I had to go experience them and look around. And slowly but surely, things began to pop up. Things that I remembered from ages ago, things that I had never experienced or done. Dreams that I had that I didn’t think were ever going to come true because I was so busy with work and kids and life. And by the way drinking and hangovers, and a singular focus on alcohol as being incorporated with everything I did. So Sobriety there are other things that you can do.
- I always have, but they really really helped me in early sobriety.
- And you actually need this space, you need the blah, you need the quiet time between your drinking life and what is going to fill it up.
- Getting sober is like learning to walk again after a terrible accident.
- If you’ve never tried mindfulness before, there are many resources available online to help you get started.
- BPS, The Boredom Proneness Scale, measures our level of boredom; the average boredom number is 81 to 117.
- Thank you for any suggestions/ words from experience.
- You sleep a lot and you feel a little down your body and your mind and your emotions are adjusting to life without alcohol.
Ways to Make Drinking at Home Fun
You could also play more drinking games as you’ll be with each other so it makes it a bit easier. Just because you have to drink at home doesn’t mean you have to do it alone! Organize a video-call with friends while you all drink in your own homes. It’s crazy what a little socialization can do when you’re stuck indoors. One of the reasons you might find you are bored without alcohol is because you need more stimulation.
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Stress management techniques can also help you manage difficult situations without alcohol. I thought it was more fun to have a couple of beers and play league of legends, to watch YouTube, to talk with friends. I could have a couple of beers and do anything and not be bored because I was having fun. Of course I was stealing the happiness from tomorrow, and I would wake up the next day with anxiety and stress. But that would fade as as the day went on, and would be erased by the time I cracked another cold one to start the cycle over again. In this post, we’re going to uncover some truths about mindset, alcohol, and how to overcome boredom after quitting drinking.
The Kindling Effect: Why Quitting Alcohol Gets Harder Every Time
It seems to provide some comfort, distraction and numbness. It never truly makes your lonely feelings go away. It’s just helping you look the other way for a moment. This can be a huge hurdle to overcome for many, as it is honestly quite uncomfortable to do something outside of our norm to make a change. Change can be hard, as habits are ingrained in our psyche.
- Traveling can also help you gain a new perspective and appreciate the world.
- And it’s time to look forward to what is hiding underneath what you’ve been doing.
- Exercise is critically important in early sobriety and for ongoing mental health and wellness.
- Alcohol is a tricky bag to unpack for me, and for others that I know and love.
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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. Plan a date night around cooking a new dish together. It can be as elaborate as you’d like — just put on your favorite playlist and enjoy doing something tactile with the person you love. Alcohol is a tricky bag to unpack for me, and for others that I know and love.
We were all just sitting around and getting drunk, perfectly drinking when bored content to not really do anything together. This is important to remember when thinking about boredom. In fact, when you first quit, it feels like everyone in the world is out getting drunk but you. I founded The Sober School to show you there’s another way out of your shame that doesn’t involve AA or rehab. Megan’s therapeutic approach is multifaceted, drawing from narrative, feminist, and existential therapy modalities.
Mental Health
- Drinking out of boredom may indicate a deeper issue at hand.
- You feel like an automaton simulating a life, but not finding any real purpose, joy, or meaning.
- Tired of battling alcohol with sheer willpower, only to fall back into the same cycle?
- I was like, I’m sitting around not drinking but I worked out four times this week, five times this week.
Boredom no doubt played a role in this scenario. In the meantime, the Soberish community is here to support you and help you get there. This is the part where you figure out how to enjoy life without a little something extra to help loosen you up. So now comes the arduous task of learning how to manage the tough stuff without a chemical crutch like alcohol.
I found that other people who exercise, especially exercising early in the morning, are not the people getting drunk every night. These are the kind of people who are hiding in plain sight, who you’ve never noticed before. But they are smart and interesting, and do activities that aren’t centered around alcohol.
