The Absolute WORST Thing To Say To Someone Who Has An Addiction 🤐

The worst thing you can say to someone with an addiction is, "You are a terrible person."

Saying this will backfire on you. It will blow up in your face, so do your best to avoid this.

Any version of this includes comments like:

  • You're such a screw-up.
  • You're the reason this family's falling apart.
  • You're costing us everything.
  • You don't care about anyone but yourself.
  • How could you do this to us?
  • You're ruining it for everybody.
  • You're ruining my day.
  • It's your life you're wasting.

Those are all different ways of saying to someone that they are a terrible person.

Not only is it not going to help them be a better person, but it's also going to backfire on you because when you say something like that to someone, they're going to get very, very defensive. The walls will likely come up, and the spikes will most likely come out. Even if they're doing terrible things, they're probably not doing it because they want to be a horrible person. They're probably doing it because they're stuck in this addictive cycle.

Now, I'm not making excuses. I'm not saying it's okay. Mostly what I'm saying is don't say that to them in that direct way.

If you want the person to be better, remind them of their better qualities. It's going to work for you 10,000 times better to validate a person's good qualities and good intentions positively.

We are going to respond better to positive reinforcement than criticism.

I know how irritating it can be to live with someone with an addiction. Even though you know you need to keep your cool, it's challenging to pull off because living with someone with an addiction is pretty traumatizing.

If you want to know more about the effects of living with someone with an addiction and how to respond, watch the videos below next. It is on that exact topic.

Amber Hollingsworth

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