Introduction
This paper briefly analyzes Beautiful Boy’s main character and his state of health. The document presents him as a young substance-abusing patient who needs proper care and support. Particularly, there is an emphasis on the hero’s background, medical history, current condition, potential risks, and other relevant information. Synthesizing and generalizing the information obtained from the film will give a holistic view of the young man’s situation for appropriate treatment recommendations.
Beautiful Boy’s Character Analysis
Nicolas “Nic” Sheff is a young man with a drug addiction, one of the film’s main characters. Beautiful Boy shows the gradual development of Nic’s mental and physical dependence due to using psychoactive substances. Starting with marijuana, the teenager eventually turns to more dangerous drugs like heroin or methamphetamine.
According to Hammond et al. (2020), cannabis exposure at such a young age can be associated with short-term and long-term cognitive impairment, poorer academic performance, and the development of affective and addictive ailments. Nicholas’s substance use disorder exacerbates family relations, causing home quarrels, disagreements, and misunderstandings. The loving father, David Sheff, who has learned about his son’s illness, tries to help Nic and keep him away from narcotics throughout the story. He wants to save his “beautiful boy” and journeys into the world of hopelessness and belated realization.
According to the film’s plot, Nicolas Sheff, with his family, lives in California, USA. He was in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York at times when he was missing for several days from his native region. Nic has no profession and does not work, as he recently graduated from high school. He plans to follow in his father’s footsteps and tie his life to texts and literary work. Nic’s father is a journalist, but he wants to try his hand at a related profession and start by going to college to become a writer. In addition, the story does not mention Nicolas’s military history.
It should be noted that the consumer is not reliable as an informant. Nicolas was undergoing the Ohlhoff Recovery Program in San Francisco. This program is intended for citizens seeking relief from addiction with the help of detoxification services, outpatient programs, or comprehensive treatment with accommodation in a medical institution (“Addiction recovery in San Francisco,” n.d.). According to the medical history, Nic’s substance misuse disorder began at 11 with the use of marijuana, gradually increasing.
Further, at 17, the teenager tried many narcotics and prescription pills. He stayed sober for eight years, but currently, Nic is not receiving proper treatment, including medications. The young man has no allergic reactions but was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is taking medication to manage his symptoms. Through the kind father’s eyes, Nic’s behavior, despite all the love, seems irresponsible and incomprehensible to others. David’s second wife, Karen, could have told much more about how unbearably spoiled and selfish David’s son looked.
Nic’s behavior and manners express the potential for self-harm, harm to others, or destruction of property. According to Escelsior et al. (2021), a person with an addictive disorder tends to manifest in this way, causing non-suicidal or intentional self-harm. The young man has repeatedly exposed himself to the likely dangerous effects and fatalities of an overdose of a toxic substance like heroin.
Nic committed similar acts against his girlfriend, Lauren, injecting her with heroin. Furthermore, he broke into his dad’s home with Lauren to get some valuable items and money. The film does not show scenes of arrest, but there are clear allusions to Nic’s detention by police officers for illegal possession and use of drugs.
In general, there are no cases of physical or sexual abuse in the anamnesis. Regarding psychosocial history, Nic was an obedient son and model student when he was a child. Many teachers praised him for his exemplary behavior and good studies. Thus, questions arise about what motivates an intelligent and comely young man to start smoking marijuana and then take up more and more dangerous drugs.
His parents divorced when he was four years old, and slowly, he began to be depressed and isolate himself. The father’s idyllic, close-knit family, who married for the second time, as shown on the screen, arouses suspicion. There are doubts about whether Nic is happy next to David’s second wife and their young children.
There is no family history of mental illness or collateral. Nic’s parents are perfectly healthy people who have never used drugs before and do not show any signs of a dependency disorder. Available resources and natural support systems include treatment, rehab programs, and a mentor or counselor. Based on the details outlined earlier, Nicolas Sheff’s primary diagnosis is drug addiction. Anyone struggling with addiction can visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Conclusion
Summarizing, it should be noted that the analysis of the film’s character and his state of health was performed successfully. The main predictors that caused drug addiction in the young man were identified, as well as the consequences that Nic found harder to cope with each time. Nic has severe mental and physical dependence due to his first attempts to try prohibited substances. The teenager especially needs the help and support of medical specialists and his family.
References
Addiction recovery in San Francisco. (n.d.). Ohlhoff. Web.
Escelsior, A., Murri, M. B., Corsini, G. P., Serafini, G., Aguglia, A., Zampogna, D.,… & Amore, M. (2021). Cannabinoid use and self-injurious behaviours: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 278, 85-98. Web.
Hammond, C. J., Chaney, A., Hendrickson, B., & Sharma, P. (2020). Cannabis use among US adolescents in the era of marijuana legalization: a review of changing use patterns, comorbidity, and health correlates. International Review of Psychiatry, 32(3), 221-234. Web.