Leaving Good Friends Behind
There are more people that are adversely affected by someone’s drug or alcohol dependence than just the family of the drug addicted person.
Their friends.
Friends can be a lifeline. They are the common ground, the great comradery, the support group, the truth speakers, the people you trust.
So, it can be a real sorrow, when a friend you know slowly slips into the slump of addiction.
You may try and get them help, become brutally honest with them in an effort to intervene, become a liaison between them and their family. We have heard of some friends helping their mate withdraw off drugs or alcohol and trying to get them clean old school.
Withdrawal from Friends
When the drug dependant doesn’t seem to reciprocate this help and instead continues using and lying, over and over, and the lies build on top of each other, the friends of the addicted, much like siblings, can begin to lose their sympathy. They start to move away emotionally and physically. This is a natural consequence. By this stage, the addict may have also withdrawn themselves entirely from their friends and family and even become very critical of them.
One remarkable outcome of thorough rehabilitation is the mending of old friendships. Those friends left behind during the life of the addiction can observe, without all the BS, that their friend is starting to get back to their old self. There begins a period of hope that they can be trusted and eventually the trust begins to build. It is up to the person that is overcoming the addiction, to show they are trustworthy and reliable and to mend the relationship that they severed through their addictions.
Earn Morale Back
It is pretty vital in drug rehabilitation for a former addict to get an opportunity to earn their integrity and morale back and take responsibility for their actions. This opens the door to the recognition that they likely caused the damage to the relationship (as opposed to behaving like a victim), as a result of their addictions.
They can then begin to heal the relationships that have been damaged along the way.
If you would like to help a loved one, a friend or family member please call us, we are available to talk to you
