euphoria (rue's family) by Thanhgiang Dinh

euphoria B Y T H A N H G I A N G D I N H

Rue Bennett Rue is a 17 year old high school student who is the main character of HBO's Euphoria. She was diagnosed with diagnosed with OCD, ADD, general anxiety and bipolar disease at a young age.

At 13, she starts to experiment with Oxycontin prescribed to her ailing father. After he passes, she develops a drug addiction.

MEETING RUE'S FAMILY

Gia Bennett Gia is Rue's beloved 14 year old sister. Rue will do anything for Gia and Gia would do the same for her big sister.

The summer before Rue's junior year of high school, Gia found Rue choking on a pool of vomit in her room and immediately contacted EMS. Rue was taken to a rehab program and Gia left to deal with what she has witnessed on her own.

EUPHORIA - ISSUU PROJECT

MEETING RUE'S FAMILY

Leslie Bennet Leslie is Rue and Gia's mother and the widow of Robert Bennet. She is coping with the painful loss of her husband while still trying to put on a brave face for her two daughters. She is often at odds with Rue, and has taken an authoritative approach to parenting after Rue's drug overdose.

She is trying to come to terms with her daughter's drug addiction while healing from her own personal loss.

Robert Bennet Robert is the father of Rue and Gia and he passes away from an unspecified disease before the show opens. The show portrays Robert as having battled this illness for years. Rue was responsible for watching her father while her mother worked two jobs to pay for the medical bills. It is while she is watching her father that she decides "to get high on Oxycontin" with him. His death is the catalyst for Rue's growing drug addiction.

Bennett Family Culture The Bennett family have a unique family structure that is common with most American households today. The family is biracial, with a white father and a Black mother.

The parents are empathetic to the struggles that their daughters are going through but are still implementing firm boundaries and expectations.

Since Robert's passing, Leslie has become the sole head of the household.

According to Duvall's Stages of Development, the Bennett family is in Stage 5. Launching the Children. Leslie and Robert were trying to support their daughters and encourage safe spaces and emotional support.

Erikson's Stages of Development (Denham, 2015.)

ERIKSON'S DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES AND FAMILY CULTURE

Duvall's Stages of Development (Denham, 2015)

EUPHORIA-ISSUU

challenges

strengths

The family is still mourning the loss of the father figure Rue's drug addiction is challenging for the entire family and has caused a rift between Leslie and Rue Both Gia and Leslie have a hard time trusting Rue after her drug overdose

Rue is dedicated to her sister and tries to get clean to be a good role model for Gia Leslie knows that Rue has her demons and works hard to get Rue the help that she needs Both Gia and Leslie maintain their support for Rue, even when she disappoints them

BENNETT FAMILY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

EUPHORIA-ISSUU

communication styles

BENNETT FAMILY COMMUNICATION STYLE

EUPHORIA - ISSUU

rue's condition: drug addiction Rue is battling a years-long addiction to opioids. She first got hooked on addictive substances when she was 11 and suffered a panic attack. She was given Valium for the first time and described it as "the feeling she had always been looking for". She dabbled in Oxycontin when her father was in hospice and would use the drug to "get high" with her unknowing father. After her father's death, her drug addiction became full blown; Rue would seek comfort from any drug she could get her hands on.

Individuals with substance abuse disorders have difficulty fulfilling their role obligations (Townsend, 2014). Often the individual would like to be in control of their usage but attempts often fail (Townsend, 2014). Substance abuse causes problems with interpersonal relationships, and the individual may become socially isolated as a result (Townsend, 2014).

RUE'S DRUG ADDICTION

EUPHORIA - ISSUU

family systems theory used by nurses to assess families as a whole unit (Denham, Eggenberger, Young, & Krumwiede, (2015)

All parts of the system are interconnected (Denham et. al. , 2015).

Even though Robert passes away before the start of the show, his death and his poor health still plague the Bennett family.

Leslie has to work hard to pay off the health bills. Rue's first experiment with prescription drugs were with the Oxy pills that her father were prescribed. His death is the catalyst for her drug addiction.

The whole is the sum of its parts (Denham et. al. , 2015).

