I decided to watch an A&E Intervention in hopes of getting a better understanding of addiction. The episode I chose to watch was about Courtney; A&E describes her by the following: “Nicknamed the ‘junkie princess’ by her drug-abusing friends, Courtney, 20, injects heroin up to eight times a day and prostitutes herself to finance her own and her boyfriend’s addiction”.
SUMMARY
In most cases of addiction, there is always a backstory which provides a better understanding of why a person turns out a certain way. Courtney, feeling sad, worthless, and abandoned, has turned to heroin as a means of escape and eliminating the pain which she feels inside. It all began just two weeks after she was born, when Courtney’s parents decided to separate–leaving her without a father and a mother with Depression.
Courtney did not have a normal childhood; she did not have many friends and was confided to the house, where it was dark most of the time. Courtney’s mother was not in a healthy mental state to raise children–this is why Courtney felt a close connection to her older sister, who took over the mother role. They were very close while Courtney was a child, and she looked up to her older sister. Things took a turn for the worse when her sister moved out to go to college; this was when Courtney began to act out and turn to drugs as a mean of comfort. Eventually when Courtney was around 14 years old, she decided to go live with her sister–but it didn’t last long because her sister wanted to control her and did not approve of her reckless behavior.
At the age of 20, Courtney has become a full blown heroine addict who would do just about anything to get money for it. She moved in with her boyfriend, who is also an addict, and prostitutes for drug money. Courtney feels emotionally disconnected from her family; she is only close with her Grandmother who sends money and enables her. Her family decided to have an intervention, but as soon as Courtney realized what was happening she wanted nothing to do with them and made an escape. It took two months after the attempted intervention for Courtney to decide to go to rehab; unfortunately, she only stayed 11 days and left to go back home and continue to use drugs.
ANALYSIS
In the case of Courtney, the intervention was not a success. Sometimes we can say it was because of the approach taken, making the addict feel attacked. However, with Courtney, she did not even allow her family or the interventionist talk to her–she just ran. Watching the episode gave me the impression that Courtney has been let down so much in her life, and it has caused her to be afraid and untrusting of the people she should trust the most. She was not ready to let go of the one thing that makes her feel good.
Looking at the events the occurred around Courtney while growing up gives many clues as to why she formed an addiction in the first place. Her life was full of absentness and abandonment; her father left when she was an infant, her mother’s Depression made it seem as if she was not really there, and her sister left at a very crucial time in Courtney’s life. These events left Courtney feeling alone and empty; it can even be analyzed that she felt the need to search for something to make the pain go away.
When someone is addicted to a drug like heroin, they do not care about family, friends, or anything else for that matter. The drug becomes their family and friend–making them care only about getting their fix. It is like a controlling relationship that you can’t get out of; unfortunately, it usually take someone to hit rock bottom to realize they need help.
Here is a link to watch Courtney’s Intervention story: http://www.aetv.com/intervention/video/Courtney
addiction and obsession summer thoughts 