These habits are often activated by certain cues or conditions, like boredom, which can lead to excessive drinking and result in a variety of health issues, including alcohol abuse. By recognizing and addressing these habits, you can break the cycle of boredom drinking and take control of your life. While a drink might provide a brief moment of relief, alcohol is a depressant that can have negative effects on mental health over time. People who drink regularly to deal with boredom or other emotions may find that it worsens feelings of anxiety, stress, or depression.

After graduating, Karlie gained experience working in a residential program for eating disorders and a private practice before joining the AspenRidge team. Whether it’s boredom at home, stress from daily routines, or a need for excitement, there are healthier ways to fill the void. This article dives into why boredom often leads to drinking, the risks it poses, and practical strategies to help you find joy and purpose without turning to alcohol.

Reward yourself for not drinking when bored.

She holds a master’s in clinical psychology with an emphasis on marriage and family therapy. Additionally, she has a master’s in holistic wellness and is trained in EMDR therapy for both in-person and virtual settings. Kathleen has more than 15 years of experience treating people who have a substance use disorder. Learning healthy coping skills, unfortunately, is not as intuitive as it might seem.

• It is easier to drink than it is to admit you really really hate your job and the only thing you have in common with your workmates is a sense of frustration.
• By becoming more involved in your community, you can effectively replace boredom drinking with meaningful connections and activities that improve your overall mental health and well-being.
• 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.
• Drinking alcohol is often seen as a very social activity, but in truth for millions of people, it’s the total opposite.
• Our brains like efficiency, so it takes note of the experience.

Seeking Professional Help for Boredom Drinking

For other people, drinking alcohol out of boredom is a much more active choice – they drink to cope with negative feelings like anxiety or loneliness. Many people say that they drink alcohol to manage anxiety – to numb it or take the edge off difficult feelings. I’ve spent the last seven years researching and understanding alcoholism, addiction, and how people get sober.

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• The longer you rely on alcohol to deal with boredom, the less capable you are of getting fulfillment out of healthier coping mechanisms like hobbies or exercise.
• Before AspenRidge, she spent six years in substance-use and mental-health roles.
• In addition, interests that stimulate the brain may diminish a person’s cravings for excess food.
• This can be dangerous for those in recovery because if we don’t make our recovery maintenance a daily reprieve, we can easily slip back into boredom.
• If you are aware that you have a problem with alcohol, there are several available treatment options and methods to help you.

Any of these activities are natural mood lifters and a much better option than drinking to pass the time. It’s at this point where a lot of people realize they’ve veered into risky gray area drinking or even alcohol use disorder. If our body perceives a harmless situation as dangerous, we start to experience increased levels of stress and anxiety. The longer you rely on alcohol to deal with boredom, the less capable you are of getting fulfillment out of healthier coping mechanisms like hobbies or exercise.

It’s about saying‌ “yes” to a life‍ where boredom‍ doesn’t dictate ​your ⁤choices. It’s about upgrading your belief ‍system and expanding drinking out of boredom ⁣your toolkit for managing difficult⁤ emotions. The following article is designed to help you identify if you or a loved one may be drinking too much. And you know what, I was bored, there are times to this day that I am bored, where I know I wouldn’t be bored if I was drinking. It’s tough to be bored while you are drinking, it keeps your mind occupied, it creates artificial happiness, it’s artificial entertainment. It slows and dulls my mind to contentment, our brains want to be entertained and occupied at all times.

Stress management techniques can also help you manage difficult situations without alcohol. By implementing these strategies, you can effectively manage boredom and negative emotions without turning to alcohol, improving your overall mental health and well-being. In the process, you will also learn to balance positive and negative emotions, leading to a more stable emotional state. She is a trauma-informed clinician who prioritizes the relationship between clinician and client. Addiction impacted her own family and influenced her compassionate and empathetic relationship with clients. She believes in healing the whole person in a safe and supportive environment.

Jill enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, friends, and pets when she is not in the office. She spends most weekends in the mountains hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, and camping. Jill is an avid photographer and particularly enjoys Colorado sunsets. If she won the lottery tomorrow, Jill would create a pet sanctuary where the community would unite.

Additionally, recruiting a friend to join them may also lift a person’s mood and help them commit to sustaining the new activity. This strategy may also help them eat mindfully, which can regulate appetite hormones. There can be a link between eating when bored and emotional eating.

Feeling bored, sad, lonely, or anxious about something are all very human things to feel. When I was finished, it was like someone had hit the refresh button on my brain. I could go back and re-read what I wrote and approach it from the perspective of an heroin addiction outside observer. I’ve included this separate from hobbies because I don’t believe that journaling is a hobby. I found myself planning little outings when I got sober because I needed to figure out what it meant to have fun again.

Boredom as a Trigger in Early Recovery

Similarly, eating while on the go or while traveling may cause overeating and lead to unhealthy dietary choices. It’s a survival guide for all humanity and it starts in the present. Not for reasons of morality or purity but quite simply to empower you.

How to Deal With Trauma Triggers

• Dopamine is another neurotransmitter that is responsible for feelings of pleasure and happiness.
• There are healthy ways to deal with boredom and then there are the other options – the things we do to escape it entirely.
• Some individuals may turn to alcohol as a way to kill time, mistakenly believing that a drink can add excitement or ease the monotony.
• With understanding and a few targeted strategies, you can retrain your brain to seek healthier, more fulfilling ways to escape boredom.
• There are various strategies available to help you overcome boredom drinking and maintain a sober lifestyle in 2024.

Curtail the screen-time hours and help your child look for and plan stimulating activates or hobbies. In active addiction, drug and alcohol use becomes the focus of everything you do, so when those activities suddenly cease, it can leave a feeling of emptiness and boredom. It’s important to remember that boredom is a normal part of recovery, and with the right coping strategies in place, you can get through it without resorting to drinking or using drugs. This can cause a decrease in serotonin and dopamine levels, making it more difficult for you to find motivation or pleasure in everyday activities. To explore this further, try this 3-step boredom drinking interrupt strategy and take your first step toward a more intentional life. If you are looking for treatment for substance abuse or addiction, you’re not alone—we’re here to support you every step of the way.