There are plenty of situations where having a 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.
Why do we resort to drinking out of boredom?
Getting sober is like learning to walk again after a terrible accident. You should be able to go about living your life without drinking alcohol, but you feel utterly useless and have no idea what to do with yourself. Anything to change up that routine of drinking out of boredom and make it harder for drinkers to find a place to get comfortable. When you don’t feel you have anyone to talk to or anywhere to go, drinks can feel like a constant, a friend. Unfortunately, drinking alcohol because of boredom makes you feel worse which in turn, makes you feel even less confident about going out and making new connections.
AspenRidge Recovery methodologies prove to support clients through recovery and long-term care. We can address fear and healthy coping mechanisms to combat any doubt and uncertainty that either an individual or family may feel during these difficult times. It’s important to understand that achieving sobriety is possible. Now, working with sober curious folks who want to break their drinking patterns, I’ve seen how often boredom becomes one of the hardest emotions to face on the alcohol-free journey. If you know you will feel lonely or down, try and plan some interactions to reduce those feelings and your reliance on alcohol.
How to Stop Drinking from Boredom: The 4 Pillars of an Alcohol-Free Life
She enjoys playing board games and having home karaoke nights with her friends. Karlie says the best advice ever received is to not fall in love with potential. Originally from Northborough, Massachusetts, Mary has supported adults cycling through the legal system—often with co-occurring mental-health and substance-use concerns.
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Understanding this relationship between boredom and alcohol is crucial for breaking an unhealthy cycle of drinking out of boredom and finding more fulfilling ways to spend our time. If you have been using alcohol to cope with boredom for a while, you may even find yourself starting to drink preemptively before boredom hits. Over time, it can dramatically diminish our tolerance to boredom, and our brain starts needing that loop to get through anything tedious at all. Boredom drinking isn’t just a personal habit—it’s a learned response reinforced by decades of cultural cues. Once we see how deeply these messages are embedded, we can start questioning whether alcohol really “fixes” boredom or just masks it for a moment.
Get counseling or therapy.
- When I was finished, it was like someone had hit the refresh button on my brain.
- For example, most people drink at concerts, sports events or parties to transform their experience and heighten the moment.
- She then relocated to Alamosa, Colorado, where she obtained a master’s degree from Adams State University.
- Originally from Chino Hills, California, Chanel began her education at Gonzaga University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Philosophy.
- While it once pushed our ancestors toward survival and purpose, today it often drives us toward quick fixes like alcohol.
Think of times or places where alcohol is normally found. Parties, seasonal events, family meals or work gatherings might spring to mind. Drinking alcohol is often seen as a very social activity, but in truth for millions of people, it’s the total opposite.
The winter months often meet a halt to favorite outdoor activities. This shift in routine, coupled with earlier darkness and cold temperatures, can drinking when bored lead to SAD. Once SAD and downtime collide, bored drinking can result.
You’ll find it easier to settle into the activity should boredom strike. If “for no reason” pops up frequently in your list, it might help to seek a CBT professional to understand your why in those situations. The American Psychological Association recommends CBT to root out “faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking” that may be driving unhealthy behaviors. Not to mention alcohol also suppresses hormones related to appetite.
When I drank alcohol, I could (and did) sit and do nothing for hours. So it’s not that sobriety is inherently boring; it’s that your serotonin and dopamine levels are now very low. When you use alcohol (or any substance) to artificially boost serotonin and dopamine levels in your brain, you create an imbalance in the brain. Whether it’s your partner, friends or colleagues, ask those who know you for ideas of things you can experiment with to fill your time differently. Don’t assume people are too busy to see you, all they need is to know that you would like to meet up.
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. Ignoring the harmful effects of alcohol consumption and regularly indulging can have short-term and long-term effects on your health.
Everyone reacts to boredom differently, but the way we react is vital to our health and well-being. Sunnyside is not designed to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). For resources related to AUD, including how to get support, please visit the NIH website. We’ve also partnered with Moderation Management, a non-profit dedicated to reducing the harm caused by the misuse of alcohol.
Many bored drinkers likely don’t realize they’re bored drinkers. But if you consume alcohol, these signs might indicate that boredom is a drinking trigger. As a drinking trigger, boredom affects more people than you might think.
In a 2022 survey of Sunnyside members, 5% said boredom triggered them to drink. The only triggers that ranked higher are unwinding after a long day, habit, relieving stress, and celebrating something important. Bored drinking takes place when people reach for alcohol to kill time, simply because they have nothing else to occupy their minds.
- Darcie believes in collaborating with her clients, tailoring interventions to suit their individual needs.
- Don’t get down on yourself because you can’t get wasted at the bar with your friends anymore.
- Still, alcohol is a highly addictive substance that can lead to dependency, especially when consuming frequently and in large quantities.
- A lot of people don’t feel good when they first get sober, so it’s totally understandable if your feelings are all over the place.
- ” …and I’d be sent off to do chores I definitely didn’t want.
Situational boredom is part of life, but it doesn’t have to send you straight to the bottle. You can exit it, numb it, or engage with it—and only engagement builds the skills and resilience to break the boredom → drink → repeat loop for good. Understanding this wiring helps explain why the boredom → drink → repeat loop is so easy to fall into—and why breaking it requires learning new ways to sit with stillness.