Fig 1. A gateway to Addiction: from "Depression and Addiction."
Anyone can suffer from any type of addiction throughout their lifetime. However, not everyone decides to be addicted to something that can affect their life for the worst. In other words, there are influences that affect the decisions people make and those decisions may lead to an involuntary addiction. In fact, there are addictions that could end with people’s lives in a variety of ways. Not only could your life end in a literal way, but also in a way where you will be left with nothing worth living for. In this case, the life of my precious step-sister Ana, who lived through so many traumas during her lifetime, to the point of leading her toward the path of drug abuse. Some may think that suffering addictions toward drugs can be easy to abstain from. However, it is known that there are certain patterns of different lifestyles and traumas that contribute and lead to high chances of drug abuse and bad decision making. Growing up in a negative and neglected environment can raise the chances of future drug abuse.
In his article “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Statistics,” the author Thomas Scot states that the environmental factors that contribute to the risk of addiction may include growing up in a chaotic home environment and abuse. Surely, Ana grew up in a home environment full of abandonment, emotional and verbal abuse. Ana’s mother, Yarely, was an alcoholic woman who would constantly abandon her own daughter in order to live her disordered drinking life. Ana grew up hearing her parents continually yell and insult each other. They would often offend each other with harmful comments. Therefore, Ana followed the same steps from her mother. A child can follow the same mistakes that a parent makes with their partner.
The author Richard E. Tremblay explains how parents can influence the life of their children (“Parent Skills"). Ana was influenced by her mother by becoming pregnant at the early age of eighteen from her ex-husband, Guillermo. At first, Ana appeared to be happily married with Guillermo. However, she started becoming aggressive once she had her first son, Owen. I could see from her face that she was upset since having a child was not part of her plans. She would rather spend more time with her friends drinking and partying than taking care of her own child. Friendships also have a big role in influencing drug addiction. There are many types of friendships that people obtain throughout their lifetime. There are good friends that will help you walk into the right path and there are others that will lead you into the wrong one. In the article “How Addiction Affects Friends,” the author mentions, “The friends of an addict may often feel like they are pressured to take part in similar behavior as their friends..."
This is because friends want to be able to relate to their own friends. Since Ana would try to look for different ways to distract herself from her personal problems, she would spend as much time as possible with her friends. Unfortunately, Ana found friends who had a negative influence on her. Ana started drinking often with her friends to bury her negative memories and problems. Due to the neglect she gave to her motherhood and marriage, a separation took place in Ana’s life. Now, Ana had to give full care to Owen with a minimum wage job. As time passed, Ana started walking deeper into the wrong path as more problems appeared in her journey. She felt lonely although she had a loving son who was willing to be with her unconditionally. Ana never demonstrated love to Owen, she would demonstrate low patience and anger. Ana wanted to distract herself in parties to avoid depression. Once Ana was tired of feeling alone, she decided to date one of her close friends, who was as emotionally damaged as her. Although she thought things would improve with her new relationship, things actually started getting worse. Ana’s new husband started showing signs of jealousy and abuse whenever she would talk to her friends and even her own family.
Fig 2. Depression Leads to Substance abuse (Weiss, "6 Ways that Depression May Lead to Substance Abuse.)
That relationship is what also got her more into drugs. The boyfriend Ana had wanted for Ana to try drugs even more often. A relationship can conduct you into the wrong decision of doing drugs. That is the main reason why that person who she was dating abused her physically. According to the article, “Substance Abuse and Intimate Relationships,” the author mentions, “Couples in which a partner abuses drugs or alcohol are often very unhappy; in fact, these partners are often more unhappy than couples who don't have problems with alcohol or other drugs.” Ana made the bad decision of trying to make that relationship work by following the same steps that her ex-boyfriend had. With one try of drugs Ana felt pleasure and wanted to try them again until leading to the point of becoming an addict.
