Support, do not criticize.

[ethereumhunter]

Though, people struggling the addictions (regardless whether one is talking about addiction to gambling or addiction to illicit substances) one needs to keep in mind those chances given by family and friends are limited. They will be able to understand you have a problem at first, and they are likely to help you to overcome those obstacles when you first mention them, but as time passes and they catch you doing the same thing and committing the same mistakes again and again, sadly they will start losing hope and patience on you, they would even start to neglect you and abandon you because they assume there is nothing which can be done to help you out.
In the end, the willpower needed to overcome those very serious situations are supposed to come directly from the inside of the person suffering from the addiction, family support helps, but it is useless if one takes it all for granted and do not take advantage of it to seek for professional help to curb the addiction and regulate the way one spends money.

It is a cruel and sad reality of people who end up homeless and we see walking around on the street. Because if it, we must appreciate the support our family give us all, and in the same way support them as much as possible, for our households to stand indefinitely in all difficulties.

The chances are limited but that doesn't means family and friends can't gives their supports to the addicted to gambling because they should helps the addicted to gambling to cure his addiction. It needs awareness from the addicted to gambling knowing that he already have addiction to gambling and he must talk to his family and friends about his problems so they can immediately helping him by seeking a way to start curing his addiction. When family and friends with the addicted to gambling can realize and give supports to him, he will knows that he is not alone because his family and friends will always besides him. This also gives trusted from his family and friends that he is serious to cure his addiction, especially if the addicted to gambling already seen what happens to him. Together, they will have a chance to helped the addicted to gambling and maybe doesn't need to takes too long to see the addicted can slowly cure his addiction. People deserves a second chance to get his normal life back but that depends on how the addicted to gambling wants to cures his addiction.

Those who doesn't get any supports from their family and friends can't survive from his addiction and become worst because they don't know how they must do and how they can cure his addiction. Yes, supports from family and friends gives an impact to the addicted person to gambling to realizes about his problems and cure his addiction.

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[Porfirii]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. -snip-

I'm experiencing a similar case with one of my closest friends, although the problem he has has nothing to do with gambling. I'm sure that if I was critical with him, he would've stopped telling me about his problems. On the contrary, he knows that I'll always offer him unconditional love and won't judge him, and that's why he tells me about his improvements and relapses.

You shouldn't force someone to do something he doesn't like, it has to come from him. Making an addict feel bad about himself doesn't help, but sharing love and company can shed some light into his life.

[Rabata]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in the heart the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

OP you just nailed it, people criticise all the time forgetting that this can happen to anybody, though we might not know what resulted to one being an excessive gambler which is addicted gambler, there are better ways of telling an addicted person something than trying to bully him or her, op I so much love this thread people see addicted gamblers as useless people but in real sense this are humans like us that may have turn to be addicted because of one reason or the other, the best way to even make them reduce this is by tell them the damage and the danger ahead if they continue in such act, at this point they need us and we must render this help to them if we really want them to change.

The difference between an addicted gambler and a normal gambler is not much. Addicted gamblers cross their gambling limitations whereas general gamblers gamble within control. But this gap does not allow them to be socially distanced. Rather if we support them there then they can come back from that stage. I don't think there is any chance to ever neglect or degrade them. It should be remembered that if an addicted gambler does not get proper support, at some point he will make bad choices. As a result, social security can also be threatened. Gambling addiction is not uncommon. Therefore, addicted gamblers must be supported with proper support to help them recover from their addiction.

[madnessteat]

I don't understand the point at all in criticizing a person if they are trying to get rid of any addiction. In fact, it doesn't really matter how many times he or she relapses before he or she completely gets rid of his or her addiction. The only thing that matters is to achieve the result, even if the path to it will not be the easiest. In my opinion, support is something that we should provide to our loved ones, no matter if they are struggling with an addiction, gaining experience in something or just want to become a better person.

