It’s important to know that alcohol addiction is treatable and that early intervention can prevent worsening health and improve quality of life. Treatment plans are tailored to individual needs and may involve medical supervision during alcohol detox, counseling, and support through outpatient rehab or residential programs. Alcohol abuse poses serious risks to both physical and mental health, often leading to a range of harmful consequences.

Situational Boredom Explained (And Why It’s So Triggering)

Whether your sobriety has you wallowing in boredom or self-pity, please know that it will get better. Even if you have no idea HOW things can change, trust the process and keep working on it. By removing the alcohol and making those necessary lifestyle changes, we increase the chances of becoming people who can enjoy the simple pleasure of life once again. It is very common for people to replace alcohol with sugar in the beginning, which is detrimental not only to your waistline and physical health but your mental well-being as well. When you begin to view your negative thoughts and feelings as problems to be solved rather than the embodiment of who you actually are, you liberate yourself. It also opens up space to approach your internal world differently.

Boredom is totally natural and we all feel it, but it can be hard to find a way out of your rut. So seek the help of other, non-judgy supportive people to help you stop drinking out of boredom. When you don’t feel you have anyone to talk to or anywhere to go, drinks can feel like a constant, a friend. Unfortunately, drinking alcohol because of boredom makes you feel worse which in turn, makes you feel even less confident about going out and making new connections.

Many people admit to drinking out of boredom because they feel lonely. 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.

The drinking culture and alcohol industry offered us a big nudge. Jeanette Hu, AMFT, is a decade-long daily drinker turned psychotherapist and the creator of the Empowered Alcohol-Free 4-Pillar System. She helps high-achieving individuals break old drinking patterns and create a fulfilling and empowered alcohol-free life. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just a result of having nothing to do. In fact, boredom is a genuine emotion, akin to happiness or sadness. When this emotion surfaces, it reveals our disconnection or lack of interest in our surroundings or activities.

New Jersey Rehab Centers That Offer Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Karlie is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and began her education in psychology at the University of Cincinnati. She participated in research studying ADHD in children, mindfulness and anxiety, and embodied cognition. After completing how to stop drinking out of boredom her bachelor’s degree, she continued her education at the University of Denver and earned a master’s in clinical mental health counseling with a side specialization in addiction. During grad school, she treated clients involved in the legal system as well as at a detox facility.

Self-medicating can drastically impact overall health and well-being. It’s also a common reason many become dependent on substances. Not only this, self-medicating can lead to and exacerbate mental health conditions leading to a dual diagnosis condition. 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.

Stay Physically Active

A therapist can help treat the underlying symptoms through therapeutic modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or trauma-processing techniques. 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. My friends and I got together for happy hours after work. It all felt normal, even the terrible parts like awful hangovers and hangxiety.

How to Stop Drinking from Boredom: The 4 Pillars of an Alcohol-Free Life

• Kayla earned a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Liberty University (August 2024) and completed Brainspotting Phase 1.
• You can exit it, numb it, or engage with it—and only engagement builds the skills and resilience to break the boredom → drink → repeat loop for good.
• In the meantime, the Soberish community is here to support you and help you get there.
• How you respond to setbacks is crucial to succeed and to begin making a change.

Pile on some sobriety struggle, and it’s a recipe for madness. I found myself planning little outings when I got sober because I needed to figure out what it meant to have fun again. If you have a willing friend or family member, take them along. Plus, you might meet some cool people, and that’s always a double win. Don’t get down on yourself because you can’t get wasted at the bar with your friends anymore. And while these things might sound serious and scary, it’s important to note that it’s one piece of a larger puzzle.

Get counseling or therapy.

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. Think of times or places where alcohol is normally found. Parties, seasonal events, family meals or work gatherings might spring to mind. Drinking alcohol is often seen as a very social activity, but in truth for millions of people, it’s the total opposite.

Sometimes admitting the truth to yourself is the first step. Remember, it’s not that sobriety is terrible, but that your brain is trying to grapple with the sudden loss of dopamine. Alcohol merely blurred my perception of social situations. Alcohol robs you of the ability to feel naturally motivated and inspired. Those feelings don’t come back immediately when you quit. The good news is that your brain can adjust and restore balance to your internal world.

Getting drunk did not magically change the dynamics of that situation. We were all just sitting around and getting drunk, perfectly content to not really do anything together. I have gone to bars with people I genuinely like as a sober person, and I don’t stay for longer than an hour or two if nothing is happening. When I drank alcohol, I could (and did) sit and do nothing for hours. It’s hard to fill that time, especially when dealing with alcohol cravings and triggers. This is important to remember when thinking about boredom.

• She continued her education at the University of Denver and earned a master’s in clinical mental health counseling.
• It’s even harder if your loved ones don’t support your sobriety.
• 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.
• Finding a new activity and hobby such as working out can provide something to look forward to each day.
• Let’s address another reason life without alcohol feels boring.

When he’s off the clock, Chandler is equal parts maker and explorer—reading, crocheting, gaming, crafting, puzzling, hiking, rafting, and snowboarding. If we held an office talent show, he’d try to win it with comedy. In another life, he’s pretty sure he was a Viking explorer—and he might still lobby for a holiday that celebrates Viking culture. Take control of the aspects of your life that you have some influence over and watch the world change around you.

Why Remembering the Good Times is Bad For Your Sobriety

We’ve been taught that feeling boredom means something’s wrong with us. The truth is, boredom is an incredibly uncomfortable state for many of us, and the lengths people would go to avoid feeling it may surprise you. Our brain also becomes accustomed to the presence of alcohol and starts to see it as the “new normal.” So when there’s no alcohol, things seem a bit off. The brain starts to signal the craving for alcohol, not just to seek pleasure but also to restore what it perceives as normalcy. Consuming alcohol stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a significant role in our brain’s reward system. It signals a feeling of satisfaction, pleasure, or reward, encouraging us to repeat the behavior that led to this good feeling.

The accessibility of alcohol makes it that much harder to refrain from drinking to cope with these difficult feelings. The reasons people start drinking alcohol are very different from the reasons they continue to drink alcohol. Boredom and isolation are known relapse triggers for people with substance use disorders.