Relationships in Recovery
Hi there. I'm looking for some advice. I've recently rekindled things romantically with an old friend who is in recovery. He's been sober for a year, but there have of course been some serious ups and downs for him on the road to recovery over the past 5 years or so. We met in college 12 years ago and were off again, on again up until about 7 years ago. A lot of the off again was related to his addiction, although I didn't fully realize it at the time. I didn't how bad things had gotten for him until he came out to me recently about his path to recovery. We have been rekindling, cautiously, especially as we are living some distance from each other. I'm trying to walk a fine line between reestablishing a relationship, maintaining a deep friendship, and both supporting and not interfering with, his recovery, and I suppose I'm just looking for some tips? What to do/say, what not to do, etc. Long distance relationships can be stressful, and I'd like to be sure I'm balancing communication without being overbearing and creating undue stress. I'm not a great communicator emotionally, and as part of the program is being truthful with oneself and others, I think maybe I'm not fulfilling my end effectively.