THAT discussion.

------

Where does the roid rage stereotype come from? Is it completely made up nonsense from absolutely nowhere? Many would have you believe that it is so: 100% media fabrication started by that one movie, and not backed up in any medical textbooks.

A good, safe, and largely factual response. But one that I don't think is wholly correct.

I think it is true that the media overwhelmingly exacerbates the risk attributed to steroids, and definitely unfairly and irresponsibly attributes blame to them.

However I also believe there is SOME true to roid rage, ALTHOUGH, not for the reasons you think.

-Rage can result from steroid use, but NOT from the elevated testosterone. Yes, I said it.

The rage that can arise from steroids, which "roid rage" most likely spawned from, is actually not from the steroids -- it is from the sympathetic nervous system reacting to SIDE EFFECTS of the steroids which are common to MANY drugs. What side effects? there are two.

-High Blood Pressure
-Inflammation

It is very possible to have an allergic reaction to steroids that are bought off the black market because they are not pharmaceutical grade; so there are impurities or contamination -- causing INFECTION. That's the key, it is the INFECTION and not the STEROIDS that are causing the roid rage.

An inflammatory/allergic/immune response can occur in response to any drug.

The other problem is High Blood Pressure --- now SOME steroids actually WILL cause this - and attributing roid rage to them is actually a valid claim. A SMALL MINORITY of steroids cause high blood pressure, which, in turn, causes irritability -- just like MANY OTHER drugs which also cause high blood pressure. Steroids are unique in being singled out for that side effect causing rage, it's honestly much much less common than you think. And if you monitor your blood pressure, or just avoid extreme gear, you can really talk steroids very healthily and responsibly - without any roid rage.

----

So, there you have it, roid rage explained. It's really more like sympathetic nervous system rage, or blood pressure rage, or inflammation rage. Have you ever had a fever and been really irritable? It's the same thing.