Dating someone who is a recovering drug addict?

Get her addicted again and keep dope on hand at all times. It will give you so much leverage... you'll never lose an argument!

Just kidding! Thats horrible, I know. Forgive the off-color joke.

In all seriousness, someone very close to me has had life-long meth problems -they are in state prison right now, because they were unable to complete their probation. They had many warnings about skipping meetings/drug tests, and were so hopelessly addicted that even with a very leniant P.O., they ended up locked up.

So if anybodies allowed to joke about this, its me.

If her drug use becomes problematic in the future you HAVE TO give her a very clear-cut ultimatum. She cant have both you and the dope. Tell her that if she loves you, it will be an easy choice. Be a shoulder to cry on. Sit with her through the withdraws -she will be far from pleasent, and probably very emotional, but hang in there.

Dont be shocked if you're let down. I'm not being pessimistic, but I've seen enough examples in my life to know sometimes a person just cant recover from meth addiction =/

Good luck, I hope for the best.

Someone once gave me a great way of deciding if the guy you are dating is a "good guy". They said to ask yourself would you want your children to be like the guy you are dating. That question woke me up big time. And it is a great question, especially at your age of 18 because you are fertile and it is not out of the question that you could get pregnant easily if you had sexual intercourse with this 19 year old. It is great that he went to rehab, and that is not the issue here so much. It is important that you know he has an addictive personality, but lots of people have conquered their addictions and developed into wonderful people. It does not sound like your guy has become a "good guy". Not so great that he had a "nasty breakup." I have never had a nasty breakup. Any of the guys I used to date could walk up to me today and we would truly be glad to see each other. Nasty breakups come from major problems with the people involved. They don't just happen. So, do you want to possibly some day be one of his "nasty breakups"? Then there is the way he is acting right now: "really critical and gets mad really easy and just snaps at me for no reason." That is not normal behavior and it is a big RED FLAG. If that is happening in the first month, that is a very concerning sign. If you have already slept with him, then your ability to make a sound decision about having him in your life is already impaired. Sex binds people's spirits together, and even though a part of you may want to move on, there is an almost irresistible urge to be with him anyway. That is why I think it is best to hold off on the sex until marriage. I was very drawn to a man many years ago, and thought "he was the one". He was not. Luckily we did were not intimate, and when it came time to move on (he had rages too), I was able to with prayer and friends support. Talk to a trusted adult about your situation, but please really consider, do you want your children to be like him? Try this book: The Invisible Bond: How to Break From Your Sexual Past, by Barbara Wilson.

I would take it slow, snails pace as she has only been clean for a year and is still taking things to manage her drug addition. I would maintain the friendship for a very longtime as any upset, setback could potentially damage her chances of a full recovery from drug addiction.

If you get involved with her sexually, it would alter your friendship, your ability to support her and keep her on the straight and narrow. If you really care for this woman, just be her friend, there is plenty time in the future to develop the relationship further when she no longer needs to take a meth drug to sub-stain her drug cravings.

She has come along way in a year, allow her even longer to get off the meth drug, to be her own person without any drug substitute, to get her life back on track. Before you even contemplate taking the friendship further.

You have history with this woman, always been there for her as a rescuer and a friend, it's never a good idea to get involved with someone from the past, who is needy, still recovering as anything that went wrong would help her go backwards instead of forwards.

Stay her friend, maybe when she is off the meth drug, you can become more than friends. Her life is hard enough without your feelings for her, wanting to be more than friends, getting in the way of supporting her. I know you said she wants it go further eventually, note she said eventually. Can you wait until she in back in control of her own life, free of any meth drug? That's what she really needs.