How to Stop Drinking Out of Boredom

In more severe cases, drinking out of boredom can lead to severe alcohol abuse disorders. Starting to drink gradually might be considered normal or appropriate, but it can quickly create a dependence and lead to a severe drinking problem. Fried and overly sugary foods will also artificially spike your dopamine levels https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and cause your brain to overcorrect, leaving you feeling irritable, depressed, and cranky. These are all things you’re trying to overcome from drinking. Early sobriety is a critical period when community and support networks are critical. This can be hard if your social life previously revolved around drinking.

• When we’ve quit drinking, alcohol is no longer a choice.
• Chemically, alcohol causes the brain’s pleasure centers to overload, so you experience cravings to repeat those experiences.
• Some people like to have three meals and a few snacks each day, while others may prefer to have more or less.

However, I’m not saying that when you stop drinking, all boredom will instantly be relieved. So often, our lives are full of distraction, social interaction, entertainment, and things drinking out of boredom we consider fun. In the midst of these stimuli that keep us busy, engaged, and upbeat about our lives, it can be easy to assume that life of its own accord is here to entertain us.

How to Stop Drinking from Boredom

When we’re bored, the first thing that pops into our minds to alleviate the boredom is alcohol. If you quit drinking and experience any new or worsening mental health symptoms, please consider therapy. To prevent boredom eating from becoming habit, try to keep your days from becoming too tedious or repetitive. Activities like talking a few short walks or periodic stretch breaks during the day provide a mental and physical break from usual routines.

Ocassationally, there may still be times when you reach for a snack when you’re bored. A diet that leaves you feeling full and satisfied over the course of the day leaves less room for wondering about whether you should have a snack when you’re bored. Please take a moment to re-remember the last time you had a great time drinking with friends, but now in the context of the effects of alcohol intoxication.

The Sober School

If you must dig WAY back into childhood for this answer, then do that. Forming healthy connections with other people is an important of this process. It’s one of the many ways you will relearn how to enjoy life again without alcohol. Sometimes we would watch a show, but even that become untenable for me after a couple of drinks because I did not have the attention span for it. When you remove alcohol from your life, you free up all the time you spent drinking and recovering from drinking.

Other tasks like laundry and cleaning the house can cause boredom and be a source of anxiety. Try to look at boredom as a space for meaningful stimulation in your day. Some common triggers to be aware of are stress, food availability, and pictures of food (31, 32, 33, 34). What’s more, research has linked boredom to certain benefits. For example, it may help motivate creativity (29, 30). If you find you’re more susceptible to food cravings, depriving yourself of certain foods might make you crave them more in the short term (6, 7, 8).

If You’re Here Because You’re Drinking Every Night, And You’re Interested In Getting Sober Without AA, Keep Reading

You can get that and so much more when you join us in The PATH! Get instant access to all of the programs This Naked Mind offers, coaching, community, connection, and so much more when you join us in The PATH. A therapist can assess your habits and make recommendations that could help you manage your alcohol intake.