Remove Toxic Relationships in RecoveryOne of the more challenging issues for those in addiction recovery is the process of distancing themselves from toxic people. Often, over the period of the addiction, there are harmful, toxic and destructive people that become central in the addict’s life.

In some cases, these toxic people are family members, perhaps even spouses, parents or siblings. Often these people may be addicts themselves, or they may be codependent, actively working to sabotage the treatment or to prevent the addict from seeking treatment.

Eliminating Unhealthy People

There are different groups of people that are toxic in recovery. Working with a recovery coach or recovery community such as Wake Up Recovery can help you to identify these individuals. The coach will provide you with support and strategies to get rid of these people in your life and support the recovery plan.

  • Users – Some people in your life are users. These are people that are in the relationship solely for what you can do for them. These people don’t care if they hurt you and they are, despite what they may say, not interested in your well-being.
     
  • Drama Kings and Queens – Many people thrive on chaos in other people’s lives. They actively create stress and drama in your life to satisfy their needs. These are highly toxic individuals that need to be removed completely.
     
  • Pretenders – People often try to befriend you or say they love and care about you only, but only when you are benefitting their lives. These pretenders are often addicts themselves, wanting to use your friendship to further their addictive lifestyle.
     
  • Clinging People – Often people in your life, including other addicts and codependent people, cling to the past. They actively try to move you back into their comfort zone, often encouraging relapses to bring the relationship back to their comfort zone.

There are other people that are toxic as well. By working with a recovery coach or recovery community such as Wake Up Recovery, you can assess relationships and determine which are positive and beneficial and which ones are damaging to recovery. The coach can also work with you to plan for ending these relationships in clearly defined terms or in setting boundaries to change the dynamics of the relationship to get rid of the negativity.

How have you removed toxic relationships from your recovery and life? Or, are you having difficulty doing so? Be sure to share your thoughts and questions using the comment section below!   😉

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