Now that we've talked about family, let's talk about friends. Unlike family, your friends are the people that you have chosen over the timespan of your life. Some of you may have childhood friends that are still your friends now. And some of you may have friends that you just met. Some of you may have both, but either way, let's talk about how to approach the friend situation. The first thing I want you to do is make a mental list of friends that you use cocaine with, or have used cocaine with.
Also note those friends who were not your friends before you started using cocaine, and then only started to become friends with after you started using cocaine. For example, let's say you started using cocaine two years ago, and two years ago, you met a friend at a party and you were both using cocaine over the past two years, you to become friends. Now I want you to think about what your friendship would look like outside of cocaine. It's normal to gain friendships and bonds over drugs. I'm not saying you shouldn't be friends with them. But if they're still using cocaine and you're trying to stop them staying close to them is a bad idea for now anyway.
Also, I want you to think about those friends who bring toxicity to your life. We talked about toxic relationships in the family lecture, but know that you can have toxic friendships too. Those are also people that you'll need to take a break from. On the flip side, you may have friends who don't use cocaine and have always been there for you. These are friends you want to hang on to and it will be important to start to rebuild relationships and trust with those friends. So how do you regain trust?
Two ways. One is just not using but this takes time. Okay. And another way is being a kind and considerate friend. Remember, it's not always about you. So take a genuine interest in their life to Okay, so let's recap when it comes to friendships.
Y'all need to distance yourself or completely walk away from people who you have used cocaine with, or friends that are toxic and constantly making you feel like you want to use cocaine. You want to make sure that you stay friends with those friends who are good for you those who show you support and to do that you'll want to one not use. Remember actions speak louder than words and to be kind and considerate. See in the next lecture when we talk about professional relationships.