[Strongkored]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in the heart the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

For people who know that someone in their family or someone close to them is addicted to gambling, even after they have previously been able to recover from their addiction, it is not a fact that will be easily accepted so that the wrong response will arise, such as criticizing and so on, especially when they don't know how to handle or deal with people who are addicted, so it's not only addicts who face difficult situations but also the people closest to them.
Apart from trying to advise and continue to provide support so that he can recover from his addiction, also taking him to a professional is the right step because the addict will get the right treatment so that he can really recover of his gambling addiction, even when playing he does it responsibly or knowingly people closest to him so that when he exceeds the limit, he can immediately stop it because there is someone who controls it.

[Dewi Aries]

OP you just nailed it, people criticise all the time forgetting that this can happen to anybody, though we might not know what resulted to one being an excessive gambler which is addicted gambler, there are better ways of telling an addicted person something than trying to bully him or her, op I so much love this thread people see addicted gamblers as useless people but in real sense this are humans like us that may have turn to be addicted because of one reason or the other, the best way to even make them reduce this is by tell them the damage and the danger ahead if they continue in such act, at this point they need us and we must render this help to them if we really want them to change.

The difference between an addicted gambler and a normal gambler is not much. Addicted gamblers cross their gambling limitations whereas general gamblers gamble within control. But this gap does not allow them to be socially distanced. Rather if we support them there then they can come back from that stage. I don't think there is any chance to ever neglect or degrade them. It should be remembered that if an addicted gambler does not get proper support, at some point he will make bad choices. As a result, social security can also be threatened. Gambling addiction is not uncommon. Therefore, addicted gamblers must be supported with proper support to help them recover from their addiction.

Yes and that means the difference is in "managing and controlling", basically anything done in excess always results in something bad and especially if we are talking about gambling which is an activity that has an even higher risk than we imagine when you treat gambling in the wrong way.  Talking about healing or recovering someone from the addiction phase is a really difficult problem to overcome and we all recognize that.

But actually it all depends on the person, I say that gambling addiction is difficult to cure when you really don't realize that you have entered the addiction phase, because sometimes experiencing financial problems does not always make someone realize that all of that is due to wrong gambling, because gambling addiction lies in a person's wrong mindset which means that gambling addiction will not be too difficult to overcome if for example they want and have a strong determination to change, and after that we can help them with some support even if it's just a suggestion, and in my opinion what should be prioritized is to emphasize awareness, not to let them experience interest in gambling again, meaning that if possible, the healing must be supervised by several closest people, especially family.

[Odusko]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time being. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in their hearts the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

This approach works alot like magic because when you support someone who is in a mess of a stage a gambling addiction, you tend to show the brighter side of things that you could not have noticed since you are seeing things from the outside, and with that you can easily buy their interest and attention to listen to you after all, you doing that out of love, which helps them to come out of the situation on time.
But criticism on the other hand will definitely affect the victim's overall morale and motivation, so the best result when dealing with a case of addiction is to truly support the victim in the best possible that you can and try to avoid overdoing it in such a way that he may lose interest in overcoming the addictions at all seeing it as way of resistance.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in the heart the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

      -      Well, you have a point about that. Having a decision is a matter of choice; if the time comes that an addicted gambler wants to let go, it is considered his choice, and he may have seen that it is in his best interest to give up gambling. .

Then one more thing: we can go through everything with a proper discussion and a proper reminder to them that we don't need to get angry or yell at them. That is why our understanding must be broad in all circumstances.

[Outhue]

I don't understand the point at all in criticizing a person if they are trying to get rid of any addiction. In fact, it doesn't really matter how many times he or she relapses before he or she completely gets rid of his or her addiction. The only thing that matters is to achieve the result, even if the path to it will not be the easiest. In my opinion, support is something that we should provide to our loved ones, no matter if they are struggling with an addiction, gaining experience in something, or just want to become a better person.

When the time is right, an addicted person will break free from his or her addiction, if the time is wrong there is nothing that anyone can do to make them stop, this is what I have learned from the experience that I have with gambling addicts.

Some people do need to be criticized before they wake up from their stupid dreams, they might be able to think about themselves after criticism, so I am not entirely against this idea, people are always different.

