March 28th, 2008 by jgold454

Sometimes ending personal relationships is a necessary part of successful drug addiction recovery. This includes friends that you used to do drugs and drink alcohol with, as well as anyone who is undermining your addiction recovery efforts.

This can be a very difficult prospect for some addicts. You might feel like these people are the only friends you have and the only people who truly understand you. In reality, they may very well be the people in your life who are most familiar with your experiences of the past months or years. However, this period of time was likely marked by drug and alcohol addiction. In order to create change and make a new start that doesn’t involve substance abuse, it’s necessary to get rid of the poisonous elements of that old lifestyle.Friends that were around when you were using drugs and alcohol can act as triggers for relapse in the future. Being around them will bring up memories of substance abuse and make you want to relive certain parts of it, even subconsciously. These people can also blatantly encourage you to use drugs and alcohol. They may feel threatened by your success in drug addiction recovery and want to pull you back down with them. Keep in mind that a true friend does not do these things. They are still in the midst of addiction and are unable to think clearly, so it’s best to let them go from your life while you focus on your own problems and bettering yourself.

Addiction support groups can be great for meeting other people who will understand your experiences with drug and alcohol addiction without undermining your abstinence. Surround yourself with people who will be positive influences in your life rather than trying to bring you down. Addiction treatment is enough work as it is without adding unsupportive people to the mix.