I used to drink because I never knew what would happen. I felt like anything could happen when I got rid of my inhibitions. And frankly, after years of drinking, I was really out of shape. And I wanted to get more healthy while I was not drinking. So it hit everything I needed to do to keep me amused.

The Boredom Drinking Loop

And you just need to not talk to people and feel like you have the flu, you can look around and see those activities and that people are hiding in plain sight. We almost have tunnel vision when we quit drinking. We think that everyone around strengths that every activity involves alcohol, because drinking has been our constant companion. It’s what we sit outside on the deck with in the evenings.

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And even though my pace was different from other people in my running club, I got to say hi to them, I got to be around them, I got to stretch with them. And that also filled me up with joy and connection with people whose life didn’t center around drinking. And we usually drink at the first hint of being bored. If you have kids, you know that your kids always say, I’m bored, there’s nothing to do. And it’s usually after they’ve been watching the iPad for way too long.

Sobriety itself isn’t boring

So, I remember when I quit drinking, my Coach said to me, what is it that you love more than wine? What would you get up at 5 in the morning to do that isn’t drinking, not that anyone got up at five in the morning to drink? I enjoyed a lot of things, but more than wine, an activity that I enjoyed more than the fuzzy buzzy feeling of drinking. Even before that first sip, I couldn’t think of anything. I had to give myself assignments of what I might enjoy.

And yet, he still had no idea how to support me. When you remove alcohol from your life, you free up all the time you spent drinking and recovering from drinking. If you ever sit down to do that math, you will shock yourself with how much time went towards drinking.

• I often think that the word being in recovery is misused.
• If you are filling voids in your life with alcohol, then you need to decide what else can fill you up instead.
• Boredom has an emotional quality to it, and cognitive behavioral therapy teaches that feelings are an outgrowth of thoughts.
• And when the vegetables show up, she suddenly has a ton of mushrooms.
• You can read a novel that is not about subprime.
• The course will help you turn the decision to stop drinking from your worst case scenario to the best decision of your life.

Focus on eating nutritious food.

Our brains don’t like imbalance and will work very hard to correct it. That overcorrection is what you’re probably feeling right now. That latter experience feeling like everything is gray and dull and lacks meaning?

Some of the things they experience in early sobriety that may lead them to go back to drinking. And even once you’ve quit drinking, there is a time between when your life was filled with alcohol, and with drinking events. And https://ecosoberhouse.com/ with the connections that you made and had the adventures that you had, while drinking and the period of time before your life is filled, and joyful and exciting without alcohol. And I want to talk about that in this episode.

• Your friends are out getting drunk, the same as they always do.
• It’s why we might suddenly find ourselves reaching for that remote, a candy bar, or for some, a bottle of alcohol.
• If you are still in the flirtation stage of drinking out of boredom, it’s a great time to intervene and make a concerted effort to handle boredom in healthier ways.
• Fried and overly sugary foods will also artificially spike your dopamine levels and cause your brain to overcorrect, leaving you feeling irritable, depressed, and cranky.
• When you’re drinking out of boredom, that easy ‘high’ can feel like an effective solution to the dullness or lack of stimulation that’s bothering you.

If you’re a casual drinker, you should understand the ramifications of regular drinking. Moreover, outpatient rehab can prove to be the most efficient and practical treatment plan for individuals struggling with drinking out of boredom. By participating in therapy and counseling services, you can develop the skills and support necessary to overcome boredom drinking and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Boredom and binge drinking often go hand-in-hand, as drinking alcohol to pass the time and relieve boredom is a common occurrence. Now that I’ve quit drinking, I am just living, just living, I am just going through life, not recovering. Just waking up and seeing the sunshine or the rain, I’m taking care of my kids, I’m getting coffee, I’m reading books on doing yard work, I’m doing good productive work.

It’s a way to care for yourself by committing to a practice that releases positive, mood-enhancing endorphins and alleviates stress. Finding a new activity and hobby such as working out can provide something to look forward to each day. Find a support group and make contact with them regularly. This consistent connection will help foster healthy relationships drinking out of boredom in recovery with people who can support you and what you’re going through in the present moment. Losing relationships to the substance can be challenging but anchoring to others in recovery can be the very thing you need to feel worthy of recovery. Alcohol can be in a unique position of being both the solution to and the cause of pain.