Monthly Archives: November 2019

DRUG ABUSE AMONG ATHLETES

Participating in sports comes with immense benefits. The body and mind stands to gain lots of things. People who are athletically talented can make use of their physical talent to acquire fame, wealth and the likes.

However, there is always a pressure attached to this, which makes them want to perform better and above their limits.

When you combine this pressure with the responsibilities which comes with everyday life like work, family and the likes, it is clear that athletes are very stressed. Hence, this can make an athlete take the path of addiction and drug use.

The self-esteem and identity of a player is fashioned via sports. When athletics is a powerful influence in the life of a person, they would be willing to risk some long-standing health problems, so that they can gain power, endurance and strength in the short run.

Asides the fact that athletes use drugs to improve their performance, they also use drugs to cope with mental illness.

A good number of times, they receive treatment when they are physically injured, but they do not really receive treatment when it comes to mental health. So, athletes resort to drugs and alcohol for the treatment of their symptoms.

In addition to this, athletes deal with pressure by taking drugs. There is a lot of pressure which they face both on and off the field.

There is the pressure to win, to perform better individually, to recover from an injury amongst others. Hence, for some of them to cope with this pressure, they need to take drugs,

They also use drugs to treat physical injuries. Athletes who suffer from physical injuries make use of drugs like marijuana, opioids and the likes, so that they can handle pain.

Some athletes also take drugs so that they can cope effectively with retirement. For some people, the transition phase from active participation in athletics to retirement is tough, so they need something to deal with this phase.

Athletes who have various addiction problems can seek help from various types of recovery programs such as: Inpatient treatment programs, Outpatient programs, Twelve-step programs and the likes.