To the addict’s best friend:

You are a special kind of people. You are brave, you are caring beyond belief, and arguably a little bit crazy. Do not let them change you. As an addict’s best friend, you must draw a line to preserve yourself. It is the most important part of the relationship. Without this line, that we’ll call the "calculated risk line," you will demolish every ounce of being you have.

Any hope in humanity, or self-esteem that you entered this friendship with, will disappear in the empty nights of worry and terror. This calculated risk line will save your life, and with any luck, it could save their life too. You must constantly be asking yourself how much they are making you hurt, and if you can help them hurt you less.

They do not want to hurt you.

As an addict’s best friend, you have to understand that they love you beyond a reasonable doubt.

It is your responsibility to know that they need you in their life, as much as they need to take a hit.

It is your job to draw your calculated risk line at a point where they can no longer realize that they need you as much as they need their drug of choice. They might never fully be able to grasp how important you are to them, but I promise you, if you draw this line, if you let them know that they are standing on the fence between a calculated risk and a careless one, they will be careful.

As an addict’s best friend, it will never be easy.

When you cannot look your best friend in the eyes because the ones staring back at you are no longer recognizable, know that they are standing on the fence. Understand that with a calculated risk, there is a reward, but with a careless risk, there is only hurt.

It’s like running three miles. It might hurt at points, but once you’re finished, you are a better person for running that three miles. However, if you strain your quad halfway through the run, and attempt to finish the one-and-a-half miles to the end, you are being careless. You will get hurt. Do not let them strain your quad, and make you finish the run on one leg. No other person is worth more than yourself. You must remember this. Paint it on your calculated risk line and never forget it.

The fact that you can love someone who may need to be intoxicated in order to love themselves is amazing.

It’s beautiful, but you need to know that you are worth loving too.

You must paint on your line, that they might choose drugs over you nine times out of ten, but that tenth choice will bring tears to your eyes. Do not lose hope. Do not stop believing in them. Most importantly, do not forget about your line. It will change your life, it will preserve your soul, and it will make a difference.