Addiction and relationships

Being a friend to someone can either be a wonderful experience or that relationship can slowly suck the life out of you. Let me explain.

In order to be a good friend you have to be willing to live and let live. You have to decide how much of your heart you are willing to share with others. You have to let the defensive walls down and let people get to know the real you. Not the public persona that everyone else sees. The persona that we share with the world on social media.

When you let people close to your heart you run the risk of getting hurt. Sometimes family and close friends can do the most damage. That is because we trust them with our closest held secrets. We share our hopes and fears with them. We cherish their hopes and fears and we hold them in the highest of confidence.

When we are friends with people we discover that we are all broken people to some degree. We have our issues. Some of them are bigger than others. Some of our issues requires more work than we may be willing to expend. Despite the difficulties that arise when people are our friends we are willing to do whatever it takes.

One of the things we have to be willing to do is to listen to our friends and to not judge them. We have to learn how to compartmentalize these conversations and do our best to be supportive and show sympathy. You as a friend might even be able to show empathy.

If you have a friend that is addicted to drugs or alcohol then you will be a witness to the damage that…