Aggression

Sexhormones influence our behavior. Everybody knows that. They influence our sexual drive, our emotions, our risk behavior and aggression (just think of your puberty). But that’s due to our increasing level of endogenous testosterone and DHT. What about exogenous (injected or oral) testosterone and analogues?

I want to discuss the mental and emotional side effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) in humans and animals. Why animals? They are mostly used for scientifically studies but more important animals are increasingly doped for ergogenic means like horse and greyhound racing (and don’t forget the betting’s involved) and for animal fighting roosters and dogs, mostly pit-bulls. I just recently posted a blog-post about that.

The question that raises is if people that want to look like bodybuilders and are ready to do everything that it takes to become like that are more aggressive by nature versus people that want to become a ballet dancer? Aggression knows many reasons. In the case of animal fights most animals are the result of “selective breeding”, because aggression is hereditary, just like courage, the “lions heart.”

Some people just want to have muscle to look impressive just like they want to have the “manliest” looking dog. As a scientific study put it so nicely: “Aggression is an evolutionarily advantageous trait with input from one of the most primitive brain regions, the amygdala.”

Back to the subject of this blogpost:

While many proponents of performance enhancing drugs will claim that “Roid Rage” is a myth, there are quite a few reports of users who experience negative moods and emotional swings that can be correlated with the use of androgenic substances.

While Testosterone tends to actually increase mood and confidence, a very high dose of it can add to manic moods if one is prone to such things, as those with bipolar. Obviously I would just recommend right here and now if you are BP and you are considering using AAS, it’s time to reflect on your priorities. But many people, even those that are fairly even keeled, can experience increases in mood disturbance, shortness of temper, agitation, anxiety, sleeplessness and sometimes depression as a result of the use of these substances.

Do all anabolic steroids trigger bursts of anger and violence? Do combinations of anabolic steroids cause these busts of anger, which the media calls ‘Roid Rage”? Let us put something in perspective, when you go out you are more likely to get into trouble with someone that is triggered by alcohol then with someone that is triggered by AAS. This is something we call “substance abuse”. Sadly enough most of the time, people lose their head on combinations of AAS and hard liquor, or recreational drugs or prescription drugs and AAS.

In particular, Trenbolone, a progestin based hormone, can lead to anxiety and insomnia in almost every user. Many people claim it only gives them a little trouble, but I have never really heard anyone ever say it was absolutely benign. Equipoise, aka Boldenone, aka EQ, is another classic example of an anxiogenic androgen. On the graphic below: AAS dangerous? Alcohol and tabacco are more dangerous than AAS, but legal maybe because they bring a lot of tax money? More on that later.

Most of my faithful readers know that I like to add some remarks of peoples reaction on discussion forums:

“Are all steroids going to heighten aggression. anavar does it cause any? or do all steroids cause aggression according to potency???”

“Androgens, trenbolone, Winstrol - stanozolol, mast. proviron, test, Dianabol - methandrostenolone - , abombs, cheque drops, halo... Generally all do in some way or another , some in good ways and some in bad ways , you need to look at it as a whole there is more to it than just aggression , trenbolone for example gives me a shirt fuse , but it causes me for some reason to be anxious and untrusting , mix that with heightened aggression and it can be a recipe for disaster, I am on week 4 of a var-only cycle (adding Test testosterone propionate in soon) and for me, var definitely amped-up the aggression, to the point that I had to give myself a lecture about almost losing it a few times. Thats at 100mg/day, at 60mg/day I did not notice any aggression. It was only maybe the first couple weeks, and then I got used to the more aggressive me, and I can take that aggression, and direct it to more productive means.”

“Just strengthen your self-control, and if you don't think you can handle it, stay away from anabolic steroids. I highly recommend Var (Anavar – Oxandrolone) though, I love the stuff.”

“I will say this. the body constantly changes and what gave you aggression before may not the next time.”

