Sober and bored? It’s Normal Here’s What To Do About It.

So if you’re interested in learning more about all the details, please go to You can start at any time and I would love to see you in the course. So I wanted to start with the beginning, which is when you are in your first 15 days, 30 days, possibly even 45 days. And I want to ask you, if you’re there, are you feeling bored in early sobriety? Because if you are, that’s pretty normal, there is an “in between” time, somewhere between no longer in your drinking life.

• We don’t just treat the symptoms of addiction; we address underlying issues like co-occurring mental health conditions and trauma that perpetuate substance use.
• Start reading This Naked Mind for free today.

Why do we resort to drinking out of boredom?

At the moment, bored drinking might not have a negative impact on your work or family life. If you start noticing these side effects, it’s time to re-evaluate how you deal with boredom. If you have recently stopped drinking alcohol, and you are feeling bored, then you are about to learn the exact steps on how to overcome it. But self-medicating like this is not just bad for your body, but it is also likely to make your mental health worse. Drinking out of boredom because you feel anxious is likely to make you feel worse because alcohol is a depressant, so if you are already feeling low, it makes those feelings more extreme.

Build a strong support network.

If you’re concerned you could be experiencing symptoms of disordered eating, reach out to a trained professional for help. In my next post, I’ll talk about ways that you can re-wire your brain to change you relationship with alcohol. It has been conditioned from years of drinking and associations to believe that drinking is vital to survival. And once it has made up its mind, it’s very difficult to recondition it. If you are struggling to quit drinking you will know this state all too well. On a day to day basis – it’s constantly trying to push us away from any kind of bad feeling – even mild discomfort – and towards anything that feels remotely pleasurable.

Tip 4: Reach out to others

“Getting through the week” might be your rationale for pouring a glass of wine. Learn how to get control or stop drinking with this mental model called First Principles Thinking. There is nothing wrong with being bored after stopping drinking. One of the best ways to overcome boredom is to have a written schedule.

Reward yourself for not drinking when bored.

• “Surely if I’m bored without alcohol, then alcohol makes my life less boring” – they think to themselves.
• In this episode I’m going to talk about all the tips, tricks, suggestions and advice I have to make life without alcohol fun, comforting, interesting and gratifying.
• If you ever sit down to do that math, you will shock yourself with how much time went towards drinking.
• Enjoying a drink feels different than needing a drink to tolerate a painful or difficult experience.

I’m not suicidal, I’m just extremely unhappy and alcohol was a way out for me; a bandaid to mask whatever was/is going on. I can have a million hobbies but it does nothing, no matter how interesting they are. I want to drink, I always want to drink…but I’ve already made it 20 days sober and I don’t think it’s possible for me to have just one drink. I hope you trust the process and release some of your fears about what life will be like without alcohol. So for a woman who loves to multitask and likes to check things off the list.

WHY DO I FEEL BORED WHEN I’M NOT DRINKING?

If you choose to try it on your own and at any point feel you need more help, then seek support (see Help Links). When you’re feeling bored, taking a walk not only provides a distraction from any urges to snack but also physically removes you from food temptations. Adding variety to your day keeps things feeling fresh and exciting, and it drinking because of boredom might fend off boredom eating. External factors often trigger urges to eat when you’re not physically hungry. Identifying the factors in your environment that trigger boredom eating is key to breaking those habits. Identifying the triggers in your life that tend to cause the urge to eat when you’re bored is key to breaking the habit.

I enjoyed a lot of things, but more than wine, an activity that I enjoyed more than the fuzzy buzzy feeling of drinking. Even before that first sip, I couldn’t think of anything. I had to give myself assignments of what I might enjoy. And slowly but surely, things began to pop up.

“I’m Bored… And Drinking Gives Me Something To Do.”

The psychology of boredom