Real Talk on Managing Relationships Without Relapsing

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Transcript

To navigate my relationships, I had to look at what was considered a healthy boundary for me. I had to resituate where I would meet up with my friends, what time of day I would be meeting up with my friends. I wouldn’t necessarily go over to their house, but I would have them over to my house. We would meet for lunch. Now I can meet for dinner with them, but obviously I don’t finish off by going to happy hour with them. It was really difficult at the beginning to do that, but I knew for recovery that putting myself first was the most important thing and I didn’t want to jeopardize my recovery.

As someone who’s been in recovery now for almost nine years, I do put myself in situations where there is alcohol. I go to concerts, I go out dancing and things like that but I still go with people who are in recovery and I make sure I have a seltzer in my hand or something like that. If things get uncomfortable, I have a sponsor, I have friends and family who support me, and I can always pick up the phone if I’m at an event, like a wedding or a party for a friend and contact them and let them know how I’m feeling. If things really get uncomfortable, I can get in my car and I can leave.