We are stressed-out, overstimulated, tech-obsessed creatures. Pile on some sobriety struggle, and it’s a recipe for madness. Not on its own, but maybe it starts a conversation and a friend comes over just to sit with you and make sure you’re good. Your friends are out getting drunk, the same as they always do.

Why Are We Drinking More?

But just giving you ideas of what you can do, and picking out an assignment that you want to try. Pfattheicher, S., Lazarević, L. B., Westgate, E. C., & Schindler, S. On the relation of boredom and sadistic aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(3), 573. Jennifer Reid, M.D., is a psychiatrist, mindset and wellness coach, writer, and podcaster. She is also an award-winning educator on the clinical faculty at the University of Pennsylvania.

Cope with triggers you can’t avoid.

People often say they drink alcohol to “relieve boredom”. Being bored after quitting drinking is easily overcome. All these tips are here to help you prevent drinking out of boredom. They give you alternatives to drinking to fill gaps in your life. If you want to get better control drinking because of boredom of your drinking, you need to think about what your future drink-free life will look like. Boredom is a key reason people give for drinking too much and drinking out of boredom like this can become almost a subconscious activity, something that you do whilst doing something else.

• One source of unhappiness is, unsurprisingly, boredom.
• You should be able to go about living your life without drinking alcohol, but you feel utterly useless and have no idea what to do with yourself.
• Fortunately, urges to drink are short-lived, predictable, and controllable.
• And that’s a great activity in early sobriety.

Bored After Quitting Drinking: How To Overcome It

And if you’re going to drive your own car, and what a Sober Retreat might look like at the end of the night. Really important work, and who knows why, but after the initial white knuckling wears off, it can be a bit blocked. If you dive into all the sober things after 45 days, after 50 days, you might feel like, you know, that you’re over this stuff. You don’t want to read and talk about it anymore. Your relationships are strained, either because you’re irritable, which is so normal, or because your spouse is adjusting to navigating you without drinking or because they’re still drinking.

The Boredom Dilemma

Our brain starts needing more and more alcohol to experience the same level of reward or pleasure, resulting in increased alcohol consumption. Anxious feelings have a way of stripping us of our self-confidence. And we may turn to drinking as a quick fix to feel more confident in ourselves.

Reframing Boredom To Stop “Bored Drinking”

Therapy and counseling services can provide you with the support and guidance you need, and addiction treatment programs can help you address the underlying causes of your boredom drinking. Surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family who encourage sobriety and engage in alcohol-free activities can be incredibly beneficial in combating boredom drinking. By building a strong support network, you can access the encouragement and guidance you need to stay sober and successfully overcome boredom drinking. By exploring new hobbies and interests, you can effectively replace boredom drinking with more fulfilling and enjoyable activities. I’ve spent the last seven years researching and understanding alcoholism, addiction, and how people get sober. Additionally, I examine the way mental and physical health as well as our relationships with others impact the reasons people drink and their role in maintaining sobriety long-term.