I have a cousin who is too rowdy, if you want him to listen to you, do not try to speak to him like a gentle person, as if you are preaching to him for a change, it won't go through his ears, but if you directly use some harsh worlds, in a way like you are trying to pick a fight with him, you will get his attention and also his senses.

It depends on the person that you are trying to change, I prefer the truth, in a gentle manner than trying to use harsh words, I won't even listen to your advice, I feel more pained with words than brute force.

[adpinbr]

Many people actually want to stop gambling , but they are not seeing the right position . So Encourage them actually don’t really have what they do to spend some time so they use gambling definitely make money and spend a lot of time in the process they lose more than they can afford to lose and it become a problem if you are in a situation whereby someone is gambling and passing challenges and you feel like the person needs help all you need to do is to advise and tell them to stop the person from gambling for a while

[Quidat]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in the heart the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

      -      Well, you have a point about that. Having a decision is a matter of choice; if the time comes that an addicted gambler wants to let go, it is considered his choice, and he may have seen that it is in his best interest to give up gambling. .

Then one more thing: we can go through everything with a proper discussion and a proper reminder to them that we don't need to get angry or yell at them. That is why our understanding must be broad in all circumstances.

Solving out addiction could really be just that done into those people who are really that willing to quit gambling for good and that would be already enough for them to get away such addiction.
Yes, its hard but its not impossible. It is really just that when it comes to seriousness and discipline then each person does have that different levels on which there are ones who could easily do it
and there are ones who do fail on this one. For those people whose around them and tending to make out some advises then there are individuals who are really that open to some advises and there are ones who arent and  this is why they would really be tending to hide as much as they could. As someone who do tend to make some advises then it would be always best on having that non aggressive approach rather than on scolding them.

[nara1892]

The difference between an addicted gambler and a normal gambler is not much. Addicted gamblers cross their gambling limitations whereas general gamblers gamble within control. But this gap does not allow them to be socially distanced. Rather if we support them there then they can come back from that stage. I don't think there is any chance to ever neglect or degrade them. It should be remembered that if an addicted gambler does not get proper support, at some point he will make bad choices. As a result, social security can also be threatened. Gambling addiction is not uncommon. Therefore, addicted gamblers must be supported with proper support to help them recover from their addiction.

Yes, that's true, addicted gamblers tend to gamble excessively so that it is detrimental to themselves and also to other people such as relatives or friends. in my opinion we have to support something that leads to the positive, like they want to stop their addiction, at that time we have to support them, so that they can go through process after process because stopping gambling is not easy, many gamblers fail when they want to stop gamble. It requires determination and strong intentions that are not easily shaken, which must be paid attention to.

It's true what you say, with those who are addicted to gambling, of course there is a big possibility that they will take bad actions, to the point that it is detrimental to themselves. like excessive gambling, which of course shouldn't be done, then we should be able to support them to recover from this detrimental addiction, even though it's not family, there's no harm in helping other people by giving them encouragement to recover.

[Rampagoe004]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in the heart the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

I agree with you. Don't bring up his past when he was addicted to gambling. And and underestimate someone's desire to stop gambling addiction. Sometimes someone who wants to quit really needs support from those closest to them and their friends. He needs moral support and motivation to fully recover from addiction. Give them space to change and recover from addiction. Because if we don't support him then he may think that he can no longer escape the label of a gambling addict and if his desire to stop is not appreciated, some people will return to being addicts because they think their family and friends no longer accept them.

[borovichok]

The chances are limited but that doesn't means family and friends can't gives their supports to the addicted to gambling because they should helps the addicted to gambling to cure his addiction. It needs awareness from the addicted to gambling knowing that he already have addiction to gambling and he must talk to his family and friends about his problems so they can immediately helping him by seeking a way to start curing his addiction. When family and friends with the addicted to gambling can realize and give supports to him, he will knows that he is not alone because his family and friends will always besides him. This also gives trusted from his family and friends that he is serious to cure his addiction, especially if the addicted to gambling already seen what happens to him. Together, they will have a chance to helped the addicted to gambling and maybe doesn't need to takes too long to see the addicted can slowly cure his addiction. People deserves a second chance to get his normal life back but that depends on how the addicted to gambling wants to cures his addiction.

