Nowadays, pretty much everywhere you go and in almost everything you do, the competition is fierce. We all feel as though we have to win, at work, at sports, and at being the best at pretty much everything. We have to have the most money, the best behaved children, and the biggest car, and this constant competition is literally killing us. This is why many people end up with burnout: they are so stressed by work, feel so tired, and are under so much pressure to keep up, that sooner or later, things come to a head, and they suffer a breakdown. The months, if not years, of fast paced living take their toll, and people find themselves depressed, experiencing insomnia, and suffering from a whole host of illnesses, including high blood pressure and digestive issues. So, the real problem is that today’s society is not geared up to offer us a more peaceful, stress-free life, but to encourage us to push harder, get more, and keep going at all costs.
To meet these high demands, people resort to more extreme means, which are often harmful to their health, and are under the illusion that if they just keep pushing, they will achieve their goals. Sport is no different, you can't just go for a jog or lift a few weights at the gym anymore, you need to ‘bulk up’ and ‘push harder’, for which the performance enhancing supplement market is literally bursting at the seams. The same equivalents exist for the working world, and drugs like Adderall that help you stay more focussed, alert, and productive, are selling like hot cakes in the US. These drugs are used by business executives and students alike, who are all looking to work long hours and maintain peak performance for exams or for their next business deal. Professional athletes have their own equivalents, and sometimes have to resort to doping to win, and win, and keep on winning!
Although it is not highly publicised, doping is present at all levels of sports, and is also used by kids who compete in amateur categories. In 2013, research conducted in the United States found that eleven percent of high school students use the growth hormone, somatotropin, to achieve top results in sport. In short, it seems that nowadays, to be successful in something, you either have to sell your soul to the devil to win, or drop out of the game because you can’t keep up. Neither of these options is very appealing.
