It is so hard when you see a friend suffering with alcohol abuse. No one likes to see a friend who is having a problem and is not succeeding in his or her life. Alcohol abuse can be dangerous. While if you step in and say something, your friend might get upset or be a little embarrassed – there is even more at stake if you don’t say something. By staying quiet, your friend could get seriously hurt, could hurt someone else (like in a drunk driving accident) or could even die. So it is actually worth risking your friendship to help save your friend’s life.

When you are a good friend to someone, you always have his or her best interests at heart. If you act with this intention in mind then no matter what happens – everything will be fine. Even if they do get upset and it takes them awhile to listen to you, they will understand that you were acting truly with their best interests at heart. You had their life as your top concern. So if your friend is abusing alcohol, it is time to speak up and say something – because their life is truly at stake.

Tell them by using the basic facts how their substance abuse is hurting their life. Don’t be emotional, just use facts and examples. Remind them of things they have done when they were drunk or under the influence of alcohol. They may not remember everything that they have done, but if you explain it to them, it will start to come back to them.

It is important to tell your friend how much you love them. That you are doing this because you love and care about them, and want to see them get better with addiction treatment. Your friend should feel your love and understand that you are always their friend. Your compassionate and nonjudgmental attitude will make this easier. When you tell your friend about their “problem” they may point the finger and start to tell you about your problems. You want to keep the issue focused on the topic at hand.

Equally important is protecting yourself. Don’t try to have this conversation while they are drunk or drinking alcohol. Don’t have this conversation if you feel that they will lose their temper and become physically dangerous in any way. Bring other family members or friends to support the conversation if you feel this would help make your friend listen better.

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