If you find yourself bored without alcohol or drinking simply because you’re bored, you might be developing an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Regular drinking is often considered socially appropriate and normal, but if your drinking extends to when you’re alone, that’s a red flag. There’s a very fine line between drinking out of boredom social drinking and problematic drinking, and one could easily lead to the other and cause serious health implications. She typically works with people interested in taking a holistic approach to treating their addictions. This will include healthy eating, movement, meditation, mindfulness and spirituality.
Drinking Out of Boredom: Why It’s Risky Business
And while bored drinking isn’t necessarily problematic, it can sneakily become a serious health risk. Swapping our routines and habits that are damaging you for ones that can strengthen your body and soul will give you a really clear reason why you want to stop drinking out of boredom. Boredom and stress are two emotions that can feel as if they are never going to leave. Valuing and prioritizing yourself in recovery can be a powerful way to remove the hold alcohol has on you. Originally from Boca Raton, Florida, Danny moved to Denver to study at the University of Colorado and earned a master’s degree in counseling. Danny spent the first nine years of his career working in youth residential treatment.
Have regular meal times
Getting drunk did not magically change the dynamics of that situation. We were all just sitting around and getting drunk, perfectly content to not really do anything together. It all felt normal, even the terrible parts like awful hangovers and hangxiety. It’s why nothing seems fun or exciting, and you struggle to motivate yourself to have a good time.
Mental Health Treatment
Boredom and isolation are known relapse triggers for people with substance use disorders. An important way to safeguard your sobriety is to be aware of this and take steps to mitigate it. Most people drink in order to fill a void of some sort, e.g. an unhappy relationship, an unfulfilling job, loneliness or feeling bored https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/why-is-alcohol-addictive/ with your daily routine. If you take alcohol away, but do nothing to change those other factors, you’re probably going to feel it. Kathleen was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, but spent half of her life in California. She holds a master’s in clinical psychology with an emphasis on marriage and family therapy.
Tips to overcome boredom
- You feel more relaxed after that drink and look forward to the reward.
- Dopamine is another neurotransmitter that is responsible for feelings of pleasure and happiness.
- See if there are organisations around you where you could help out, that would love to use your skills and talents.
- 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.
- Our brains don’t like imbalance and will work very hard to correct it.
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