Those who doesn't get any supports from their family and friends can't survive from his addiction and become worst because they don't know how they must do and how they can cure his addiction. Yes, supports from family and friends gives an impact to the addicted person to gambling to realizes about his problems and cure his addiction.

The journey must begin with the addicted gambler. Some addicts prefer talking to a stranger about their addiction than to a friend or family member. This is wrong in my thinking. Friends and family are in the best position to help out. After an addict has accepted that he is into problem gambling, the support of friends and family becomes imperative since it will help the gambler to heal faster. The feeling of being loved and wanted by friends and family is good support for the addicted gambler. When one considers that family will not laugh at the addicted gambler but rather give a helping hand, the role of family becomes indispensable.

I remember gambling with money that was supposed to be used to settle some family bills. When my mom found out she didn’t talk down on me but handled the matter in a way that I felt self-guilt and vowed within myself not to repeat such behaviour. This lays credence to the fact that family support is key in helping an addict.

[Accardo]

Family shapes the life of anybody and causes or improves any development that occurs in a person's life. Family is almost all we've got and the society. When those people help out during a period of trouble, we tend to adhere to treatment faster than ever. But their absence only stresses the gambler and puts him into a bad financial shape. And suffering his ego, about himself, and being the man of the family. Gamblers shouldn't get degenerated due to gambling. They need to understand and follow a good instinct on money management and self-control. Wagering money can't be the only financial responsibility of a gambler.

Looking into other aspects of life, fixes the home of anybody, including a gambler. Neglecting those responsibilities, births, misunderstanding in the family. The problem or downside on the person's family, which I attribute to business and work, is that many don't observe the behavioral change of those around them. Addiction arrives with symptoms that increases to a high stage if not attended to while it's fresh. If a home cares so much about their ward, once they begin to finalize a change in his character, they should begin a therapy session with the person. While he still has some self-control left. It helps a long way.

Our lives are built on family, society, and the individual. You accurately call family a cornerstone. Let's cut through the noise: accountability and tough love. A gambler's demise is a call to arms for his loved ones. Family helps avoid falls as well as cushion them

Vigilance is about recognizing addiction early on. It's not enough to be present when the ship sinks. Avoiding the iceberg from the start is key. As you indicated, therapy is important, but so is a home setting that encourages or discourages gambling

Your remark about neglecting duties is spot-on. A common war, not simply the gambler's. The public typically ignores, judges, and fails to help. Change that narrative and let the gambler realize it's about life, not just money. It's a shared obligation, pal

The public fail to help in many situations, where a victim is in trouble. Human race is now headed towards jobs, wealth, and building economy. Barely do we see a scenario where humans collectively decide to help another. This attitude increases the troubles of addicts in the society. People now stay very careful, due to such stigmas. Like a friend would say, one can't be always careful. Gamblers are meant to be executing their skills with not much fear of failing. The fear of getting addicted, also leads to problem gambling. Removing such fear is important.

The societal negligence has affected the confidence of gamblers and make them to be careful not to end up addicted. But sooner, such players get addicted into gambling, due to lack of confidence. If players are given the opportunity to discuss with non-gamblers or family members without having any stigma or getting neglected, they'll feel relaxed while gambling. Knowing fully well that they're people who got his back. Gamblers, all, need an outside observer, that can detect the slightest change of behavior. Like I said previously, most people are occupied with their business, and the human race doesn't have such luxury to care about another. Even growing kids, barely get to see their parents.

[slapper]

Though, people struggling the addictions (regardless whether one is talking about addiction to gambling or addiction to illicit substances) one needs to keep in mind those chances given by family and friends are limited. They will be able to understand you have a problem at first, and they are likely to help you to overcome those obstacles when you first mention them, but as time passes and they catch you doing the same thing and committing the same mistakes again and again, sadly they will start losing hope and patience on you, they would even start to neglect you and abandon you because they assume there is nothing which can be done to help you out.
In the end, the willpower needed to overcome those very serious situations are supposed to come directly from the inside of the person suffering from the addiction, family support helps, but it is useless if one takes it all for granted and do not take advantage of it to seek for professional help to curb the addiction and regulate the way one spends money.

