Ever have an emotional encounter with someone on Anabolic Steriods?

Steroids have been reported to increase a persons aggressiveness or lead them to become more violent. This is sometimes called a "roid rage," defined as a manic rage where the user displays episodes of outright aggression and/or violent feelings and actions. Though scientific evidence is hard to find in support of roid rages, there are a large number of individual accounts of users who describe their own uncharacteristic aggressive behavior while under the influence of anabolic steroids.

In addition, many users report feeling good about themselves while on anabolic steroids, but researchers report that extreme mood swings can also occur. Depression is often seen when the drugs are stopped and may contribute to a dependence on anabolic steroids. Researchers further report that users may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility.

In the brain, steroids can affect other chemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine, leading to depression or impulsive behavior.

Steroids also can make users more aggressive. That might boost an athlete's confidence and will to win. But it also might send him into a hormone-fueled violent "roid rage." Someone with anger problems is more likely to fall prey to roid rage.

Despite clinical studies, any steroid user is risking the potentially dangerous effects of extreme behavior changes when taking steroids. Some people may be so vulnerable that behavior changes occur rapidly, causing the person to behave in a manner illegal or so disruptive that it can quickly ruin a life. What is clear is that anabolic steroid use is a dangerous practice with many potential long-term side effects that can be life changing. Like many other drugs, anabolic steroids are dangerous indeed, and the potential for roid rage adds the additional risk of a person hurting himself or others by extremely violent behavior while on steroids.

These tendencies or violent acts can further be a side effect of ending steroid use, since the mood elevation properties of steroids when suddenly cut off could result in acting in a violent manner. Long-term users of steroids should be carefully watched and helped medically to recover from what might be termed steroid addiction.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/steroids.html