In the article, “Can You Really Become Addicted to a Drug After Just One Hit?” the author Matilda Withworth describes, “This means the person needs drugs just to bring their levels of dopamine back to normal. Without drugs they start feeling flat and lifeless.” Ana was afraid to not find happiness again in her lifetime. Therefore, she started to do drugs because she felt happy when she did them. She would go to parties and do drugs there with her friends. Problems appeared in her journey. She felt lonely although she had a loving son who was willing to be with her unconditionally. Ana never demonstrated love to Owen, she would demonstrate low patience and anger. Ana wanted to distract herself in parties to avoid depression. Once Ana was tired of feeling alone, she decided to date one of her close friends, who was as emotionally damaged as her. Although she thought things would improve with her new relationship, things actually started getting worse. Ana’s new husband started showing signs of jealousy and abuse whenever she would talk to her friends and even her own family.
According to the article, “Can You Really Become Addicted to a Drug After Just One Hit?” the author Matilda Withworth describes, “This means the person needs drugs just to bring their levels of dopamine back to normal. Without drugs they start feeling flat and lifeless.” Ana was afraid to not find happiness again in her lifetime. Therefore, she started to do drugs because she felt happy when she did them. She would go to parties and do drugs there with her friends. We all have a plan for our future whether to attend college or not. Ana had the decision of attending college and earning a degree in fashion design. Most drug addicts end up living on the streets.
In “The Connection Between Homelessness and Addiction,” the authors Krystina Murray and David Hampton state that substance abuse is what usually leaves you homeless with no money or family at all. Ana’s plan basically got ruined because of drug addiction. She wouldn’t attend work anymore because she would prefer sleeping due to the lack of drugs. Ana would be homeless right now if my dad wouldn’t have bought her a house. My dad takes care of Ana for now by giving her groceries.
Ana was a really nice person. She is my step-sister but I used to consider her a real sister. She used to take care of me when I was a baby. She used to be surrounded by people who loved her very much. She had friends that helped her out with the problems she had. She had a husband who really loved her. Her future was depending on the decisions she made. However, she got to the horrible mistake of doing drugs. She didn't want to be a mother yet and she only wanted to finish her career properly.. At one point, she regretted treating the kid that way. When her kid was age 11 she talked to him and everything was fixed. However, Ana still felt bad of how she treated him and decided to do drugs. She felt that drugs tranquilized her. One day, I decided to gather with Ana at her house in Mexicali, BC and talk about her addiction. I saw that her table had a mini bag of cocaine that she forgot to put away. "The drugs help me maintain myself alive," Ana says.
Before Ana had her baby, she was happy with her husband. They were always spending time together and having a great time. However, when she had the baby she started to be rude with others. She was always stressed out from taking care of him.Therefore, she would always spend time with her friends while leaving Owen at 4We all have a plan for our future whether to attend college or not. Ana had the decision of attending college and earning a degree in fashion design. Most drug addicts end up living on the streets.
Substance abuse is what usually leaves you homeless with no money or family at all (Krystina Murray and David Hampton). Ana’s plan basically got ruined because of drug addiction. She wouldn’t attend work anymore because she would prefer sleeping due to the lack of drugs. Ana would be homeless right now if my dad wouldn’t have bought her a house. My dad takes care of Ana for now by giving her groceries. Ana was a really nice person. She is my step-sister but I used to consider her a real sister. She used to take care of me when I was a baby. She used to be surrounded by people who loved her very much. She had friends that helped her out with the problems she had. She had a husband who really loved her. Her future was depending on the decisions she made. However, she got to the horrible mistake of doing drugs. She didn't want to be a mother yet and she only wanted to finish her career properly.. At one point, she regretted treating the kid that way. When her kid was age 11 she talked to him and everything was fixed.