It is a cruel and sad reality of people who end up homeless and we see walking around on the street. Because if it, we must appreciate the support our family give us all, and in the same way support them as much as possible, for our households to stand indefinitely in all difficulties.

The chances are limited but that doesn't means family and friends can't gives their supports to the addicted to gambling because they should helps the addicted to gambling to cure his addiction. It needs awareness from the addicted to gambling knowing that he already have addiction to gambling and he must talk to his family and friends about his problems so they can immediately helping him by seeking a way to start curing his addiction. When family and friends with the addicted to gambling can realize and give supports to him, he will knows that he is not alone because his family and friends will always besides him. This also gives trusted from his family and friends that he is serious to cure his addiction, especially if the addicted to gambling already seen what happens to him. Together, they will have a chance to helped the addicted to gambling and maybe doesn't need to takes too long to see the addicted can slowly cure his addiction. People deserves a second chance to get his normal life back but that depends on how the addicted to gambling wants to cures his addiction.

Those who doesn't get any supports from their family and friends can't survive from his addiction and become worst because they don't know how they must do and how they can cure his addiction. Yes, supports from family and friends gives an impact to the addicted person to gambling to realizes about his problems and cure his addiction.

Simply put, awareness is the first step out of any abyss, especially the gambling pit. Admitting and discussing addiction is the actual challenge. The reality is brutal, right? Opening is dangerous because it demands vulnerability. Healing begins there, too. Family and friends are lifelines, not spectators. Their assistance is essential. Imagine realising you're not shouting into space. A hand is waiting to draw you back. It's powerful, right? Trust, trust binds. Knowing an army is behind someone fighting their demons changes the game

Two-way street. The addict must want and be ready for this trip. And supporters? Be prepared for the long haul. They don't have quick remedies. A marathon, not a sprint. Transformation occurs when people resolve to change, support, and travel this path together. No sugarcoating; it's hard. But is it worthwhile? Absolutely

[rahmad2nd]

If you know anybody trying to stop the addiction of gambling to become better for themselves and their family, try and show them support by not criticizing them. If you observe that they experience some kind of relapse and go back to gamble even when they said they were not going to gamble, try to encourage them to remember why they wanted to stop gambling for the time. It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them, most of them need all the support they can get to help them maintain the decision to give gambling some time away. If you criticize and mock them, they may nurse in the heart the mindset that gambling is impossible to stop, or even stop trying to stop gambling because you have already made them feel like they can never do it.

Obviously, I really support it according to the theme of your thread title. however, the first and most important support is: from the addict himself. if you don't have strong intentions, determination and so on. then the support given by family, relatives, friends, is only considered as a passing wind. I mean, someone who wants to recover from their addiction, whatever type it is. The first and most important thing is yourself. The question is, are they truly and sincerely willing to change. If so, intention and determination must be a package as initial tools to start fixing the addiction.

I'm interested in what you said, I'll quote it "It is not an easy decision for some of them to make, and even imagining that they will never gamble again can make it worse for them:". well, if it were easy there would be no non-profit communities, rehabilitation and so on related to gambling addiction. so, that's why it's not easy. and therefore also, an addict must support himself before getting support from his environment. whether it's family, friends, or relatives. If someone shows determination and strong intentions, support will flow automatically because that person shows their seriousness.

For me, criticism is important, but constructive criticism, not criticism that brings down. So, the point is not that someone or part of the family is criticizing. but show sincere intentions, strong determination if you want change. As for criticism, it is something that is normal and use the opposite, such as motivation, as a means of encouragement. prove it, if we can. well, something like that for me personally.

