Tips to Make Friendships Last

Simply put: Good friends are good for you and for your overall recovery. Not only can the right friend help you get through life’s ups and downs, but friendship has been linked to a slew of health benefits, including a reduced risk of anxiety and depression. 

Like anything else in life, however, friendship requires work and devotion to ensure it keeps going. So how can you make your relationships last? Start nurturing your connections today with these tips.

• Focus on the present. Don’t get caught up in what you used to do together. Instead, embrace the present and future and accept your new lives and roles within the friendship.
• Put your smartphone down! Spending quality time with a friend means making eye contact and paying attention to the present conversation or task at hand. Similarly, texts and Facebook posts should be supplements (not replacements) of person-to-person interaction. 
• Be honest and open. It’s okay to talk about why you value you each other as a friend as well as what you could both be doing better. Consider writing down these answers and ask your friend to do the same to spark a healthy dialogue.  
• Really listen. Don't just wait for your turn to talk when you’ve having a conversation. You’ve likely heard that communication is a two-way street – and this means that you need to concentrate on what your friend is saying and think carefully about what your friend needs to hear from you in response.

Get Aftercare at Hope Academy
Upon returning home from rehab, it’s all-too-easy to gravitate to former patterns, dangerous environmental triggers, and toxic relationships, so we created a supportive transition between treatment completion and the return home to give you the best chance at sustained sobriety. To learn more, call: 855-221-1717.