The friends you had before addiction might not be the same friends after your recovery. It’s important to find friends that support you and your sober life. If you cut ties with friends because they didn’t support your drug addiction, maybe it’s time to reconnect with them.
Making Amends
If you’re realizing that you had some pretty great friends before you got into drugs/alcohol, maybe it’s time to talk to them again. It might be embarrassing, awkward or uncomfortable to talk to them at first, but it’s something that can benefit your life. By making amends with your friends, you’re confronting them about any miscommunication or situations that need to be resolved. If they are supportive of your recovery, it’s a great opportunity to reconnect with them.
Find Friends
If you don’t have old friends you want to make amends to, you’ll want to find new friends. Some important things to consider when making new friends are: do they support recovery? do they encourage you to better yourself? do they understand recovery is your #1 priority? If you answered yes to these questions, they should make a great asset to your life.
Finding new friends can be stressful and you might think it’s impossible to find any at your age. Some advice would be to find an activity or join a community so you find friends that have similar interests. If you join an improv group because you love acting, you could make some great friends there that also love acting. The same applies to playing a sport or learning a new skill. If you’re around people with similar interests, it is way easier to become friends with them.
Saying Goodbye to the Bad
Through your recovery, you’ll probably realize what friends you should and shouldn’t be friends with. These friends might have been the ones that encouraged you to do drugs or the ones that helped you with recovery. Regardless of the situation, it’s best to clear out any friends who won’t benefit from your new life. If that means ending a lifelong friendship or one that you started recently, then that’s what you should do.
It might be hard, but you’ll be relieved to know that person isn’t holding you back anymore. Explaining the situation will be helpful and in some situations they will understand.
If you’re looking for detox and recovery, New Start can help. Call us at 855-737-7363 for a confidential assessment.