This shift in routine, coupled with earlier darkness and cold temperatures, can lead to SAD. Many bored drinkers likely don’t realize they’re bored drinkers. But if you consume alcohol, these signs might indicate that boredom is a drinking trigger. As a drinking trigger, boredom affects more people than you might think.
- Start consciously thinking about your
drinking routines and ask yourself what’s triggering that particular
routine or pattern. - It’s important to note that addiction treatment programs are tailored to the specific substance and individual needs, ensuring that each person receives the most appropriate care for their unique situation.
- I certainly would have if I’d read this article five years ago.
- It’s important to understand that achieving sobriety is possible.
- Boredom and stress are two emotions that can feel as if they are never going to leave.
If you’ve created an entire social life around drinking, it is natural to be afraid of life without it. Getting sober is like learning to walk again after a terrible accident. 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 drinking out of boredom yourself. If those thoughts are very negative, then hanging out in your own brain isn’t going to be a great experience. This is where the real work of sobriety is – facing up to your own mind. As humans, we’re meant to experience the full spectrum of positive and negative emotions – that’s how we’re designed.
Are You an ‘Almost Alcoholic’?
Bored drinking can sneakily become an unhealthy habit, and it’s not always easy to curb it on your own. Simply asking these questions might be enough to take the edge off the urge to drink. But if you end up drinking anyway, mindfulness also means forgiving yourself and learning from the experience.
As part of your daily “boredom prevention plan,” schedule a reward for not drinking when you otherwise would. Hobbies occupy the mind and give you a sense of accomplishment. Bored drinking might elevate your mood briefly, but it won’t ever match the satisfaction of mastering a hobby.
Signs You May Be a Bored Drinker
Different activities will in turn create different thoughts and even the smallest change can start to make a big difference. If you are filling voids in your life with alcohol, then you need to decide what else can fill you up instead. Drinking because of boredom happens because home is where we feel safe, unjudged – it’s where we can relax.
When the alcohol wears off, your problems will still be there, and you’ll likely reach out for more alcohol to escape them again. If you find yourself bored without alcohol or drinking simply because you’re bored, you might be developing an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Regular drinking is often considered socially appropriate and normal, but if your drinking extends to when you’re alone, that’s a red flag. There’s a very fine line between social drinking and problematic drinking, and one could easily lead to the other and cause serious health implications.
