If you have a willing friend or family member, take them along. Plus, you might meet some cool people, and that’s always a double win. Don’t get down on yourself because you can’t get wasted at the bar with your friends anymore. And while these things might sound serious and scary, it’s important to note that it’s one piece of a larger puzzle. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, your doctor may even recommend medication to help treat depression and anxiety. It’s not as simple as “getting out there” and “trying something new.” It’s hard to do that when you suffer from extreme depression and anhedonia.
Like any other emotion, boredom isn’t inherently “bad” or “wrong.” All emotions serve a purpose; They’re signposts, pointing us toward something that needs our attention. No wonder so many of us will avoid boredom at all costs—through drinking, shopping, scrolling, or, when all else fails…self-administering mild electric shocks. Back in the day, our ancestors didn’t have time to be bored.
Boredom Drinking Alcohol Abuse Rehab Programs
- Meanwhile, you’re at home wondering how many days it would take someone to find your body after you’ve choked on those peanut M&M’s you’ve been knocking back during your latest Netflix binge.
- After a few sips, the irritable boredom fades, replaced by a buzzing numbness.
- Sometimes admitting the truth to yourself is the first step.
- To break the boredom drinking loop asks us to upgrade the beliefs that alcohol is the answer to boredom and to build the skill of find engagement and joy even in the tedious tasks.
- Various factors lead individuals to abuse alcohol, including genetic traits, environmental reasons, and societal factors.
That discomfort makes alcohol feel like a quick, easy escape. And if you have already quit alcohol, then there comes the wave of nostalgia and the reminiscence to the old days where you could just pour a glass of wine to soften the edge. If you’re like most people I work with, you may have been told that changing your relationship with alcohol is simply about “just drinking less.” But that’s misguided advice. We’ve been taught that feeling boredom means something’s wrong with us. The truth is, boredom is an incredibly uncomfortable state for many of us, and the lengths people would go to avoid feeling it may surprise you. By removing the alcohol and making those necessary lifestyle changes, we increase the chances of becoming people who can enjoy the simple pleasure of life once again.
Alcohol and Boredom: A Loop You Can Break
If you always have a bottle open when watching TV, then it quickly becomes a very hard habit to break. This is particularly true if you’ve had a hard day at work or with the kids, and you are tired or stressed out. Soon it can seem weird NOT to have a glass in your hand, even if the rest of you is thinking about something else (or not thinking about very much at all). As part of your daily “boredom prevention plan,” schedule a reward for not drinking when you otherwise would. Are there certain days where boredom is more likely to sneak in? At the beginning of those days, plan to work on a hobby or some other activity when nothing else is scheduled.
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Her clinical style is calm, collaborative, and evidence-informed, focused on supporting clients and care teams. 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. According to Medical News Today, the average adult in the United States experiences around 131 days of boredom per year. How we react to the state of boredom is critical to our ongoing mental health, experts state. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just a result of having nothing to do.
- It’s pretty normal to reduce the entire experience of boredom in sobriety to missing alcohol and believing that getting drunk is the primary way you (and everyone else) have fun.
- Describing her therapeutic approach as evidence-based, Courtney champions a humanistic or person-centered approach as the ideal foundation.
- Even if you have no idea HOW things can change, trust the process and keep working on it.
- Jasmine takes a person-centered approach—humanistic and narrative—blending brief solution-focused work and elements of Internal Family Systems to build compassionate, collaborative change.
- Back in the day, our ancestors didn’t have time to be bored.
It asks us to upgrade the belief that alcohol is the only answer to boredom and to expand our skills for managing boredom with more empowering choices. If you’d like to explore this further, check out this list of boredom-drinking-interrupting activities. The average adult experiences around 131 days of boredom per year, so how you react to this boredom is critical to your mental health. If you justify to yourself, “I drink when I’m bored,” it can quickly lead to overindulgence and health concerns. If you’re a casual drinker, you should understand the ramifications of regular drinking.
Simple Steps to Interrupt Drinking out of Boredom
Since then, she has worked across various settings including outpatient, inpatient, and community corrections programs. Outside of her professional endeavors, Megan finds joy in the company of her partner and pets. She relishes spending time with friends, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and exploring the great outdoors during milder weather. Megan’s therapeutic approach is multifaceted, drawing from narrative, feminist, and existential therapy modalities.
How to Stop Drinking When Bored
When the alcohol wears off, your problems will still be there, and you’ll likely reach out for more alcohol to escape them again. Justin was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he began his clinical education at Colorado State University. He received his bachelor’s in health and exercise science with a concentration in sports medicine and eventually earned a master’s of psychology in addiction counseling. During his time as a therapist, Justin has worked in a residential addiction treatment facility, private practice, and outpatient settings. Originally from New Orleans, Meghan earned her master’s degree from Arizona State University (2021) and became a Licensed Addiction Counselor in 2024. She is a Brainspotting practitioner and is currently completing requirements toward the LPC.
How to Stop Drinking from Boredom: The 4 Pillars of an Alcohol-Free Life
Fortunately, there are more ways than ever to connect with like-minded people who are fellow travelers on this path. Not on its own, but maybe it starts a conversation and a friend comes over just to sit with you and make sure you’re good. When you remove alcohol from your life, you free up all the time you spent drinking and recovering from drinking.
Christy Schuett, originally from Aberdeen, South Dakota, holds a master’s degree in counseling from Northern State University. Her journey began with crisis intervention for families, evolving into roles in community counseling, corrections, and residential facilities. The decision is often met with doubt, questioning if sobriety is attainable. It can also spark feelings of shame, guilt, and resentment. However, the variety of treatment options make it easier for individuals and families to focus on moderate consumption or complete abstinence.
If you’re not sure whether boredom is a drinking trigger, keep a running list of when you feel the urge to drink. If some urges seem to pop up “for no reason,” it might be because there was nothing else in those moments to occupy your mind. Originally from Chino Hills, California, Chanel began her education at Gonzaga University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Philosophy. She continued her education at the University of Denver and earned a master’s in clinical mental health counseling. Chanel completed internships at AspenRidge during her studies and eventually joined the team as a full-time primary clinician. Hailing from Boulder County, Courtney embarked on her academic journey by earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Staying busy is a great way to stave off boredom and create space for healing the parts of your brain that took a walloping from drinking. It’s particularly therapeutic to find something to do with your hands. Forming healthy connections with other people is an important of this process. It’s one of the many ways you will relearn how to enjoy life again without alcohol. So many people quit drinking and end up walking around in a dopamine deficit state, struggling to find joy in anything. The good news is that your brain can adjust and restore balance to your internal world.
Boredom happens when your mind is under-stimulated or disconnected from meaning—and we’re wired, both biologically and culturally, to avoid it. In a society that prizes productivity and comfort, drinking can feel like a quick escape from that restless, “something’s wrong” feeling. In other words, drinking when bored it’s no surprise that many of us end up drinking out of boredom—we’re wired to avoid that restless, under-stimulated state.