Tips to stop drinking out of boredom

In such scenarios, our brain searches for something exciting or rewarding, leading us towards behaviors that can stimulate and intrigue us. It’s why we might suddenly find ourselves reaching for that remote, a candy bar, or for some, a bottle of alcohol. But remember that, scientifically, boredom is an emotion — just like appiness or sadness.

Drugs

It takes up a lot of brain space, which makes it easier to feel boredom when mental obsessions fade. Boredom has an emotional quality to it, and cognitive behavioral therapy teaches that feelings are an outgrowth of thoughts. Someone who’s bored and drinking on a couch probably didn’t get there by accident.

KARLIE ROSHONG – Clinical Manager

The human brain releases dopamine to reward behavior and encourage one to reinforce it. Boredom can be a scary concept for anyone, but it’s even scarier for those in recovery. They may worry that without drugs or alcohol to keep them entertained; they will have nothing to fill their free time. However, finding constructive and fun activities in sobriety is essential for maintaining long-term recovery.

Why do we resort to drinking out of boredom?

Traditional therapy can help unpack any mental or emotional traumas that trigger the tendency to drink alone. In many cases, people suffering from alcohol abuse may also have a mental health disorder. In this article, we’ll unpack bored drinking and help you figure out whether boredom is a drinking trigger. Then we’ll show you how to better manage boredom and avoid unhealthy drinking patterns. Talking with a trained therapist, especially one who understands substance abuse, is important.

Simply asking these questions might be enough to take the edge off the urge to drink. But if you end up drinking anyway, mindfulness also means forgiving yourself and learning from the experience. One of the best ways to deal with bored drinking is to anticipate it — why is not always easy. You might plan to start learning a new language during downtime, but put it off in favor of having a drink. Or you lose interest in an existing hobby because it’s easier to drink. If your dose of stimulation is mostly a walk to the fridge, you might be a bored drinker.

Danny ensures he has as many techniques as possible to help people improve their well-being and achieve their goals. Outside of work, he divides his time between family, basketball, and rock climbing. If Danny won the lottery, he’d start a tech company focusing on deep learning to support people in coping strategies. While a drink might provide a brief moment of relief, alcohol is a depressant that can have negative effects on mental health over time. People who drink regularly to deal with boredom or other emotions may find that it worsens feelings of anxiety, stress, or depression.

• This can contribute to weight gain, poor nutrition, and a decline in overall physical well-being.
• But if you enjoy alcohol, and boredom suddenly strikes while isolated, reaching for a drink is an easy way to satisfy the need for stimulation.
• Pick hobbies that you like, and hobbies that promote the behavior that you are trying to obtain.
• For other people, drinking alcohol out of boredom is a much more active choice – they drink to cope with negative feelings like anxiety or loneliness.
• Sometimes, even with the best coping strategies in place, it can still be difficult to manage your boredom without drinking or using drugs.
• On the contrary, those who see boredom as an inevitability of life get less bored and, when they do, cope with it more effectively.

• Drinking alone regularly and excessively could be an early sign of alcohol use disorder (AUD).
• I’m a loser.” In the second case, boredom is going to feel much more painful—and a drink (or two, or three) may prove harder to resist.
• At Northpoint Recovery, we understand the challenges of early sobriety and the importance of finding healthy, rewarding ways to spend your time.
• Also know what you are going to drink and select from alcohol alternatives.

And the sickness and tiredness you feel after the initial high of alcohol consumption wears off is neither fun nor interesting. So drinking because you’re bored isn’t doing much for you in the long run. Instead, you should find ways to cope with drinking out of boredom your boredom that keep you productively occupied and are more fulfilling. 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.

Understanding Alcohol Withdrawal

Not only this, self-medicating can lead to and exacerbate mental health conditions leading to a dual diagnosis condition. 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. Boredom is totally natural and we all feel it, but it can be hard to find a way out of your rut.