You can help a friend. You can’t save them from every choice. Knowing the difference protects you both.

There is a line between being useful to someone and taking responsibility for their decisions, and it is easy to cross when you love them. Past that line you start carrying something that was never yours, and they start leaning instead of deciding. Both of you get worse at it. Help is real; rescue is usually a story you are telling yourself.

Keep offering the specific things you can actually do: a lift, a listen, a message at the right hour. Then let the choice be theirs, out loud if necessary. If it is something serious, bring in an adult rather than holding it alone.