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Friends

Are your relationships under strain from too much partying – or have all your friends become people you get trashed with?

Getting trashed can cause arguments with your boyfriend or mean you end up missing social events with your mates because you’re at a never-ending chillout – or just too tired after the weekend. Having a good look at where you’re at with your friends can tell you a lot about how you’re doing with drugs at the moment.

Friends and drugs

We’ve all cancelled on a friend after an unexpectedly bad hangover or maybe ‘a couple of drinks’ that turned into an all-nighter. But if this keeps on happening you may find you start to lose touch with your friends, especially if they don’t do drugs themselves. Feeling guilty about getting trashed might mean you find it easier to talk to and hang out with other guys who are in the same situation.

If you find most of your friends are doing drugs or drinking too much though, it can make it hard to take a break or notice if your drug or alcohol use becomes problematic.

Having friends that you can do other things with, like grabbing a Sunday roast or going to the cinema, can be really important for keeping the balance right.

Here are some tips for keeping and making friends, that don’t always involve sex and drugs.

Volunteer, join a sports team or social group.

This is a great way to broaden your circle of friends, get happier and meet new people. There are tons of gay sports and social groups around the UK these days, which makes it even easier for you to meet someone with similar interests to you. You might even find some romance. There are plenty of options to meet other people.

Stay in on a Saturday night.

Arrange an alternative social event with your mates on a Sunday – from a trip to the seaside (with pre-booked train tickets) to cooking them all brunch.

Think about when you’ve got trashed before.

Was it after a meal out, when drunk in town or at a mate’s party? Try something different. Doing things in the evening that make it hard to get drunk (such as going to the cinema) may make it easier to stick to a resolution to have an alcohol or drug-free weekend.

Next: Relationships ››

‹‹ Previous: Drugs & You Quiz

Published: 31/08/2018
Next review: 31/08/2021