Author: James Anderson

Drinking When Bored? What It Could Mean Addiction Treatment

That overcorrection is what you’re probably feeling right now. This cycle can lead to unhealthy consumption patterns when feeling anxious or overwhelmed. By seeking professional help, you can find resources to stop drinking and address ongoing issues that can make a huge difference in your recovery. 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. All these tips are here to help you prevent drinking out of boredom. They give you alternatives to drinking to fill gaps in your life.

And while bored drinking isn’t necessarily problematic, it can sneakily become a serious health risk. Above all of these things, drinking responsibly is key in not finding yourself in a situation that you cannot come back from. This fact is a terrible reality for everyone and makes life even more difficult for those who have issues with impulse control and alcohol.

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. A therapist can help treat the underlying symptoms through therapeutic modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or trauma-processing techniques. Getting drunk did not magically change the dynamics of that situation.

Things that people do during that day that don’t involve recovering or boozy brunch. What did you enjoy doing before drinking came around and took over your social life? If you must dig WAY back into childhood for this answer, then do that. 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.

Best Foods to Cleanse Your Liver After Alcohol

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 social drinking and problematic drinking, and one could easily lead to the other and cause serious health implications. Most people drink in order to fill a void of some sort, e.g. an unhappy relationship, an unfulfilling job, loneliness or feeling bored with your daily routine. If you take alcohol away, but do nothing to change those other factors, you’re probably going to feel it.

Sure, having a single drink while alone might not seem like a problem if you eat well and exercise. But if you add it to the drinks you have with friends and that everyday glass of wine with dinner, your total number of weekly drinks can increase rapidly. This can be a difficult journey, but you don’t have to go it alone.

People often use alcohol to enhance experiences, but this kind of drinking is problematic because it makes you dependent on alcohol to not feel bored or to have a good time. For example, most people drink at concerts, sports events or parties to transform their experience and heighten the moment. Early sobriety is a critical period when community and support networks are critical. This can be hard if your social life previously revolved around drinking. It’s even harder if your loved ones don’t support your sobriety. If you quit drinking and experience any new or worsening mental health symptoms, please consider therapy.

If boredom drinking becomes unmanageable or leads to alcohol addiction, seeking professional help can be crucial for taking control of your life and preventing potential health risks. Therapy and counseling services can provide you with the support and guidance you need, and addiction treatment programs can help you address the underlying causes of your boredom drinking. Engaging in new hobbies and interests is an excellent way to fill your time and create a sense of fulfillment without alcohol. These activities can help you stay busy, improve your mental health, and provide a healthier alternative to boredom drinking. There are various strategies available to help you overcome boredom drinking and maintain a sober lifestyle in 2024.

How can I identify my boredom drinking triggers?

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. Remember, it’s not that sobriety is terrible, but that your brain is trying to grapple with the sudden loss of dopamine. Alcohol merely blurred my perception of social situations. I have gone to bars with people I genuinely like as a sober person, and I don’t stay for longer than an hour or two if nothing is happening.

1. Alcohol Use Disorder is another result that can come from drinking out of boredom and should be recognized as a serious risk if one uses alcohol regularly as a cure for simple boredom.
2. To unpack some of the underlying reasons you feel bored right now, it helps to understand what alcohol does to your brain.
3. Taking a personalized approach allows many families and individuals the chance to adjust treatment to best suit lifestyle, needs, and long-term goals.
4. Alcohol Use Disorder is developed over time, but because of how common alcohol is it can seem like AUD takes hold of individuals rather quickly.

Drinking at concerts, sporting events, and dinner can, as one casual drinker put it, transform a situation into a moment. The problem is that overindulgence or even regular drinking is known to cause a number of health issues. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States.

Use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to identify triggers.

The horrible irony to all of this is that alcohol amplifies loneliness. Once you have really looked at your habits, consider alternative solutions. If you like gin and tonic when you’re vegging on the sofa, swap it for fizzy water with lemon. If you know your willpower weakens after 9 pm, get up before then and go and have a warm shower instead. Say you have downtime on a Saturday afternoon after a challenging week at work. “Getting through the week” might be your rationale for pouring a glass of wine.

The association between drinking and having a good time has been perpetuated and promoted for years by companies marketing beer, wine, and spirits. Given the ubiquitous nature of alcohol advertising, you might look forward to having that drink as soon as you walk through the door at home or meet your pals at a bar. You feel more relaxed after that drink and look forward to the reward. Pretty soon, the anticipation starts to happen more frequently.

But self-medicating like this is not just bad for your body, but it is also likely to make your mental health worse. Drinking out of boredom because you feel anxious is likely to make you feel worse because alcohol is a depressant, so if you are already feeling low, it makes those feelings more extreme. Many people claim that they drink for the totally opposite reason – they find themselves drinking out of boredom. Here are some tips to stop drinking alcohol out of boredom. Use Sunnyside to track your drinks and better understand the connection between how much you drink and how you feel.

Tracking your alcohol consumption can help you identify patterns and situations that lead to boredom drinking. Stress, anxiety, and loneliness can all be potential triggers for boredom drinking. People may turn to alcohol as a way to cope with these negative emotions, but in doing so, they may be putting their mental health at risk.

Whether your sobriety has you wallowing in boredom or self-pity, please know that it will get better. Even if you have no idea HOW things can change, trust the process and keep working on it. If you have the time, sign on to a longer-term project like helping with this year’s charity bake sale or the big 5K race your city holds yearly.