Having a friend suffering from an addiction can be a difficult and emotional time. Helping your friend get the support they need can be a challenge, and it can be a real test of your friendship.
It’s also difficult territory to navigate if you haven’t experienced anything like this before. Being there to support your friend is important, but you also need to take care of yourself during this difficult time. Take a look at some of the ways you can support a friend with addiction and help them heal.
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Support them in getting the help they need
It’s normal to care about your friend and want to help them, but something as delicate as an addiction requires some professional help. Helping your friend get the help they need will be a crucial step in their recovery, so whether they need alcohol rehab or support for drug abuse, you can help them find a facility or treatment program that can help. You may need to enlist other friends and family to encourage your friend to get the help they need.
Be there to listen
This is going to be a difficult time for your friend, and while you might have your own feelings about their situation or have been impacted by some of their negative behaviors, giving your support and being there to listen is what’s most important right now. Try to reserve judgment and, instead, be there to offer the emotional support they need right now.
Avoid enabling behaviors, and focus on healthy ones
As your friend undergoes the recovery process, your friendship may change a little – especially some of the activities you might have done together, like going for a drink. It’s important that you avoid enabling behaviors that could impact their recovery, and instead, try to focus on healthy behaviors and activities as well. There are some great ways you can help someone be healthier, including exercising with them and trying meditation activities together. Why not try working out with them to help them take care of their physical health? This can be a huge support to your friend and gives you some new activities and interests to pursue together.
Educate yourself
Unless you’ve experienced it yourself, you may not know much about addiction. To help you support your friend or loved one, educating yourself about addiction is a good way to get information and develop a better understanding of what they’re going through. Doing this will put you in a better position to give them the support they need, and will help you understand what they need to do to recover, too.
Coping with addiction is challenging and difficult for sufferers, but having supportive people like you by their side can help them overcome their problems. From being there to listening to helping them get back on their feet, there are a lot of different ways you can support your friend. Remember that it can also be a difficult time for you, so if you need help and support, reach out to someone you can trust or seek professional advice.
Friends, what is your experience with addiction? Leave your thoughts below.
