If you are filling voids in your life with alcohol, then you need to decide what else can fill you up instead. Drinking because of boredom happens because home is where we feel safe, unjudged – it’s where we can relax. But at home, it’s easy to get a bit too comfortable… you can get a long way down a bottle when you are sitting in front of the TV half-watching some series to pass the time.

And that started months and months before I started drinking, so it’s not the alcohol that made it that way. I want to stop drinking but without it there literally is nothing for me to enjoy except sleeping. Regardless of why you decide to change your drinking habits, socializing sober can feel scary. If you find that you’re struggling to avoid alcohol, or you’re feeling lonely and isolated, consider seeking professional help. A therapist can support your efforts and help you find the strategies that work best for you, your health, and your life. Sure, I wondered if it was a problem from time to time—that’s normal, everyone does and everyone is doing it.

Why Comparing Yourself to Others in Recovery is a Losing Game

You may have a lot of concerns about going out after quitting drinking. However, recovery gives you the perfect opportunity to rediscover old passions and find new ones. Whatever the reason for your boredom, drinking can create a negative cycle around it. So whether you are an absent-minded drinker or a lonely or anxious one, what can you do to prevent drinking out of boredom? Here are 5 tips to help you make changes to your drinking habits that could help you feel better, for good. But self-medicating like this is not just bad for your body, but it is also likely to make your mental health worse. I’ve played a ton of video games as I got sober right before covid started.

• You become part of the Herren Wellness family.
• When a cluster of five or more symptoms is present for more than two weeks that would indicate depression.
• If you ever sit down to do that math, you will shock yourself with how much time went towards drinking.
• People who have co-occurring depression and alcoholism have an increased risk of suicide.
• Three weeks ago I posted on this sub asking for help.
• There are so many things that I no longer do.

So I’m tapering off to at least 2 drinks a day and possibly up to 4 if I start having strong symptoms. After a month or so I want to bring that down to just one drink in the afternoon. 2 and a half drinking because of boredom years completely sober here. I can vouch for the fact that it DOES get better. I struggled with terrible boredom for almost a full year after quitting. The good news it has gotten much much better.

Create an Exit Excuse

It’s important to have the right mindset about sobriety. My social circle changed when I got sober because I realized that many of my relationships were based on getting drunk together, and that was it. 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. When you remove alcohol from your life, you free up all the time you spent drinking and recovering from drinking. If you ever sit down to do that math, you will shock yourself with how much time went towards drinking.

• There’s nothing at all wrong with spending a few hours on the Internet browsing random shit and then going to sleep early if that allows you to get another day sober.
• One of the easiest things you can do to avoid drinking—and to avoid having to explain yourself—is to go to places that don’t serve alcohol.
• And if you really just don’t want to—do you have another reason other than the excuses I used to give myself?
• Many people use alcoholic beverages to enhance experiences.

Call us today for a free, confidential consultation. Boredom and stress are two emotions that can feel as if they are never going to leave. However, as the saying goes, this too shall pass. Valuing and prioritizing yourself https://ecosoberhouse.com/ in recovery can be a powerful way to remove the hold alcohol has on you. Always have a list of people that support your recovery available. This provides quick access to those who empower you on your recovery journey.