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This can lead to feelings of extreme boredom and apathy. To unpack some of the underlying reasons you feel bored right now, it helps to understand what alcohol does to your brain. It’s pretty normal to reduce the entire experience of boredom in sobriety to missing alcohol and believing that getting drunk is the primary way you (and everyone else) have fun. Try and find ways to build other people into your daily patterns. Different activities will in turn create different thoughts and even the smallest change can start to make a big difference. If you are filling voids in your life with alcohol, then you need to decide what else can fill you up instead.
- Alcohol merely blurred my perception of social situations.
- If you are attending support groups, meeting people, and getting involved in whatever sober community you’ve connected with for support.
- Footprints has the Gold Seal of Approval, which is the highest standard.
- Different activities will in turn create different thoughts and even the smallest change can start to make a big difference.
I’ve spent the last six years researching and understanding alcoholism, addiction, and how people get sober. Will eating salads and drinking water make your boredom go away? Not exactly, but it can make you feel better, which has a ripple effect on whether or not you enjoy your life.
The Spiritual Effects Of Alcohol
It feels good to finally acknowledge that I have limits, and if I ever want a chance at a fulfilling life, I have to accept it or learn to delegate. But here I am, one year sober, and I actually booked a trip I have been planning for a decade. In April, my husband and I will spend our anniversary hiking in Havasu Falls. The permits for this hike are the main source of income for the Havasupai tribe and are only released once a year. To pull off this excursion, you have to be serious and plan ahead.
It is a skill that takes effort over a long period of time to act and react to the challenges of recovery. Overdoses can also create a series of negative consequences. In some instances, an overdose can lead to coma or death, so anyone facing a relapse or overdose should always seek professional treatment from an addiction professional.
How to Stop Drinking Out of Boredom
Facing your unhappy thoughts can be overwhelming, and it’s natural to need a break or a distraction from time to time. But you should turn to other, more productive ways to cope with your boredom that won’t be detrimental to your health. Often, being bored without alcohol seems intimidating because when there’s no task to put your mind to, you’re forced to notice the things that are making you unhappy. The information here on the Soberclear website is NOT meant to be used as a substitute for medical advice. If you need a medical diagnosis and treatment plan, you are advised to speak to a doctor or suitable medical professional.
Is it normal to drink out of boredom?
Drinking out of boredom is common, especially among those suffering from other mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Alcohol addiction, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is marked by an inability to stop drinking despite negative consequences or health effects. According to the 2021 data from SAMHSA, 29.5 million people aged 12 or older were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder, which is expected to drinking out of boredom grow. It can be an uphill battle for these individuals when trying to quit. Though boredom in early recovery can be challenging, remember that many before you have figured out how to sustain the changes they want for themselves. Other people develop a harmful reliance on alcohol later in life.
Why Don’t People Seek Help for Addiction?
In response, some people seek outlets that are detrimental to their well-being. Drinking out of boredom is common, especially among those suffering from other mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. What’s important to realize is that boredom is one of the biggest triggers https://ecosoberhouse.com/ for relapse. And, according to research, about one third of those in their first year of recovery will relapse. What’s more the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism reports that about 90% of those individuals who were in treatment for alcoholism relapse within four years.
