One of my best friends is an addict. He doesn’t do anything but smoke day and night. I am worried for him but I have no clue how to help at this point. We often smoke together but I feel like I’m encouraging his behaviour. I don’t know what to do to help him except stop smoking with him. Does anyone have recommendations?
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I don’t have a magic solution for you unfortunately. But I can totally relate to this! For me, the best way I found to help my friend was to talk with him about it and not judging his behavior. At some point when he was ready, he knew he could count on me and talk with me about his addiction without being judged.
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I find that asking them questions like « How do you think your consumption has altered your daily routine? » gets them to take a 3rd person perspective on their own addiction, without necessarily implementing judgement or disapproval. As long as you maintain a calm and hospitable tone with them, they might be more open to talking about it. And the more they talk, the more they think. And the more they think, the more they question themselves and their behavior. At the end of the day, they need to be the one that makes a decision about their consumption. So, directing them to that train of thought while providing them with support is the best thing you can do!
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