The Story of Anthony

When a person has an addiction he or she is not the only one effected .It also affects the person’s spouse, children, and everyone who knows and cares about their well-being. Neighborhoods   and Communities are affected as well.

Drugs and alcohol can have a negative effect on a person’s health over all. It can affect the user physiologically, emotionally it can also show in their appearance. Depending on the person and their addiction and the amount and or their frequency of use. The negative effects can either be long-term or short-term, in worst cases it can be fatal.

In this essay the writer will discuss the negative effects of Anthony’s drug addiction and how his drug abuse not only affected him it effected his family and the people who care about him to. Anthony is a 21 year old young man who lives in the Jersey Shore, in a nice home with his mother and grandmother. Anthony’s parents are divorced but his father is still in his life.

Anthony’s mother had three daughters form a previous marriage and his father had three sons, prior to him marrying his mother. Anthony parents were excited to have a son together, and all his siblings adored him.  During his adolescent years his was a good child and very active in sports.

 Anthony began using drugs when he was about 18 or 19. By the time he was 21, his drug use was out of control. His drug of choice was heroin and he used about 5-6 bags a day. Anthony’s describes the high as feeling like” a brain orgasm” with the high lasting about 15 seconds.

Two of his sisters were also addicted to heroin, even though one of his sister’s died from a heroin over dose, Anthony continued to use. The year that his sister died he started smoking marijuana for the first time and then began smoking it every day.  He soon began to using other heavy drugs like cocaine and ecstasy and other drugs. Anthony’s family was in fear of losing another child who battled a drug. His parents and family member’s, reached out an addictions Counselor to set up and intervention with Anthony.

Drug Addiction and Family Codependency

In Anthony’s situation his family member were codependents. All though they all meant well, their codependency had a major effect on his will to recover .His parents , his grandmother and his  brothers  all enabled him. His sister and his brother in law showed tough love. Their lack of tough love was as bad as his addiction.

Anthony’s family was caring and supportive, but not in the way that Anthony needed them to be. When they had the meeting before the actual intervention with Anthony, it appeared that they all would not have backed down so easily and that they all would have stood their ground.

  Codependent family members, sometimes often delude themselves into thinking they are helping the user. They have no idea that they are accepting, or promoting the users dysfunctional behavior. By continuing to accept the user’s negative patterns, they are enabling them. Codependent family members are often unaware that they are codependent. Non- Codependent family members may get upset with Codependent family members because of the user. And sometimes temporarily cut the user and other family member’s off, but they do not stick to it.  Family members may feel guilty if the cut they cut one another off. The Codependent family member’s way of thinking is that it is better to have the person around or in the home or still come around because it makes them feel better.