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It’s okay to take risks in recovery if those risks don’t involve drugs or alcohols, even encouraged. The best way to stop boredom is to step out of your comfort zone and do something you never could have done while drinking or using. You could swim with sharks, or try mountain biking, or try new food.
Some people say mindfulness or yoga can do this for them, but I assume those people haven’t tried drinking. It is not just the tendency to use booze to numb stress, sadness and exhaustion, it’s how to behave in the good times too. When I had been sober for three months, I received a really big job offer – the sort that warranted a celebration.
Anticipating Drinking
This puts those who have formed an attachment to alcohol in a very vulnerable position. While it doesn’t automatically indicate alcohol use disorder drinking out of boredom can expose users to the extensive list of short- and long-term health effects due to ongoing alcohol use. While boredom is to be expected and is nothing unusual, some individuals equate boredom with lack of productivity and negative connotations. In response, some people seek outlets that are detrimental to their well-being.
When seeking treatment, they tend to turn to social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and private physicians. Multiple different reasons can spur someone to drink until they’ve become dependent on alcohol. We surveyed 2,136 American adults who either wanted to stop drinking alcohol or had already tried to (successfully or not). At any point during recovery, you may struggle with finding enjoyment or sober fun, which can lead to thinking that boredom is inescapable.
Living Well as a Neurodivergent Person
You can take part in the same hobbies you enjoyed before addiction or learn something new. Fishing, quilting, gardening, and even video games are much more productive than using drugs or drinking. Fill your idle time with hobbies and activities to keep your brain from drifting to dark places. However, feeling bored without alcohol isn’t actually a bad thing. And the sickness and tiredness you feel after the initial high of alcohol consumption wears off is neither fun nor interesting. So drinking because you’re bored isn’t doing much for you in the long run.
Does alcohol make you less bored?
It might have temporarily offered relief from boredom or loneliness. But over time, you may be noticing that alcohol is creating more problems for you—not actually solving anything. Fortunately, there are many different things you can do to curb your drinking.
Far from being the boring teetotal cliches I had previously assumed, I discovered that these men were bright, entertaining and dynamic. Cultivating friendships with them made a huge impact on my outlook on sobriety and life in general. It’s very common for people, especially those with additional mental health issues like depression and anxiety, to drink out of boredom.
#2 Keep a List of Supportive Contacts
Drinking too much impacts your mind, your body, and your life. Each person’s level of care and treatment plan will be relative to their needs. There are several levels where a person’s recovery journey could start, such as detoxification, residential, and outpatient services.
We feel bad about being bored because if you compare it to other uncomfortable emotions, let’s say pain or nausea or disgust, we feel like boredom shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re in pain it is only natural to want to relieve or stop the physical pain. The decision to change these emotions sober house is a good thing, whereas with boredom we almost feel embarrassed that we’re bored as if it’s something we shouldn’t be feeling. Second, results of our study may have implications for clinical intervention as well. Modifying positive beliefs about alcohol may lead to less drinking.
No differences were found between genders, while in all the variables binge drinkers had higher scores. In general, the adolescents reported frequencies of drinking around the mid-point of the scale, in particular as concerns beer (see Table 1, top left). Regarding alcohol consumption, the average age of the first drink was 12.80 years. The majority (70%) declared they had experienced drunkenness at least once and the average age of the first experience was 13.85 years. As regards the quantity of alcohol consumed, they reported drinking two or three drinks on a night out.
