Movie Case Study: 28 Days Background of the Character Gwen Cummings lives in New York with her boyfriend Jasper. They drink and do drugs all night and usually ends up doing something that could harm themselves or others. Gwen’s risk taking behaviors gets worse and worse until she ends up ruining her sister Lily’s wedding and getting behind a car drunk. This choice ends with her driving through a house and she ends up in rehab. Gwen’s drug and drinking behaviors affect her whole life, even if she does not see it that way. She believes that she does not have a problem and that what she is doing is not wrong. It is not until after she is almost kicked out of rehab for jumping out the window to get drugs because she cannot handle the withdraw …show more content…
There is a family history of Substance Use Disorder in her family so she most likely has a genetic predisposition to drugs and alcohol. Her mother had the disorder and she died when she and her sister was young. After the death of her mother, their aunt took them in but Gwen was alone. She never asked for help and she never received it; therefore, she learned that she could not depend on anything but drinking to make her happy and to make the pain go away. Drinking and doing drugs created an escape to all of her problems and past hurts. Gwen self-medicated to make herself feel better and to gain instance gratification over whatever emotion that she was feeling. Symptoms of the Disorder Gwen alcohol and drug use have a severe ripple effect on her life. Alcohol and drugs are taken in large amounts in almost if not on an everyday basis. She is experiencing cravings to use and drink. She is unable to fulfill major roles in family life. She continues to drink and do drugs even after legal and personal problems existed because of the effects of her drug and alcohol use. She drinks in the mornings to help with her withdrawal symptoms. When she does through Withdrawals, she experiences automatic symptoms, insomnia, increased hand tremors, vomiting, psychomotor agitation and anxiety. Recommended
She uses a variety of coping and defense mechanisms including: denial, rationalization, and displacement. Gwen used non-pharmalogical methods to overcome her addiction. She participated in group therapy, equine therapy, and family counseling. In some instances, physicians may prescribe medications such as benzodiazepine, anticonvulsants or disulfiram, an alcohol abuse therapy adjunct to help manage the side effects of withdrawal. Legal and ethical issues were also discussed. 28 Days is a great movie for addicts and their families to watch and help them understand the effects of addiction (Topping & Thomas, 2000). Addiction not only effects the abuser, but their family and friends,
She first lies to doctors about substance abuse landing her support groups for substance abuse and a program to help her stay sober. This isn’t productive for Daphne and she grew tired of being bunched up with the addicts. She decides to come clean, of conscious and recant her exaggerated tales of alcohol and drug abuse before she was admitted into psychiatric care. This is however not seen as her coming clean, she isn’t better, the staff and patients believe the opposite in fact. Her pleas of sobriety and confessions of previous lies are seen as an addict denying their problem and a symptom of her substance abuse; incapable of admitting to herself and others that she has a
One in every twelve adults suffer from alcoholism in the United States, and it is the most commonly used addictive substance in the world. The World Health Organization has defined alcoholism as “an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency.” Reiterated themes encompassing Jeannette Walls’ father’s addiction to alcohol are found in her novel, The Glass Castle: a memoir, which displays instances of financial instability and abuse that hurt the Walls children for the rest of their lives. The Walls’, altogether, are emotionally, physically, and mentally affected by Rex’s alcoholism, which leads to consequences on the Walls children.
With her longing for something more than what she gets on an everyday basis, her growing fondness of Lenny right up to her first drink and drug use, and the symbolism of the blue and green, it is evident that she will not be able to overcome her temptations and be drawn back into the world of drugs and alcohol, only more intense this time. She has already started doing drugs, drinking, and smoking again. She has seen the sober life for way too long and she isn't happy with it. Her cigarette smoking and drinking, although not illegal, will still conform do her downfall. "When the glass was finished she would pour another. When the bottle was empty, she would buy another"(107).
In the end it seems as though there is no real moral or lesson to be learned. She wasn't really an addict; she just liked to drink. No long recovery, no epiphany. No treatment, no withdrawal problems. No lasting health issues. No real permanent problems in the end.
