Recovering alcoholic

[Joanna199227]

I'm a recovering alcoholic, been 19 days sober! Which is brilliant for me and my partner and family who have helped me through my illness, I currently go to A.A. and have been for the past 2 years on and off. Enough about me, I want your views on me helping a friend with the start of her recovery through alcohol. I've been going to my weekly meetings to help me CGL and have currently been prescribed Antabuse to help me through staying sober. Which is good for me, but like I said my friend who I have grew up is currently struggling with alcohol, I want to help or guide her down the first steps of recovering but don't want her to bring me down. She has accepted that she needs help but can't do it herself taking the right steps. My partner thinks that I should delete contact with her for good because of my recovery that she may bring me down. I want to be there for her and know she is an a bad way atm with personal problems/ family life plus with her alcohol addiction. She has accepted she needs to drink, I need some more advice on what I shall or shall not do, to help me in my recovery and also hers. I'm so determined not to touch alcohol again, from what it has caused me and my family I just don't want to see her go through the same situation I put myself in. She knows that she needs help but is embarrassed I think that people will judge her. I just need some more advice on what to do. Shall I help her or delete contact until she gets better if she will accept the help to get better?

[girlintheglass]

Honestly - your best bet is just concentrating on yourself. You have done so well. If your friend wants help to get sober then it's there for the taking but right now you need all your strength for you. They say addiction is selfish but so must you be in your recovery. You are your number 1 priority right now.

[Etino]

I agree with girlintheglass! Concentrate on yourself, it’d be too easy to get distracted from your primary purpose at the moment which is to stay sober.
Well done, keep at it a day at a time.

[LaFreaka]

I think you should give her advice on how to reach out for support and help but explain that you are not strong enough to support her through her recovery - say you have been strongly advised not to. She’ll understand and if she doesn’t you know you did the right thing anyway because she’s not thinking of anyone but herself.