"Often, as we become more and more dependent on substances to get us through our lives, our relationships start changing. Those who were our friends, cease to be our friends. Those who we never thought we"d be friends with those are the people we start having the most in common with. Our shared interest? Our substance of choice, of course. The people we use with, or the people who will tolerate us when we are using, become the people closest to us.
While these "friends" might care about us, and we might care about them, it"s not our mutual care and concern that is what is holding us together. Instead, it"s our shared commitment to our addiction that forms the basis of our relationship. These "friends" simply "get us" because they, too, are living a lifestyle that is centered around active addiction.
These are the "friends" who will help you score, or will help cover your bar tab after a night of heavy drinking. They will validate your reasons for using or drinking. They will normalize problem behavior. They will excuse negative consequences as "unfortunate" incidents and reassure you that they are unlikely to reoccur, even when you"re actually putting yourself in dangerous situations.
These "friends" will do many things to help you continue using but you"ll quickly notice a change if you seek treatment for addiction. Recovery is the one thing that they refuse to help you do. In fact, they will often reject you for seeking help or seek to actively derail your recovery after you do get treatment."
Search Mental Health Providers Find Similar Resources