Staying away from toxic people is important for your recovery. Toxic people includes old associates with whom you may have used drugs and alcohol with. Old friends may not be bad people, but they are not good for you as you journey down the path of recovery.

Ending relationships or putting relationships on hold is not easy. In fact, avoiding toxicity from people who still use drugs and alcohol can even be painful. Despite this, you have to develop new, healthy relationships with people who share a common goal. That goal is recovery.

In order to avoid toxic people, you should develop new relationships with healthy, sober allies. You can start by going to meetings and support groups. At meetings, you will find people who share your goal of recovery. Recovering friends are like diamonds. They understand how early recovery feels, and they understand the difficulty of distancing yourself from toxic people.

Acknowledging the loss of your old relationships is important. Chances are that some of your old associations have been a part of your life for quite some time. Just because you distance yourself, does not mean that you do not have affections for your old friends. They may even come around to the recovery side one day. However, try to keep in mind that people who are still using will cause you to fall before you convince them of recovery.

Recognize why you need to distance yourself. In some cases, old friends do find recovery, but for now you will be better off prioritizing your recovery. If you do still want to spend time with old friends, be sure to establish strict boundaries. Invite them to a meeting or out to eat. Make it clear that no substance use will be tolerated. Consider taking a sober friend with you. Be careful to have a solid amount of clean time under your belt. Also, do not go to old places where you and your old associate’s used together.

Staying away from toxic people is not easy, especially when these people have been your friends. You need to be careful how much time you spend with them. You should also be careful not to frequent old places and possibly not be alone with them while they are still in the addictive lifestyle.

At The Kimberly Center, we care about your recovery, and this includes ending old relationships and building new ones.. Call us now at 855-4-KCENTER. We want to help you learn how to make the right choices when it comes to forming, maintaining, or leaving relationships. At the Kimberly Center, you are in safe hands.