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Cara Delevigne And The Dangers Of Romanticizing Drug Use

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Casper Libero chapter.

When you grow up, you start to see the world with other eyes, (including things that you thought were perfect). So, at this moment, many things start to make sense. To a teenage girl who watches Victoria’s Secret parades and incredible movies from a perfect actress, this kind of life becomes a dream. But what we don’t know is what happens behind the curtains.

At the beginning of September, the actress and model Cara Delevigne was seen in critical condition, at an airport in Los Angeles, where she was under the influence of drugs, and it shocked a lot of fans and people who admire her work.

Considering studies, no one gets to that state overnight. It’s necessary to search in her life when, how, and why this started to happen.

Cara’s childhood

Talking about private topics was never a problem for Cara. Some personal facts, such as the actress’ depression and anxiety caused by difficulties at school, are known to journalists and fans. At the age of 15, the teenager fell into an emotional morass:

“It’s a huge part of who I am (…) all of a sudden I was hit with a massive wave of depression and anxiety and self-hatred, where the feelings were so painful that I would slam my head against a tree to try to knock myself out. I never cut, but I’d scratch myself to the point of bleeding. I just wanted to dematerialize and have someone sweep me away”, she said in an interview for Vogue.

Cara used a lot of drugs, “stronger stuff than Prozac”, according to her, and a lot of weed. In general, her adolescence was crazy and risky, with or without drugs. Drug use has been in the family since her mother’s teenage years when she struggled with heroin addiction at 18. And, according to an article published in the National Library of Medicine in 2008, heroin addiction can be hereditary. Even though Cara’s mother was treated for addiction, we can consider this as a possible beginning of everything.

walking like an angel

To a lot of people, the word “model” equals a lot of money, incredible life, the best parties, and perfect bodies. But in this case, we saw all the bad things that can happen even to the “happiest” and “luckiest” person.

Cara began modeling at 10 years old. At 18, in 2011, she officially became a Chanel catwalk model. In 2012 and 2013, she paraded for Victoria’s Secret Fashion Week, where a lot of people discovered her. In 2014, however, she wasn’t cast among the “Angels” because she was considered “bloated”.

Vogue characterizes Cara as a “brazen display of personality, that thing most models are now richly paid to hide”, the famous rebel model, who has her essence and astonishes everybody around her.

In 2017, for an interview, Cara said: “I never felt like I was good enough. The fact that I couldn’t do things, as well as other people, made me hate myself…”. Cara felt the necessity to talk about subjects considered taboo among teenagers after she starred on the big screen with “Suicide Squad” and “Paper Towns”.

Even though she had the “perfect life”, Cara went through a lot of traumas and delicate moments since her pre-adolescence that got worse now. She’s an example of an extremely talented person who had a lot of things destroyed because of substance abuse. It’s really necessary to think about the consequences it could bring to us in the future before starting the action.

The consequences of drug use since adolescence can include memory loss, chemical dependency in the future, and increased mental health problems. Maybe movies, the culture, boredom, desire to fit in, and, in serious cases, mental problems, make the young enter a life that is hard to get out of.

According to UNODC, about 5.5% of the population aged between 15 and 64 have used drugs at least once in the past year, while 36.3 million people, or 13% of the total number of people who use drugs, suffer from disorders associated with it.

Now, Cara’s family is planning a “detox intervention”. Their idea is to keep her away from parties and help her maintain a healthy diet, according to a friend of hers to “The Sun Magazine”.

Fame, a lot of money, and the best parties turn to nothing when you settle for what slowly destroys you. So, one moment can ruin the rest of your life and everyone else around you.

Lívia H. Magalhães

Casper Libero '25

Lívia, 17 yo, journalism student at Cásper Líbero University. Addicted to music and passionate about soccer.