Athletes who abuse drugs may be setting themselves up for problems in different aspects of their lives because they don’t come with any long-term benefits.

There are different reasons why athletes use drugs. One such reason is that they want to boost their athletic performance. For instance, if there’s incoming competition, they might use drugs to gain an edge over their opponents.

Another reason might be that they want to deal with pressure. Often, athletes face an immense amount of pressure. Many of their fans, family, and friends want them to succeed. Hence, they are likely to perform under pressure which might be too overwhelming for them.

Also, athletes may use drugs when they want to manage physical injuries. Some athletes might keep abusing a drug after it has performed its intended use.

If you want to know whether an athlete is abusing drugs, here are some signs to inform you

Physical signs

When an athlete is struggling with drug abuse, one of the easiest ways to know is from the physical signs. These physical signs may distinguish them from other people who have a clean bill of health.

Some of these physical signs are slurred speech, consistent itching, regular sniffing, lack of personal grooming, body, and mouth odor, weight loss, etc.

Loss of interest in other activities

Another way to tell that an athlete is abusing drugs is when their interest in other activities begins to decline.

You will observe that they are no longer keen on doing things that once got their attention. In some cases, they might be less interested in their sports because the interest in abusing drugs has overwhelmed them.

Withdrawal symptoms

When an athlete does not have access to drugs for a while, they might experience withdrawal symptoms. Some of these symptoms are sweating, depression, anxiety, tremors, intense cravings, etc.

Preoccupation

Being preoccupied with drugs is another way to tell that someone is struggling with drug abuse. They might keep talking about drugs or thinking about them, which might prevent them from pondering on productive things.