Friends

I have some of my best friends that love to drink and have a good time. It's been hard to get them to do anything that doesn't include drinking.
How did some of you create boundaries with friends when you first became sober?

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Hello Amy, I am one of nine boys and I am the only one in Recovery

My family and friends understand that it is life and death for me if I pick up a drink or a drug.

And if they don’t understand, I have to explain it to them. And ask them please respect my boundaries. Let’s do things that doesn’t require a drink or a drug.

I know it’s hard to hear this, but I had to disassociate myself from most of my friends in order to stop drinking. I could not be around it and they did not understand what I was doing. Thank god for AA and the true friends I’ve made there.

Hello Amy.. I had the same problem and I waited 2 years before I started hanging out with them. It was hard going to baseball and football games because everyone was drinking but it didn’t bother me anymore. I had the willpower to quit drinking and handling anyone drinking. I went to AA a few times but wasn’t for me. I been sober for 3 and a half years and and didn’t get help to quit it was all willpower and I will never go back to drinking again in my life. I have something to live for. Good Luck and I hope your recovery goes well. Stay safe and sober.

My true friends would hang out with me for non-drinking, sober activities. Those who didn’t I had to distance myself from. Turns out they were drinking buddies, not friends.

People places things unfortunately a lot of times need to change sweetie

Sort of like an injury that you need to recover from. You can’t just get back on your skis, paddle out and surf, jog, or anything else that you normally do, and love, until you’re ready to get back at it. Look at those friendships in the same light. It is just going to take some time to heal. You need to be strong and healthy enough; and when you are, you’ll know. Till then, heal yourself and respect your limits

I would say exactly that. Maybe like "hey you're my friends and I don't want that to change. I understand that you may not have a problem, but I do. For the time being I can't really be around it, so for us to hangout I have to set a boundary to ensure my safety and success. If we can't do anything without drinking I just can't really be around right now. I understand that you may not understand that but it's important to me to be sober."

I had friends fake fake friends that all they wanted to do was party. They didn't care about well-being.
Hanging out with your friends threaten your sobriety it's probably time to take a break. From hanging out with them when they're drinking. .
You can ask them that you're trying to get sober and if you can do activities that are not around drinking. And see what they say.
If they have a problem with that, you know they're not for you