Underage drinking is a critical issue which can lead to severe consequences. These consequences have the potential to haunt someone throughout his or her life and lead to an unfortunate outcome for everyone involved. It is not uncommon that those in stressful circumstances turn to drinking as a therapeutic solution to their problems. Although many may think alcohol is a remedy to the everyday stressors of life, the results of actions taken while under the influence can be detrimental. In Brenda’s life, these everyday stressors include the relationship with her mother and the movement of her family to Westport, New York. In Vivian Vande Velde’s “Drop by Drop,” the adversity within Brenda’s family dynamic contributes
It is important to find out if Casey’s anxiety and depression are due to her drinking problem or if the drinking is causing her to be depressed. According to our book, “A systems perspective is perhaps the most useful for understanding human behavior than for directing social work interventions.” (Pg. 43). There are three types of situations that are most likely to produce problems in social functioning they are as follows: stressful life, transitions, relationship difficulties, and environmental unresponsiveness. Casey falls within all three of those categories. Therefore a systems theory would help. According to this theory family, couples and organization members are directly involved in resolving a problem even if it is an individual issue. This is where her family and friends could come in and help her see that although she is struggling, she can overcome this problem. They can focus on her positive attributes and strengths which would include the fact that she graduated from college, was able to obtain an apartment, and she maintained a full time job. In addition, there was a point in Casey’s life where she was able to decrease her drinking for a limited amount of time. There is no reason why she would not be able to try and do that again. If we look at the biopsychosocial model we can conclude that her biological health, psychological and
As the movie goes on, Gwen exhibits signs of withdrawal from alcohol. She continues to avoid people in group therapies, meetings and activities. Gwen, at this time of the movie, is just trying to continue going and survive her symptoms of withdrawal. Eventually, Gwen makes a desperate attempt to cure her withdrawal symptoms and take the pills that she threw
Gwen exhibits tolerance to alcohol, withdrawal symptoms, blackouts, vomiting, most of the activities she was doing in the movie she was drunk, started her morning with a beer, She is estranged from her sister, more so after the incidents at her wedding. In the beginning, she only associates with people who are partiers.
Lindsay Lohan has had a lot of attention from her drinking and driving issues and her party lifestyle. Many people will focus on those things, but what is the underlying cause? From a Psychodynamic perspective, Lohan’s addiction to drugs and alcohol stem all the way back to childhood. Lohan had both parents, mother Dina Lohan and father Michael Lohan. Dina Lohan was very present in Lindsay’s young life and is still very much a part of her life now. Michael on the other hand was very absent. Although he was able to give his family a life of comfort from selling a profitable pasta business, he was very consumed by his position on Wall Street (Current Biography, 2005). Lohan has been dealing with “deep rooted issues with her father” stated a member of her inner c...
She, unlike the others, was from an affluent family in the suburbs. However, her fortunes turned when she met her ex-boyfriend, who brought both pleasure and pain into her life. Renée, who is now 23, started doing drugs at the age of 16 and was unable to stay clean for more than three years. She was also diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) when she was in the center. She is determined to get better. She wants to get back on track, “I am trying, but… none of my parents or friends believes me
After long-term use the consequences were unpleasant. She neglected her children and could not maintain a romantic relationship. Her excessive drinking embarrassed her family. It seems she was not getting the same relief from the alcohol causing her to find ways to drink more (i.e., making herself sick). As a result of years of use she had entered a neuro-adaptive state where tolerance had caused an increased need for alcohol. This state also accounts for the extreme withdrawal symptoms she experienced when she quit drinking.
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
Generally speaking, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) references substance dependence (in this case, alcohol) as a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms that shows that the person is continuing use of the substance even with adverse effects on the individual’s life. Specifically, for a person to be diagnosed with substance dependence they must show at least three of the following symptoms; tolerance, withdrawal, substance being taken in larger amounts of over a longer period of time than intended, an unsuccessful desire or effort to control the use of the substance, there is a great deal of time devoted to the drug, important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced due to the substance, and the individual continues use of the substance even with the knowledge that the substance is causing physical or psychological problems (APA, 2000).
Roger Donaldson’s film, Thirteen Days dramatizes the Kennedy administration reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film discusses a time when the United States had come close to a nuclear war with other nations. The film mainly focuses on showing the audience the United States perspective of the crisis. The Cuban Missile crisis was a thirteen-day long confrontation between the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. This crisis started out when both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to be seen as the most superior nation in the world. Therefore, both nations decided to use the technology they had in order to produce nuclear missiles and other weapons to show the globe how powerful they were as nations. The United States and