A common action that those who enter into addiction recovery must perform is objectively evaluating those close to them in their lives to consider whether or not certain people are safe to maintain relationships with. While this can be a difficult task, it is an essential one in order to ensure that you surround yourself with positive and supportive people in recovery.

If you’re wondering whether or not you should remain close with someone after addiction treatment, here are a few things to consider.

Honestly Examine the Relationship

Especially when you first begin your recovery journey, you want to surround yourself only with those who are going to be supportive and help you maintain your sobriety and a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, there are certain people whose presence would be counter-productive to a healthy recovery. These can include:

• Those who supplied you with substances or encourage you to use

• Those who don’t fully support your sobriety

• Those who cause you physical, mental, or emotional distress

Create Distance

If you believe that someone would not be helpful in your recovery journey, it’s entirely acceptable to create some distance between you and that person. You can create distance on varying degrees, from not spending as much time with them to potentially removing them from your life entirely. Some people may find this frustrating, but it’s important to prioritize your health and well-being in order to have a successful recovery.

Accept Changes in Relationships

While there are some people who you may need to distance yourself from, there are others who you may need to allow to enter your life. This can be your addiction counselor, other people in recovery with whom you can share your experiences and milestones, or even new friends that you meet down the line who are accepting of you and your efforts to beat substance abuse.

Silver Ridge specializes in providing clinically effective addiction treatment for professional adults suffering from substance abuse issues. Our program focuses on the well-being of the whole person by providing a safe place free from the pain of addiction through the encouragement of personal exploration and therapeutic practices.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, please contact us at (855) 945-7788 to speak to one of our admission counselors.