Doping has become a serious issue these days and is rapidly increasing. Taking unprescribed medicines and other illegal drugs to increase mental or physical performance falls under doping. Even though doping has temporary good qualities, however its long term effects are dangerous.
Get yourself checked
The first and the most important step is to check in with a medic. There are various methods of detecting this issue. Technology has advanced to a great extent. Whether you are an individual or an athlete, the techniques used are the same; as prescribed by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Traditionally, urine and blood samples are tested by the doctors but there are various other methods to detect doping erythropoietin (EPO). (EPO is a substance which promotes the formation of oxygen in the muscles causing them to become more powerful and work for longer spans of time but it reduces the endurance level of the individual). Advanced detection techniques include the testing of the human hormones such as testosterone for any âundue spikesâ. Some blood tests also include for the detection of a feedback hormone called the IGF-1.
There are other types of doping like, gene doping. This is a higher form of doping and is generally untraceable. Here, the muscle tissue or fiber is taken for testing an anomalies present. But, this technology is still at the nascent stage.
The WADA also endorses the use of indirect markers to detect any doping in the human body. These indirect markers are like the feedback hormones which on administering beam back information of any spiked levels of any of the concerned hormones. Spiked levels of lutenizing hormone or follicle stimulating hormone would show that an individual is using anabolic steroids.
Assess the situation and monitor your progress
After getting yourself checked out, itâs better to make up a few goals in your mind. You have to be very sure where you stand and how much time you would need to get back to normal. You can outline the consequences of your behavior as to how you would want to get out of the situation. Sometimes, the aftermath of doping is disastrous, resulting in sudden strokes and eventual deaths. Medication is important and constant support from the doctor is important.
Once you have made a strategy, check on your progress every day. Maintain a diary or make a schedule or a day chart and keep your statistics up to date. All these data would also help a professional to assess a situation, if you would need some external help.
Change your environment
It is always better to move into a new space to recover from a particular past. New faces and a new environment would suffice the much needed break from the past. Find new passions and nurture the talents you have never tried properly or completely refrained from using. Like playing a guitar or gardening or anything which calms you down and help you refrain from taking up dope again. Moreover, newer faces around you would only make you self conscious and this would help you in keeping up a âgoodâ image.
Now, if you are an athlete, the stakes would be higher. You may be able to recline into a âday to dayâ job. Therefore, in order to keep yourself fit, you can go back to doing plain cardio. This would help in the increased production of the red blood cells (RBCs) in your body. Now, this would make you breathe heavily and results in the generating more oxygen for your muscles, thus keep the production of the RBCs at a constant level.
Another way adopted by pro cyclists is to exercise at higher altitudes, like the hills and mountains. These areas have lower levels of oxygen and thus your body would produce more RBCs for sustenance.
Keep in contact
Becoming an outcast will never help your well being. Keeping a proper social life is important. Stay in touch with family and friends as these bonds help you grow. The stronger the bonds, the easier it becomes to get over the problems. Taking part in outdoor activities and following a well planned schedule helps in more ways than you can imagine.
Involve professionals
Get professional help. It is very important as you would be needed to take a few counter drugs to clear up the already present drugs or hormones in your body. Proper guidance is required or you would end up consuming all the unwanted drugs. Sometimes, taking part in group sessions and community programs would also give an insight in you. You can also employ a personal trainer to help you exercise your way back into a cleaner lifestyle.
