If boredom already makes us squirm, then alcohol culture helped position drinking—especially boredom drinking—as an easy solution (one much preferable than zapping ourselves). The truth is, most of us didn’t just stumble on “using alcohol to solve boredom” on our own. The drinking culture and alcohol industry offered us a big nudge. We’re wired to avoid boredom because it feels deeply uncomfortable—so much so that many people would rather endure physical pain than sit quietly with their own thoughts. That discomfort makes alcohol feel like a quick, Alcoholics Anonymous easy escape. Go to the library and browse for something new.
Why do I drink alcohol out of boredom?
Just restart your plan and recognize & reflect on what challenges need to be overcome and how. Here is what you need to know about causes of excessive drinking in dogs. Reframe supports you in reducing alcohol consumption and enhancing your well-being. Plus, we’re always introducing new features to optimize your in-app experience.
How to Stop Drinking Out of Boredom: Tips and Advice for a Sober Life in 2024
Boredom can cascade into serious issues like battling loneliness, uncovering deeply seeded shame and self-loathing, drunk and bored and even feelings of high stress can become prevalent. Drinking out of boredom is how some choose to deal with the dull moments life throws at us. 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. If existential boredom is about a lack of meaning, then situational boredom is about a lack of stimulation.
- In other words, it’s no surprise that many of us end up drinking out of boredom—we’re wired to avoid that restless, under-stimulated state.
- The average adult experiences around 131 days of boredom per year, so how you react to this boredom is critical to your mental health.
- Danny has extensive experience in effectively treating incidental and complex trauma.
Steps to Break the Boredom Drinking Loop
You are doing hard emotional and physical work every single minute. The Sobriety Starter Kit® is an online self study, sober coaching course that will help you quit drinking and build a life you love without alcohol without white knuckling it or hating the process. The course includes the exact step-by-step coaching framework I work through with my private coaching clients, but at a much more affordable price than one-on-one coaching. And The Sobriety Starter Kit® is ready, waiting and available to support you anytime you need it, when it fits into your schedule. You don’t need to work your life around group meetings or classes at a specific day or time. This course is not a 30 day challenge, or a one day at a time approach.
In modern life, where survival is mostly guaranteed, boredom gently jogs us to search for meaning and a deeper sense of purpose. Wherever you fall on the sobriety spectrum, here are some of my favorite ways to connect and unwind with 0 percent ABV. And if you’re new to a sober-curious lifestyle, you’ll love these non-alcoholic beverages and wine alternatives.
• Volunteer Your Time
Like many of you I started drinking too young, going to parties and drinking with friends, and I continued drinking into my 20’s slowly building the bad habit. From drinking on the weekends with buds, to drinking on thirsty Thursday and taco Tuesday, to having a few beers after work everyday to wind down and enjoy my time. I don’t have any trauma, I had a great childhood, I don’t drink to run from pain, I’m not an angry drunk and haven’t done anything super regretful while drinking. I continued to drink from bad habits and addiction, but also to hide from boredom. And right now, a lot of the things that they do are online classes or solo activities or connections that don’t involve coffee shops and fancy French restaurants for brunch. And maybe you can’t go to the French restaurant for https://ecosoberhouse.com/ brunch.
- And they were kind enough to say, yeah, we’d love to come to your book club and talk about it.
- I thought it was more fun to have a couple of beers and play league of legends, to watch YouTube, to talk with friends.
- If you want to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink, it makes sense to avoid busy bars and thirsty friends.
Instead, try to reframe times of boredom as opportunities to do the meaningful things you’ve not had time for until now. Boredom is the best excuse to finally getting around to doing these things that can enhance one’s life. Drinking to cope with boredom is never a sustainable solution. While it may provide temporary relief, the long-term effects are far more damaging.
And if I did nothing else, I was like, Okay, I did that today. But in reality, we’re filling the space with distraction, not meaning. And that keeps us from searching for what actually brings us real satisfaction. But little did we realize that the real answer lives on the other side of boredom. Suddenly, the urge to find a distraction—any distraction—rushes in.
Therapy and counseling can play a vital role in addressing underlying mental health issues that contribute to boredom drinking. Through counseling, you can gain guidance, support, and learn behavioral treatments to help you change your drinking behavior. Replacing boredom drinking with enjoyable and fulfilling activities can help you maintain a healthier lifestyle and improve your mental health. Some alternative activities to consider include physical exercise and outdoor activities, creative pursuits and learning new skills, and volunteering and community involvement. And maybe another one, the beautiful thing about sobriety is that you don’t need to know where the path is going to lead.