How Common is Drug Use in Sports?

With the implementation of strict drug testing programs in professional and college sports, you might think drugs in sports have become a non-issue. To some extent, you might be right. However, athletes are still human. They are subject to the same personal issues and health problems as the rest of us. Addiction is a disease that can strike anyone regardless of their activity level or health. When it comes to professional and amateur athletes, injuries can lead to dependency upon the medications used to address them. This is why Beaches Recovery provides an extensive opioid addiction rehab center in Florida so that athletes of all kinds can get the treatment they need.

Drug Use in Sports

Sports have become a significant component in everyday life in America. Athletes perform to get scholarships and lucrative contracts. Fans pay big money to see them play. The combination of these two aspects of sports can create enough stress for the athlete to drive them to substance use disorder.

Interestingly, we look at drug use in sports through two lenses. With the first set, we see athletes compelled to use performance-enhancing drugs to heal injuries and improve performance. Unfortunately, steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are addictive and illegal in sports. We would like to believe the drug testing systems are working, but evidence suggests otherwise. Some athletes are always looking for an advantage with new and improved drugs that avoid detection. It’s still a game of cat and mouse.

Yet, substance use disorder often arises when the athlete’s body becomes reliant upon pain medication to function or steroids to heal. This can create a physical dependency or addiction in anyone because the use of the medications alters brain chemistry. With the added pressures of performance, individuals can also develop a psychological addiction. When this arises, individuals need dual diagnosis treatment designed to simultaneously address both substance use disorder and mental health concerns. At Beaches Recovery, our dual diagnosis treatment center can address several mental health issues that arise alongside addiction, such as:

• Acute stress disorder
• Anxiety
• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Social anxiety disorder

Through the other set of glasses, we view athletes in their personal lives. Yes, athletes drink and take drugs to escape problems. Unfortunately, the media plasters the resulting drama all over the Internet and TV. Even with testing and financial motivation to stay clean, some athletes have addiction problems. It’s doesn’t help that celebrity often throws them into the party life. Both partying issues and painkillers for injury problems create the perfect storm for addiction.

The Solution

The solution to drug use in sports is tricky. It’s one that experts have struggled with for decades. If financial risks and public humiliation aren’t motivation enough to avoid drugs, we have to accept athletes are human. The best we can do is continue testing, increase penalties for using and improve addiction education. We also want to make sure athletes know where they can get help when they need it. It might help if the media, agents, and hangers-on wouldn’t coddle athletes, effectively becoming enablers.

Getting Help at Beaches Recovery

At Beaches Recovery in Jacksonville, Florida, we are especially sensitive to the needs of athletes. It’s for these kinds of reasons that we offer a full continuum of addiction treatment options. Aside from having the top opioid addiction rehab center in FL, we also provide the following services:

• Detox at Tides Edge
• Inpatient drug rehab program
• Dedicated separate treatment programs for men and women
• Intensive outpatient program
• Family counseling services

If you are a victim of drug use in sports, you surely have reasons to get help. For confidential and effective treatment, you need to contact Beaches Recovery at 866.605.0532. The privilege of playing sports demands you do what you must to care for yourself and be the best you can be.