“Studies have shown that anabolic steroids increases aggression, along with many other drugs. Studies have further shown that these aggressive tendencies may stay elevated long after the cessation of anabolic steroids use.”

“There are days where many events will make us more aggressive, just by human nature. My God, driving to and from work makes me want to kill someone almost every day, with only the stimulus of caffeine in my body. How you handle yourself and react to these daily events without any stimulus will only be proliferated with the use of anabolic steroids. So, if you cannot control your temper on a normal basis, and you are naturally an aggressive person, you will be just that much more aggressive and out of control. If you are a passive person, most anabolic steroids with the supposed exception of a few (as in Halotestin and Cheque drops), you may not even notice any increase in aggression. It is my guess that the average gym goer that is willing to subject themselves to intramuscular injection anabolic steroids, is a naturally more aggressive person to start with.”

“Androgens increase aggression so if you're an aggressive person that can lead to some rage. Most, though, are fine on test and mast and such. However, things like trenbolone and especially Halo, can make you very irritable. Anadrol 50 - oxymetholone - also. And oral T -- anything methyl can spark a lousy mood. Var is pretty nebulous.”

I believe it has to do more with your own attitude, it really depends on how you usually react to things normally, if you are mature and have your head on your shoulders right, then nothing will happen. But if you usually have a short fuse, then things will irritate you more easily

And what is the effect of divers AAS analogues on animals?

Again from discussion boards of animal owners:

“Will anabolic steroids make a filly or colt more aggressive? "Absolutely," says Churchill Downs' Dunlavy. "But, purely subjectively, I can tell you from experience that is not the case for stanozolol. It doesn't seem to produce the personality changes that testosterone or boldenone do. I don't care whether it is a male or female, you'll see a definite male aggressiveness on those, while on stanozolol you really won't. So, for the horse with the aggressive personality, the pharmacological choice would be stanozolol or nandrolone. I don't think you see it as much with those two, for whatever reason.

“I wouldn't imagine using either on my dogs though, especially studs with Equipoise. I have 3 horses on Equipoise now that I have to put danger and orange standing cones around that area because they will literally tear your head off or any flesh they can grab. They are a joy to ride otherwise.”

"I had a gelding that was out in the paddock with a mare, and another gelding was turned out with them." "The other gelding got to kicking him quite a bit, and so I gave him a little shot of boldenone just so he could stand his own ground. In response to the anabolic steroids, he was very aggressive toward that other gelding and started mounting the mare."

On the picture: Are horses abused to fight one another..?

"It will have an immediate effect on geldings, so that they are then less trustworthy when on anabolic steroids." "I don't know if they're more aggressive (per se), but they do have a psychological change when on anabolic steroids, and they 'think' they are stallions. It's difficult to say what effect it has on metabolic activity in the horse, other than that."

“Anabolic steroids may trigger an increase in pre-race aggressive behavior in many horses.” "They (horses on AAS) often have more of a sour disposition and are more aggressive and unpredictable," says Sue McDonnell, MS, PhD, head of the Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.

"You might be walking a mare and all of a sudden, unprovoked, she bites your arm," McDonnell says.

Not that stallions won't do the same: Males and females on anabolic steroids seem to have aggression in somewhat unusual patterns and intensity. "They seem to have a short fuse for rage," "They overreact to things or react unpredictably. One day it's fine to pick up their feet and the next day they violently object.

"This behavioral inconsistency is pretty common with anabolic steroids or exogenous androgen treatment. It always rings true to me when I hear reports on the concerns about erratic behavior in humans on steroids — that's exactly my experience with horses. I'd rather be around a consistently tough stallion on his natural hormones than a mild stallion or a gelding or a mare that's on anabolic steroids. You let your guard down, and you can get hurt,"

When using AAS will you become the madman some media suggest? Looking on the graphic you can see that hurting yourself and others is not likely to happen. Combining two or more different substances is an whole other story.

In Australia the police is about to start testing for alcohol AND AAS.

