Yes, this can seem a bit daunting and lonely at first, but as you get used to it, you’ll see that it can really help to alleviate boredom in sobriety. When an individual has an issue with alcohol or drugs and decides (or is forced) to get help, much attention is focused on this phase of recovery. After all, you can’t achieve long-term sobriety if you can’t stop drinking or using drugs. This stage of recovery is crucial and the enormous amount of focus on it is understandable. Fried and overly sugary foods will also artificially spike your dopamine levels and cause your brain to overcorrect, leaving you feeling irritable, depressed, and cranky. These are all things you’re trying to overcome from drinking.
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My life is way more peaceful than it was 10 years ago. But does it mean that I don’t enjoy myself more? I enjoy being myself a gazillion times more today than I ever did when I was getting high. My first year in sobriety wasn’t the most exciting time of my life, especially the first six months. You know what I’ll say the first six months of my sobriety, it wasn’t all that exciting.
Addiction Recovery Quotes: Finding Inspiration In Recovery
You can also find out what your sober friends are into, and join them in their hobbies. Maybe you’ll discover a love for kayaking, or photography, or baking or sports. There aren’t many life experiences comparable to getting sober. When you decide to quit drugs or alcohol for good, you’re giving yourself a new lease on life that can be challenging, fulfilling, and even boring. So much of an addict’s life is spent thinking about, obtaining, or using drugs, but when that’s taken away when you go to inpatient treatment, you’re left with a lot of free time.
Once I realized that I had to rediscover what fun meant to me. My friends and I got together for happy hours after work. During the day, there were all-inclusive brunches.
Group Meetings
When discussing boredom in recovery, I often suggest that my clients look at some of the activities they are willing to do to help pass the time when feeling bored. For members who report drinking out of boredom, I often remind them that there are probably a lot of other things to do within their busy lives, if they take a moment to reflect. So while you may be sober and bored, it’s important to remember that there are millions upon millions of others also sober who choose to stay sober despite being bored in recovery. This consistent dedication to making staying sober their number one priority has led to significant life improvements and accomplishments.
Today as an adult, I still find myself feeling bored sometimes, but I have a different approach to boredom, and a different philosophy on what boredom is. You may be so used to the emotional isolation of addiction that joining a positive group of people seems foreign. You’ll need to make an effort to get the most benefit from these supportive relationships, but it may feel a little awkward at first. Start by thinking of others before yourself, listening to their stories and offering support or help where you can. Before long, you’ll notice that others are more than willing to connect with you. You’ll make friends that want to socialize, try new things and have fun with you.
Connect with like-minded friends
However, as days become weeks, and weeks become months, boredom may set in–this is very common. Boredom is uncomfortable, but it is also an essential part of the recovery process and is a necessary stage of healing from substance use disorder. Learning to sit with difficult feelings is a practice that will come more easily the longer you’re sober, and cultivating healthy distractions is an important aspect of healing. The longer your thoughts go untethered, the more likely they’ll venture to a dangerous place. To stay sober, you must keep yourself and your thoughts occupied.
During early recovery, it’s natural to feel bored because you’re advised to avoid the things that you used to do during your active addiction. You can’t go to your old hangouts or see old friends that could trigger your relapse. On top of it all, you can’t use substances to pass the time. How do you avoid boredom when you’re newly sober? Have you considered cutting back on drinking or drug use? Do you have trouble picturing yourself being social or having fun while sober?
It’s not all fun and games in the beginning because it takes work to get sober. It takes work to dig deep and like have the courage to see those parts of yourself that may have been causing you pain. So much pain that you were taking drugs and you were taking alcohol to kind of numb it and to escape it. I’ve talked to people where like the first year was really uneventful. Tim Stoddart here with Sober Nation, happy Monday.
By Buddy T
Buddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that how to stop drinking out of boredom stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. Sobriety means not being under the influence of a substance.