The Bennetts are affected because they dedicate themselves to taking care of Rue. Leslie does regular urine drug tests and Gia tries to keep her sister happy so she does not use drugs.

All systems have some form of boundaries between the system and the environment (Denham et. al. , 2015).

When Robert was sick, the Bennett family allowed 13-yearold Rue to be her father's main caregiver, instead of hiring a home health aide .

Systems can be further organized into subsystems.

(Denham et. al. , 2015).

Rue and Gia have a sisterhood that is fiercely protective.

When Rue catches Gia smoking weed with her friends, she is upset but she still protects her sister from getting caught by their mother. It will always be "Rue and Gia", "Gia and Rue".

This is a relationship that Leslie cannot breach.

FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY

EUPHORIA - ISSUU

nursing interventions Interventions Educate Rue and family about the symptoms of anxiety and bipolar disorder (Ackley & Ladwig, 2017)

Problems Rue's family does not know how to respond to Rue and her mood swings.

Leslie and Rue are unable to set healthy boundaries and expectations for their new relationship, leading to feelings of resentment and anger.

The Bennett family are unable to cope with Rue's drug addiction.

NURSING INTERVENTIONS

Rationale - If Rue and her family can identify the triggers or the first signs of anxiety, they are more prepared to intervene before the crisis worsens (Ackley & Ladwig, 2017).

Encourage Leslie to grieve over her daughter's condition and give her permission to share angry feelings in a safe environment. (Tyo & McCurry, 2019).

Rationale - As patient advocates, nurses can offer emotional suppor to the family and provide guidance throughout this challenging situation. (Tyo & McCurry, 2019).

Help the Bennett family to find community support groups for the loved ones of drug addicts, such as Al-Anon.

(Ackley & Ladwig, 2017) Rationale - Emotional support groups help the family to realize that they are not alone in their struggles and help the family to develop new coping strategies (Denham, 2015).

EUPHORIA - ISSUU

patient outcomes Rue will be able to appropriately manage her emotions. Her family will be know how to address her outbursts (Ackley & Ladwig, 2017).

Leslie will feel supported by Rue's healthcare team. She will report acceptable feelings of distress. She will be able to take part in selfcare activities (Tyo & McCurry, 2019).

The Bennet family will be able to identify resources available to support their family.

(Tyo & McCurry, 2019) NURSING INTERVENTIONS

EUPHORIA - ISSUU

references Ackley, B., & Ladwig, G. (2016). Nursing diagnosis handbook: A guide to planning care. (11th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby, Inc. IBSN (13) 9780323322249 Denham, S., Eggenberger, S., Young, P. & Krumwiede, N. (2015) Family-Focused nursing care. F.A. Davis: Philadelphia. ISBN-13: 9780803629103 Townsend, M. (2014), Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, 8th edition. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.

Tyo, Mirinda & McCurry, Mary. (2020). An Integrative Review of Measuring Caregiver Burden in Substance Use Disorder. Nursing Research, 69, 391-398. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000442

image references Image 1 https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmgprod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/d252c43a4beee9a36642f1a9d2e3a7 929a9198e3af635db18643cf0d55b110f6032492ec7db428987019ba8faf55a118-1600701154.jpg Image 2 -https://25yearslatersite.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Euphoria_ep2feature.jpg Image 3 - https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/euphoriahbo/images/d/dc/Gia_Bennett.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190617063354 Image 4 https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/euphoriahbo/images/7/77/Leslie_Bennett.jpg/revision/latest? cb=20190617063133 Image 5 https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/euphoriahbo/images/8/86/Robert_Bennett.png/revision/latest? cb=20190624052902 Image 6 - https://www.youtube.com/watchv=4ymuFsuonvI (screenshot) Image 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPM8ONheQ4k (screenshot) Image 8 https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/euphoriahbo/images/c/c6/S01E01_Pilot_11.png/revision/latest? cb=20190721222615 Image 9 - https://s24195.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Euphoria-season-1-screenshotsepisode-10-And-Salt-the-Earth-Behind-You-008.jpg Image 11 - https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/69/06/5d69065f6b5ee820d0a7a1b6ef719df9.jpg Image 12 - https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1641170/euphoria-season-2.jpg