Anabolic steroids: honest help if you want to stop

Many people who use anabolic steroids train hard and want to look bigger, leaner or stronger, or play sport and want an edge. Steroids are one of a group sometimes called image and performance enhancing drugs. They often start as one cycle, and then it becomes hard to imagine training, or looking in the mirror, without them.

The NHS says anabolic steroids can be addictive, and that stopping can bring withdrawal, so wanting help to stop isn’t weakness. This page is about anabolic steroids only. It is not about steroid medicines such as steroid tablets, inhalers or creams, which are a different kind of drug. If you take those, never stop them without speaking to your doctor.

Signs steroid use has become a problem

The NHS lists cravings, needing more to get the same effect, and withdrawal symptoms when you stop as signs of addiction. Other signs to look out for:

• Cravings to use, or to start the next cycle
• Needing higher doses, longer cycles or more drugs to get the same result
• Low mood, tiredness, poor sleep or loss of sex drive when you come off
• Carrying on despite side effects, such as bad acne, mood swings or health worries
• People close to you noticing you’re more irritable, aggressive or up and down
• Feeling you’d lose everything you’ve built if you stopped

The NHS also lists serious physical risks, including heart attack, stroke, liver and kidney problems and high blood pressure, along with effects on fertility. Sharing needles carries a risk of hepatitis B and C and HIV.

When body image is part of it

Some people never feel big or lean enough, however they look to everyone else. They check the mirror, measure themselves and train through injury, and the worry doesn’t let up. That can be a form of body dysmorphic disorder, sometimes called muscle dysmorphia, and the BDD Foundation notes that steroid misuse is common with it. It’s treatable, and you don’t have to have a diagnosis to ask for help. My page on cosmetic procedures covers appearance worries more widely, and if training itself has taken over, see exercise addiction.

Where to get help in the UK

• Your GP. The best first step. They can check your health and may refer you to a drugs counsellor who can help you plan a safe way to stop.
• Local drug services. Free and confidential, and you can contact them yourself without seeing your GP. Some offer specific support for people who use steroids, including needle and syringe services. Find a service near you
• FRANK. Confidential drugs advice on 0300 123 6600, 24 hours a day, or text 82111.
• Body image support. The BDD Foundation has information, online support groups and an email helpline. In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies.
• For family and friends. Adfam helps families affected by someone’s drug use find support.

If you inject, needle and syringe services exist to reduce the risks, such as infections, and they’re confidential. NICE guidance says these services should meet the needs of people who inject image and performance enhancing drugs (NICE, 2014).

Where hypnotherapy fits

Hypnotherapy is not a treatment for steroid dependence, and I don’t offer it as one. Your GP or a drug service need to be part of your recovery.

Where I can help is alongside that care. Coming off often brings a dip in mood and confidence, and a fear of losing size that can push you straight back to the next cycle. Sessions can help you handle that dip, sleep better, feel easier about your body and ride out the pull towards another cycle. You still have to do the hard part yourself, but sessions can make it easier to stay with the decision.

Before we work together I’ll ask whether you’re getting support from your GP or a drug service. If I think you need that first, I’ll tell you honestly.

Things that can help day to day

• Talk to your GP before you change anything. Stopping suddenly can bring withdrawal, so let them help you plan it.
• Expect a dip, and plan for it. Low mood after stopping is a known withdrawal effect. Tell someone you trust what to look out for, and keep the Samaritans number handy.
• Get proper training and nutrition advice. NICE guidance points to nutrition and physical training as an alternative to steroids. A good coach can help you set goals around strength or performance, not just size.
• Cut down on checking. Fewer mirror checks, measurements and progress photos can ease the pressure, especially if body image is part of it.
• Change your feed. Unfollow accounts that leave you feeling small or behind, and spend some time with people who don’t train.

Common questions

What happens when you stop taking steroids?

The NHS lists withdrawal symptoms including depression, low energy, anxiety, trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, a lower sex drive, headaches and aches in your muscles and joints. That’s why it’s best to speak to your GP before you stop, so you have support in place.

Is it illegal to take steroids in the UK?

Anabolic steroids are Class C drugs and prescription-only medicines. The NHS says it’s legal to have them for personal use, but supplying or selling them, including giving them to friends, is illegal. Importing them by post or courier is illegal. Most professional sports organisations ban them and test for them.

Is it confidential?

Yes. What you tell me stays between us. As with any therapist, the only exception is if I believed you or someone else were at serious risk of harm.

I’m worried about someone else’s steroid use. What can I do?

FRANK takes calls from anyone worried about drugs, and Adfam helps families find support. Stopping is their decision, but you can let them know you’re worried without judging them, and that help is there when they want it.

Talk it through

If you’re already getting support and want help alongside it, book a £49 consultation call. We’ll talk about what’s going on and whether sessions would help with the stress, sleep, body image and habits around it.

Written by Adam Cox, clinical hypnotherapist. Sources: NHS guide to anabolic steroid misuse, reviewed January 2026, NICE guideline PH52, BDD Foundation and FRANK. Checked October 2026.