Bored drinking might elevate your mood briefly, but it won’t ever match the satisfaction of mastering a hobby. A sure sign of problematic bored drinking is failing to achieve hobby-related goals. There are plenty of situations where having a drinking boredom drink is a great way to celebrate an accomplishment. Unfortunately, problems can surface if you use “I deserve it” to justify bored drinking. Hobbies give you goals, and if you especially enjoy them, you’ll be motivated to reach these goals.

You’re prone to seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

You may automatically find yourself gravitating toward alcohol to pass the time, increasing the risk of developing an addiction. Mindfulness is defined as the ability to be fully present and aware of yourself and surroundings, while not being reactive or overwhelmed by those things. Practicing mindfulness, a person gets in touch with their senses to feel, hear, smell, taste and see the world around them. They will also pay more attention to their thoughts and feelings to understand how people, places and things trigger boredom and the desire to use substances. Drugs, unlike the natural reinforcers in life, create a huge release of dopamine in the brain that promotes strong feelings of pleasure, happiness and satisfaction. Over time, the brain becomes accustomed to this artificially high dopamine level, and substance use must continue and escalate as a way to re-experience and maintain this desirable feeling.

Practice Mindfulness

And one has to be willing to feel uncomfortable to make those changes happen for oneself. I would like to invite anyone reading this to be patient with themselves, and to find ways to adjust to their boredom and discomfort with doing something different. It is a skill that takes effort over a long period of time to act and react to the challenges of recovery. In some instances, an overdose can lead to coma or death, so anyone facing a relapse or overdose should always seek professional treatment from an addiction professional. Reducing alcohol intake may produce withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, shivering, high blood pressure, vomiting, fatigue, etc. Psychological symptoms like anxiety, restlessness, & anger outbursts, or irritability can be seen as an after-effect.

• Then you’ll be able to enjoy yourself doing whatever it is that comes after the work.
• If you are attending support groups, meeting people, and getting involved in whatever sober community you’ve connected with for support.
• Alcohol is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States.
• Always have a list of people that support your recovery available.

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Exploring, in writing, what you find difficult and when you most want to drink can help you notice patterns that offer more insight into your alcohol use. Comparing the emotions that come up when you have a drink with the feelings you experience when abstaining also helps you recognize when drinking doesn’t fix the problems you’re trying to manage. To stop drinking alcohol, you first need to understand your relationship with drinking. From there, you may need social support, consistent self-care, and new routines that can help redirect your mind. As with anxiety, COVID has seen rates of loneliness soar, as people have been forced apart for months, or have lost connections to friends or social groups. Many people admit to drinking out of boredom because they feel lonely.

• You may not need to completely reinvent your life to quit drinking, but making a few changes in your surroundings to help avoid alcohol triggers can make a big difference.
• For those who didn’t work from home, only 12% were prone to excessive drinking.
• Finding resources for ongoing drinking issues, even when simply drinking out of boredom, can make a world of difference.
• There are so many tedious, unenjoyable things that we need to do to get through our daily life.
• Regular drinking is often considered socially appropriate and normal, but if your drinking extends to when you’re alone, that’s a red flag.

But if you consume alcohol, these signs might indicate that boredom is a drinking trigger. Bored drinking takes place when people reach for alcohol to kill time, simply because they have nothing else to occupy their minds. If your dose of stimulation is mostly a walk to the fridge, you might be a bored drinker.

5. Plan the diet

Today as an adult, I still find myself feeling bored sometimes, but I have a different approach to boredom, and a different philosophy on what boredom is. You might have a drink to calm your mind, mellow out your mood, and take the edge off stress. You might occasionally consume several alcoholic beverages to blot out a highly stressful day. Drinking to relieve stress may veer into murky territory, if you feel that you must consume alcohol every day to de-stress. Perhaps the most significant danger of boredom is addiction relapse.

Tips For Addressing Boredom in Early Recovery

Moderate drinking is the only safe way to consume alcohol, but drinking in general isn’t safe for everyone. At this point, you have an attachment to alcohol that has taken over your regular routine. You’re aware of the adverse effects, but no longer have control over your alcohol consumption. Simply put, when you live a busy life, you have to create time for rest, relaxation, and self-care. Yes, it may seem silly to schedule a two-hour block of doing nothing but lounging on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and a movie, but it’s necessary. When your mind and body are constantly active, it can make everything seem less enjoyable, to the point where you’re just bored all the time, regardless of what you are doing.

What happens to your body when you stop drinking?

Understand your triggers that led to drinking out of boredom