Competition

Some addictions have their origins in illness or injury. For example, a patient may begin taking a prescription medicine under the direction of their physician to lessen pain or treat a medical condition. But if they begin self-treating (e.g., increasing the dose, or taking it more often than they have been told by their doctor, or trying to get a faster result by injecting or snorting it), they have found the slippery slope towards addiction. Other addictions are the result of immature, underdeveloped coping strategies. The person may have never learned how to handle overwhelming emotions or stressful situations in a healthy manner. Still other addictions grow out of a single yet highly traumatic event, the memories of which are too vivid and painful to repress enough for the person to function in everyday life without professional help or somehow numbing their cognitive processes through substance abuse. Yet another potential origin of addiction that is not discussed as often is a desire to enhance one's competitive edge.

What Drugs Are Known to Enhance Performance?
The class of drugs that are most often abused for competitive reasons are stimulants. As the name suggests, these substances stimulate the central nervous system, increasing heart rate, elevating energy, and improving focus. Crack, cocaine, and crystal meth are examples of illegal stimulants whereas Adderall and Ritalin are prescription stimulants.

Who Is at Risk for Developing an Addiction to Performance-Enhancing Drugs?
In this context, "performance" can have a number of meanings. An athlete may use stimulants for an energy boost before a contest if he or she does not anticipate that a drug test will be given. (Although a number of athletes also try steroids, steroid use is usually quite strategic and does not typically offer the dopamine response so characteristic of addiction.) University students may abuse Adderall to help them cram for a test the following day, and, if it works once, it can be the beginning of a bad habit at best and an addiction at worst. Truck drivers have also been historically guilty of abusing amphetamines to sustain their attention to the road for long, overnight drives. Finally, despite the very real possibility of many extremely negative consequence from its use, meth has earned the reputation of improving sexual experiences and performance and, as a result, is distressingly prevalent among a few demographic groups but among the gay community in particular.

Can Certain Drugs Make the People Who Use Them Feel More Competitive?
Many drugs can make people feel disinhibited and/or invincible, which may lead the person to participate in behaviors that he or she would not even consider when sober.  For example, alcohol can lower inhibitions while simultaneously increasing aggressive tendencies, which can lead to picking fights with others in public (or even private places), often for irrational reasons.  Among the other substances that can cause disinhibition (and, potentially, a propensity to take risks or challenge others) are cocaine, barbiturates (e.g., Amytal, Seconal, etc.), benzodiazepines (e.g., Ativan, Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, etc.), and hallucinogens.