Alcoholic friend (40sM) went on bender on camping trip - how do we go forward? Can/should we invite him back?

It's a tricky one and I think it depends on your relationship and what he's usually like. I really appreciate you thinking so carefully of your friend.

I go on a group trip every year, and to be honest if one of my friends acted like that, I wouldn't jump to cutting them off but rather to being really concerned. But we are a smaller group of people with a very strong friendship that goes back a long way.

That said if they kept doing it I would get pretty annoyed, and I probably wouldn't bring them out to events with a larger group for awhile.

My advice would be to catch up with more of a supportive tone. If I know anything from having made a fool of myself drinking, it's that you usually wake up feeling pretty bloody stupid. I suspect a bunch of emails telling him how shitty he was probably didn't really help and to be honest, may not have wanted him to be open and honest with you.

If you're particularly close to him, I'd maybe take him out separately and just say you're really worried and just address it straight on - do you think you have a drinking problem? It's how he responds that would make the decision as to how to go forward.

/r/relationships Thread