EFFECTS OF ADDICTION ON FRIENDSHIP

The effects of addiction on friendship and family are quite related. The reason for this is, family and friends are integral parts of our lives, and we would find it difficult to survive if they were all absent.

One of the factors that threatens to make friendship go cold is addiction. Addiction can turn best friends into enemies.

When addiction is in motion, it makes everyone else’s opinion seems useless. Individuals who are addicted are not entirely blamed for this. The reason is the pleasure center of their brain has been affected, and what they seek is pleasure.

So, no matter what anyone says about their addiction, they care less. They do not even care if there is a tendency for detrimental health issues to set in.

A friend is an individual who would be there for you all through. A good number of times, we refer to our friends as family because of the positive impacts they have had on us.

All the benefits of friendship might seize if the other party is addicted. He or she would use their unpleasant behavior to push good friends farther.

A good friend is someone who will not encourage your addiction. This is why they would be at loggerheads with their friends who are addicted.

Hence, it is necessary for you to filter the good friends from the bad ones. If it were not family, then friends would be the next likely option for the development of an individual’s addiction.

It is important for friends to be there for one another if one of them is addicted. They could even go as far as attending rehab sessions with friends for the purpose of showing love, care and solidarity during their dark times. When you are there for your addicted friend, it implies that you want the best for them.

Alongside with the family, it is important for friends to stick closer than ever when their loved one is addicted. The behavior of an addict during this period might be discouraging and bitter but it should not be enough reason for them to stay away.

HOW ADDICTION AFFECTS A FAMILY

When addiction is in play, a family can be torn apart if care is not taken. A family where love and honesty existed before can be at war with one another because of addiction. There are two possible scenarios of addiction in a family.

The first one is, either of the parents or both of them are responsible for the addiction situation in the family. While the second possible scenario is the children became influenced by either their peers or the environment.

If an individual is addicted, it would be so easy to tell when you look at he or she relates with the family. The love will no longer exist because the addicted individual has found something else to love.  

He or she would not fancy spending time with the family because addiction is in play. So, what they would rather do is spend more time with their addictive act for the purpose of pleasure.

Not all families know how to react when any of their loved ones are addicted. The mistake that some of them make is, they keep their addicted family member at arm’s length, and they do not make any move to proffer help.

So, the addicted individual notices this, and he or she follows suit, stays far away from the rest of the family.

Families are to take the initiative when they notice that any of their member is addicted. The best move to take is to visit a rehab where his or her case would be diagnosed by a professional counselor.

A family that wants to deal with conflicts needs to settle cases of addiction before the family can move forward.

Addiction has the capacity to steal the peace and joy in a home and this works out well if the family are willing to give it a chance.

It is mandatory for a family to render their support to their loved one when he or she is addicted and when they recover, they would be forever grateful for the help.