Matt: What’s up everybody? This is Matt.
Greg: And this is Greg.
Matt: And today we were answering a question. We have a question from Melissa. She says, “Hey guys, I recently moved to a new area to get away from old people and bad habits. I found myself in a circle of friends that people drink occasionally, and I’m not sure if it’s the best environment for me to stay in my recovery. Any advice?”
Matt: Well, thank you for the … Sorry, I’m kind of dealing with some typos I think there. Thank you for the question though. That’s a difficult situation to be in, but I think you have to realize that that’s going to be everywhere. Of course, you want to be careful. We talk a lot about social circles and social interactions, and how they’re really important for recovery. As long as it’s not too out of control, I don’t think it’s a problem to be around people that might drink socially.
Greg: Yeah, and I think it really depends on where you’re at in your recovery. My fiance, she went to rehab for alcohol over 10 months ago, and for the first six months, she really couldn’t be around it at all. She did want to be around people who were drinking. And now she’s at the point where she almost feels uncomfortable when people don’t drink around her, that she knows drink. She’s like, “Just drink. I’m fine. I’m through it, I’m good. Like drink. I want you to drink.” We have a wedding coming up. She’s like, “I hope people get shit-faced for me at our wedding. So if I can’t drink, they better fucking drink for me.”
Greg: I think it really depends on where you’re at. If you’re really new out of your recovery, maybe you just want to avoid that for a little bit. It’s person to person. But as you go on, I think you get more comfortable with it. Watching her, and seeing her progress, she’s definitely got more comfortable with it.
Greg: I don’t really drink. I don’t mind being around people who drink at all. It doesn’t bother me. I went to a bachelor party recently and everyone was drinking, but me. I had a great time. It just depends on the person and where you are in your recovery.
Matt: Yeah, and I think another important part is, as long as the people aren’t kind of pushing it on you, that’s one thing I would be careful of. But if everybody’s out having a good time, and you’re able to go out and have a good time and not drink, or whatever, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Matt: Just play it by ear. Go off of how you feel. If you think you find yourself in a bad situation, just go ahead and get out of there. I mean, you’ve already established the fact that you’re able to remove yourself from bad situation, just by saying that you moved from that area to get away from the bad habits or bad people or whatever it was.
Matt: I think you probably have good judgment on whether you’re in a bad situation or a bad situation. I would just go with your gut on that.
Greg: Yeah, so Matt brought up a really good point about people kind of forcing it on you. And I know for people around me, some see I’m not drinking, they’re like, “Very cool. That’s good.” But I’ve been around people who are like, “What? You’re not drinking?”
Matt: Come on.
Greg: “Come on, take a shot.” I’m like, “Yeah, I’m good.” And those are the types of people you got to be careful with, especially if that’s your core group of friends, because they can easily pull you back in. You might want to reevaluate, if you’re in a situation like that. If people are your friends, they’re going to be like, “All right, it’s no big deal. You’re not drinking, that’s cool.” And they respect it, and no one really thinks anything of it.
Matt: Yeah. I think those are really smart points. Again, go with your gut. Just be careful and I think you’ll be in just good shape.
Greg: All right, cool. Hopefully this helps you answer your question, Melissa, and we will talk to you all soon. Let us know if you have any more questions.
Matt: See you, guys.
