Benefits of Support from Your Friends

“Benefits of Support from-” is a series about the different people in your life whose help you will need to overcome addiction. The truth is that we, as human beings, need people at any moment of great adversity in our lives. Addiction definitely qualifies as a time of great adversity, as it is a crippling disease that nobody should ever have to face alone, which is why our personal relationship should make us stronger in the fight against addiction.
This week, we’re going to talk about your friends… 

More laid back relationship 

Unlike your family or your spouse, friends don’t have as much skin in the battle for your recovery. Obviously these people will still care about you, because they are your friends, but it won’t dramatically affect their lives in the same way that it would your family or your spouse. While this may make it seem like their support isn’t as important, this may actually be a benefit, when in conjunction with support from other people, as it allows them to speak more freely with you. 

Distance 

Friends have a much greater distance from your life than somebody like your spouse, and this means that they will have the ability to see things from a less biased perspective. Get this perspective often, and utilize it if you can. If you have the right kind of friends, this perspective will grant your friends the capability to see things as they are. In the fight of addiction recovery, it may be this fresh approach you need to help you get on the wagon, again. 

It’s what friends are for 

The ideal of friendship is to have the kind of relationship where you always have each other’s back, no matter what the situation is. Fighting against addiction is one of the ultimate tests of that ideal, as it is an incredibly challenging journey that will definitely test the constitution of your friendship. However, it’s the friendships that can last such a journey that will be fulfilling and help you move forward in life. 

Activities with friends keeps you proactive 

One of the most important aspects of addiction recovery is setting up a proactive life for yourself outside of addiction. Doing this becomes a whole lot easier when you have friends to lean on, because they are likely the people who you share interests with. These kind of friends can do activities with you that will keep you away from your addiction and help you put up a new life, which will put you on track for a healthy lifestyle.

---