Requiem for a Dream depicts the deterioration of four different individual’s hopes and aspirations as their lives become consumed by their various addictions. The movie follows the increasing addictions through the eyes of affected characters allowing the viewer to visually experience the delusions of their false realities. As the addictions become stronger their dreams become seemingly closer but in reality father and farther away because the goals are no longer the focus of their realities but instead the need and constant feening for the next high. The movie shows the progression of the addiction as it builds from a psychological dependency to a physical dependency. It allows the viewer to follow the four different characters relationships to each other and the drugs they consume. As…show more content… The characters cover a wide spectrum of drugs ranging from heroin to diet pills. It shows the dangers of both illegal and prescribed drugs. All together the characters consumed what seemed to be the full spectrum of psychoactive drugs, which encompasses any substance that “alters perception, mood, thinking, memory, or behavior by changing the body’s biochemistry”. From what I could catch they used cocaine, heroin, marijuana, ‘diet pills’ which could be any form of stimulant, and a multitude of various opiates and hallucinogens. Three of the main characters struggle most with their addiction to heroin, which is recognized as the most addictive drug, and consequently deathly withdrawals. Heroin is an opiate, opiates numb the body by affecting the opioid receptors which are located throughout the brain and the body, these receptors are involved in ones perception of pain, hence the numbing effect. A tolerance is built up and as a result higher and higher quantities of intake are required for the user to experience the same intensity of the effects. Another consequence of physical dependence to any addiction is the increasing