However, Ana still felt bad of how she treated him and decided to do drugs. She felt that drugs tranquilized her. One day, I decided to gather with Ana at her house in Mexicali, BC and talk about her addiction. I saw that her table had a mini bag of cocaine that she forgot to put away. "The drugs help me maintain myself alive," Ana says .Before Ana had her baby, she was happy with her husband. They were always spending time together and having a great time. However, when she had the baby she started to be rude with others. She was always stressed out from taking care of him. Therefore, she would always spend time with her friends while leaving Owen at our house. Her husband was never at home. He was always working in order to have a stable life for his family. However, Ana didn't want that. She wanted for his husband to take care of the baby as well. "It's like I don't even have a husband," Ana told me once, "I am the only one taking care of Owen all day." As I talked to Ana, I saw that her anxiety was arriving at one point. Her legs and hands were trembling. I waited until she relaxed. "I never gave attention to my own kid," Ana says, "and now he probably doesn't even love me anymore."
Ana told me that she regretted treating him that way. She was always stressed with everything she had to do at home. "I really want to see him again," Ana says, "but I can't allow my kid to see me this way." She started crying and kept repeating that she ruined everything. "This is all my fault," Ana says, "I never tried to have a good relationship with my son." Ana says that even though she treated his own son in an aggressive way, she still loves him. At first, Ana didn't want to take responsibility for her kid. She wanted to abort him. However, my parents didn't allow that and she became aggressive with him. Now, Ana is repented for how she treated him. "I know that one day I will be able to leave drugs," Ana says, "and I will have the change to treat my son the way he should be treated."
Ana still continues her usage of drugs. She has not yet decided correctly what would be good for her. My father is letting her make her own decision. His plan is for her to realize that drugs aren't good for her anxiety and depression. Yes, this is something dangerous for my father to do because she could get an overdose. However, she knows perfectly what can happen to her. My family is still here for her. We still manage to help her out. But, there has been no results of any change at all. There is a stigma on drug addiction that Ana isn't accepting. She thinks that drugs are the only hing that will take away her depression and anxiety. She is not aware that at a certain point, the drugs won't have any effect towards her depression anymore. This can lead to overdoses. Ana will get used to a certain amount of drugs and that will cause no effect on her depression and anxiety at all. This will lead to even more drug usage. She might not leave drugs anytime sooner. But, Ana knows that the drugs will take everything away from her.
Ana says at a certain point she will probably change. She knows that at a certain point she'll regret it. However, she told us that she wasn't ready for it yet. She told us she might change only to accomplish all her goals. She also wants to demonstrate all the love she has towards her son, Owen. She knows that Owen might not want to know anything about her at a certain point. However, Ana is willing to try to earn Owen’s love back.
Works Cited:
“How Addiction Affects Friends.” Renaissance Ranch Treatment Centers, 2019, https://renaissanceranch.net/addiction/how-addiction-affects-friends/
Murray, Krystinna and David Hampton. “Homelessness and Addiction” AddictionCenter, 2020, https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/homelessness/
Scot, Thomas. “Addiction Statistics: Drug & Substance Abuse Statistics.” American Addiction Centers, 5 Oct. 2020, americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics.2.
“Substance Abuse and Intimate Relationships.” American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2002, https://www.aamft.org/Consumer_Updates/Substance_Abuse_and_Intimate_Relationships.aspx5.
Matilda Withworth. “Can you Really Become Addicted to a Drug After Just One Hit?” VICE Media Group, 22 Oct. 2015 https://www.vice.com/en/article/ep4eka/snifftok-drugs-tiktok-gen-z-mdma6.
Tremblay, Richard E. “Parenting Skills: Impact of Parents’ .” Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, Sept. 2015, http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/parenting-skills/according-experts/parents-attitudes-and-beliefs-their-impact-childrens-development3.
Withworth, Matilda. “Can you Really Become Addicted to a Drug After Just One Hit?” VICE Media Group, 22 Oct. 2015 https://www.vice.com/en/article/ep4eka/snifftok-drugs-tiktok-gen-z-mdma6.