Personal Narrative: My Heroin Addiction

My brother, who is nineteen, is a heroin addict. For the past six years, he has dealt with the damaging effects of marijuana, depression, prescription drug, and opiate addiction. As a child, I constantly admired my brother for his personality. I envied his intelligence and adored his contagious humor. During his freshman year of high school, his personality slowly changed and soon his life was flooded with turmoil. He surrounded himself with the wrong crowd and as time passed, I began coming home from school receiving a welcome from orange capped syringes and spilled pill bottles sprawled throughout our upstairs. The days ensued, and his addiction continued to plague our family. We all suffered from violent nights, exhaustion, unending worry, …show more content…
I felt like I needed to become his savior, but was afraid of causing him more trouble due to feeling immense sadness and empathy for him. I wanted to be oblivious to his situation, but found myself spending endless school nights researching his addiction rather than prioritizing my needs. Then, I started feeling guilty and began having emotional breakdowns during school. In class, my mind would race with thoughts of my brother’s situation rather than being focused on myself and my school work. I placed the struggles my brother faced upon my shoulders and fought to keep his addiction within the walls of our home, and in return, sacrificed friends, opportunities, and grades. I was despondent, and I still continue to struggle as his sister. Feeling the emotional absence from the family members who enabled my brother resonate with me. From writing on online forums to mentoring younger children who are in the same situation as I, continuing to learn how my brother must help himself and that it is the illness of addiction that speaks for him, I find the balance that is prioritizing myself while still supporting my brother’s path to