What to do when their friends suggest leaving?

[Greek]

BO,
So to your original question about what one could do to offset the influence of WAS friends...I'll tell you what Coach did re: my WAS support group. He didn't even know who they were! As he expressed to you earlier, there was nothing he could do about what they would or would not advise me to do or not do, and he didn't try. I had only one sort of dangerous friend and I did go out w her once. Coach knew it and was upset about it. His action that night he knew I was out w her was to take his phone apart in three pieces so he would not call me while I was out. I know he was upset. I know he was worried. I know he wanted very much to get in then way of that friend taking me out. HERE IS THE THING...there was NOTHING he could have said or done, no one he could have influenced, nothing he could have advised me of, no article or book he could have set before me that would have kept me from going for drinks w that friend that night. In fact, had he tried any of those things, I would have pulled even further away! Repeat...FURTHER AWAY. His successful damage control was indeed to leave me alone and take excellent care of himself.

And that dangerous friend? I ended up seeing for myself that she was not good counsel for me. To this day, Coach has yet to neither agree nor disagree.

And on the other end of the spectrum, other members of my support group included two former nuns. Coach has had nothing to say about them either.

Because it didn't matter if I was getting counsel from a cougar or a former nun...he could not control any of it. And trying to do so would have been seen by me as controlling, desperate, weak.

I know you are not asking for advice and none is being offered here. I'm attempting to answer what I think you are asking about. I'm giving you the WAS perspective of what worked re: the influence of friends and what should be done about it.

Greek