Issues with Friends (bit of a rant)

Rant warning!



I have two best friends, we've known each other for about 9 years now- we're very tight, like brothers: their names are Matt and Mike, both of them are 19.

Mike has substance abuse issues. He struggles with coke and prescription painkillers... part of what I'm trying to come off of. Now, Mike is a great guy- we're really really close. He knows I have substance abuse issues, so he hides drugs from me, and tries really hard to pretend he's not an addict. When we were younger, we made an agreement- we'd never get in the other one's hair about the other's drug issues.

But this is getting hard on me, because other parts of me are apparently capable of forcing him to give me drugs, as I discovered the other day. He hides his substance abuse from his girlfriend and from his family. And I have no idea what to do- this guy is like a brother to me, but if I tell him to quit, or tell his girlfriend and cousins about the serious-niss of his problem, I'm scared of how he'd react... but I don't want to just sever contact with him. Matt has no idea what to do either.

And it's not just him... a bunch of my other friends always seem to enjoy talking about how much they LOVE clubbing to me, the one who's trying to quit drinking.

Then they also invite me to play hockey with them... it's probably them trying to be nice... but come on! I'm in a wheelchair and my shoulder is wrecked, do they THINK I'm ready to pile on my goalie gear and stop pucks?

Then they all dump their problems on me and literally demand advice. I'm not an advice service! Do I LOOK like I have my life under control? But I always hold my tongue and try to avoid yelling in their faces.

I love my friends and all... but I feel like yelling in their faces some times. they seem to all think that I'm some miraculous super strong person and ARGH.

Well sometimes people just need a good yelling at to get a point across to them. Just ignoring them won't do very good.

Get a sign, like Lucy in Peanuts had, "Psychiatric Advice, 5¢" and tease them about asking you to define the world just because you're a captive audience. Sounds like your friends really enjoy you and think highly of your advice. They're not just asking for help from you to be nice like you think they're asking you to play for. You're a magnet to them for some reason, use that if you can to help them.

Tell Mike it's a new day and if he gives you drugs one more time, you're telling his cousins and that he's not allowed to talk about his substance abuse and clubbing with you anymore either, you're trying to give that stuff up. Mike cares about you if you all are that close, admires you probably and what you're trying to do with your life, etc. You could be a big help in his life if you keep moving forward with your own like you are!