Addiction does not just affect an individual alone, it affects those around them. The first set of people who are affected by the addiction of an individual are family and friends.
This is followed by co-workers, neighbors, long-distance friends and the list goes on.
There are some families that have been totally torn apart because of addiction. Also, some people are no longer best friends because of addiction.
One of the major reasons for this is, addiction changes a person, and the individual usually expects everyone to understand him or her.
Worse still, it is difficult to see any individual that would open up about their addiction. This is done because of prejudice. Hence, this is one of the reasons why people find it hard to open up to a counselor.
To repair a relationship after addiction, the first step is to communicate. You need to inform those people you have lost connection with that, you want to discuss with them.
You also need to let them know that you are putting your life together after addiction, and you want to repair your relationship.
Not everyone would accept this as an act of good faith, so you need to be ready for some disappointment. However, you will need to go the extra mile to make this happen.
If the person is responsible for your addiction, the best you can do is to mend fences over the phone or a chat, and maintain the long-distance friendship if possible.
Also, you need to be honest and ask for forgiveness. You need to state it clearly that you have made mistakes, and you are now aware of them.
So even though people are finding it difficult to come around, you will know that you have done your part.
In addition to this, you also need to go for support meetings. These meetings are often targeted at helping you connect with other people who are equally going through the same phase of reconnection.