[danherbias07]

I don't understand the point at all in criticizing a person if they are trying to get rid of any addiction. In fact, it doesn't really matter how many times he or she relapses before he or she completely gets rid of his or her addiction. The only thing that matters is to achieve the result, even if the path to it will not be the easiest. In my opinion, support is something that we should provide to our loved ones, no matter if they are struggling with an addiction, gaining experience in something or just want to become a better person.

I agree with you. There are matters that we have to take seriously and gambling addiction is one of those. We are not supposed to criticize them but instead, we should be supporting them. Offer any help that we could give and even if it is the simplest one, I bet it will be appreciated especially from a person who is having trouble letting go of his bad habit.
Some will not just criticize, they will do the worse by gossiping it around until the gambling addict doesn't feel like he is safe in his environment anymore. This could lead to a person being unsocial or worse, he could become a suicidal person which ain't good. Some people just don't think before they talk and they don't even know that it is hurting another human life. They need help, it's either we just shut our mouths or we offer our hand so that he will feel like there are people who do care. Who knows, maybe that's all he needs. Someone who would be there and will not let him feel alone.

[AmoreJaz]

I don't understand the point at all in criticizing a person if they are trying to get rid of any addiction. In fact, it doesn't really matter how many times he or she relapses before he or she completely gets rid of his or her addiction. The only thing that matters is to achieve the result, even if the path to it will not be the easiest. In my opinion, support is something that we should provide to our loved ones, no matter if they are struggling with an addiction, gaining experience in something or just want to become a better person.

This is like any other addiction, the path to recovery is always not smooth. But if you have the will and determination, in time, you will also achieve the change that you want for your life. That is, if you won't give up. It is normal that you will have a relapse, but what matters here is that once you figured out that you are going back to old habits again, you change the path and try to get out as soon as possible.

I'm experiencing a similar case with one of my closest friends, although the problem he has has nothing to do with gambling. I'm sure that if I was critical with him, he would've stopped telling me about his problems. On the contrary, he knows that I'll always offer him unconditional love and won't judge him, and that's why he tells me about his improvements and relapses.

You shouldn't force someone to do something he doesn't like, it has to come from him. Making an addict feel bad about himself doesn't help, but sharing love and company can shed some light into his life.

I believe that kind of support to a friend is very much needed not the nagging type one. Because all they need is love and understanding as they have inner battles to overcome as well.
If you are really a very close friend of an addict, try to look at other activities that you think will divert his attention from going back to his old habits such as -
> go to camping / hiking / road trip
> go to the beach and soak yourselves
> look for sports that you think he/she will be interested in
> go travel the world, or local tourist spots
> join charitable causes
> join meditation group

[o48o]

I don't understand the point at all in criticizing a person if they are trying to get rid of any addiction. In fact, it doesn't really matter how many times he or she relapses before he or she completely gets rid of his or her addiction. The only thing that matters is to achieve the result, even if the path to it will not be the easiest. In my opinion, support is something that we should provide to our loved ones, no matter if they are struggling with an addiction, gaining experience in something or just want to become a better person.

If they indeed are trying to get rid of it, they need more compassion, and people who listen. But if they try to justify their actions by reasoning with illogical arguments to keep their addiction alive, i would say confrontation and critisizm are in order. Because there's a change that addicts surround themselves with yes men, and that nothing is their fault, and that they are fine as they are, then they don't need to change. Because in that way they don't have ever face the facts. They are loved as they are. No work required.

Wanting to change needs to come from inside, but what i mean with that is that i don't think any need for change would happen without clashing with real world and real people. Sometimes people need to face reality, and that can come in form of confrontation. To hear that they hurt others, to realize they need to change. Beacuse if all they get is endless accepting and no criticizim, that won't cut it for some people. As some of us can just use people as endless cargabe cans to pour their problems on. That kind of abuse happens as well, especially if addict is feeling so bad, that they don't have enough energy for empathy to see friends as humans. Then they become somekind of psychology relief machines to tell all their endless problems to. That gives them fast relief wihout needing to do any emotional heavy lifting for on themselves

So some people need to hear critizism too. Not just acceptance. It's like with our own kids when they have done something bad. We can love them as they are, even though we don't accept their actions.