”The irony is that when someone is involved in a car accident, legally they have to give blood to test for alcohol, but with these assaults they don't,'' an expert said. ''At the moment we know that alcohol is factor number one. But the assaults that get the publicity, someone belting four people unprovoked, it is impossible not to suspect something else is at work as well - steroids or methamphetamine.”.. ”Both drugs make you angry. When combined with alcohol it is the perfect storm.”

Criminality and substance abuse have long been linked. Criminal acts can range from activities such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, domestic violence, robberies, assaults, prostitution and rape. The manufacturing or distribution of illegal drugs such as methamphetamine or cannabis and the use of such drugs are also serious acts punishable by the law.

The relationship between drug and alcohol use and crime is a difficult one to establish, however. Do drugs or alcohol lead to criminal activities or is it the other way around? Will an individual who is not using drugs or alcohol engage in behaviors such as assault or robberies without the influence of other substances? Statistics show that the majority of drug or alcohol users do not become addicts. The majority of users can manage their drug or alcohol use and will ‘grow out’ of any harmful drinking or drug taking. However, there are a number of individuals who do use to excess and do commit crimes and the two factors are linked.

Researchers have suggested that there is a strong link between severe drug and alcohol use and criminal behavior. This may be because the user has a decreased perception of social support and decreased social network. Other sociological factors are also important in understanding why someone turns to drugs or alcohol or engages in criminal behaviors. These include living conditions, family, employment, marital status and mental health.

What I know from experience and you will find this in many of my articles and blogposts. Never combine recreational drugs, (too much) alcohol, prescription drugs like anti-depressants etc with anabolic steroids.

One last thing important for us: Studies have shown a potential link between diet and its effects (e.g. on glucose levels) and aggression.

The role of alcohol and steroid hormones in human aggression. Von der Palen et al. 2005

The association between alcohol and aggressive behavior is well established although a direct causal relationship has proven hard to demonstrate. There are, however, indications that alcohol facilitates aggression in individuals who already have a predisposition to behave aggressively. Aggressive personality disorders have in turn been explained by elevated testosterone level. A one-to-one relation between increased levels of testosterone and aggression has been, nevertheless, difficult to reveal. Two metabolites of testosterone, estradiol and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), have been studied much less in human aggressive behavior. Estradiol might reduce androgenic effects and have a counterbalancing influence on aggression. DHT, again, has a much higher affinity than testosterone to androgen receptors, and there are indications that some of the effects of testosterone-mediating aggressive behavior occur after aromatization. Disregard of seasonal and circadian fluctuations in male testosterone production might be responsible for some of the inconclusive testosterone-aggression results. In addition, increasing age decreases both aggressive behavior and testosterone production in males. Cortisol has yielded conflicting results as a mediator in aggressive behavior. Both higher and lower levels have been reported in aggressive and abusive men. Finally, the acute and chronic effects of alcohol influence the steroid hormone levels in various ways. The present understanding of the etiology of aggression is still vague. It is clear that a multidimensional approach, combining both biological and psychosocial factors, will be necessary for the development of a more general concept of human aggression in the future.

And especially for our American readers:

In male prison inmates selected for high levels of aggressiveness, testosterone levels have often been

described as being linked with violent behaviour , whereas correlations between testosterone and aggression were low when hostility inventories were applied in volunteers who had not been in conflict with the law. This contradiction was explained by the fact that physically violent behaviour leading to legal prosecution is likely to occur in a desolate socioeconomic environment and can itself induce testosterone secretion (and thus result in a selection bias for many studies involving prison inmates).

The induction of testosterone secretion by external stimuli of aggression should be seen to be dependent on additional factors, such as culture and education; social background can influence these reactions, as shown in students from the northern and southern parts of the USA, the latter describing themselves as having grown up in a `culture of honour' in which insults diminish a man's reputation. When the volunteers were subjected to verbal insult, the Southerners reacted with significantly more aggressive and dominant behaviour, which was correlated with their rising serum testosterone levels.