Many people struggle with drinking out of boredom, and even if they don’t particularly like alcohol or its effects. Studies have shown that easily bored people are at higher risk of anxiety, depression, drug addiction, alcohol misuse, anger, and a number of other issues. Boredom can unexpectedly become a cue for sensation-seeking behavior. The current pandemic has highlighted how boredom can trigger the misuse of substances, particularly alcohol. In fact, alcohol sales outside of bars and restaurants surged 24% shortly after stay-at-home orders began. If you’ve found yourself noticing, “It seems that I drink because I’m bored and lonely,” the answer lies in our brain’s reward system.
Why Shouldn’t You Drink Out of Boredom?
While the holidays are indulgent, there’s also plenty of downtime (hint, hint) for learning how to deflect urges to drink. If bored drinking becomes a habit – or if it’s occasional – it can affect your ability to sleep soundly. And if you routinely drink on other occasions too, you’ll experience worse sleep disruptions.
Fighting Cravings Doesn’t Work. But This Might.
How we react to the state of boredom is critical to our ongoing mental health, experts state. Volunteering is a great way to reconnect with your community. Helping others actually boosts our own mental health and feelings of self-worth. Plus, it helps us with our emotional sobriety and wellness. On the one hand, you have no idea what you’re supposed to do with yourself.
“I Drink Every Evening Because I Feel Lonely.”
Boredom eating from time to time can be completely normal and nothing to worry about. However, it may be frustrating for some people and have health implications, including weight gain (1, 2, 3, 4). I discovered tapping and other ways of relaxing myself that are really interesting. Another woman on my call said that she had found during quarantine a local farm that did vegetable deliveries and also the freshest eggs she’s ever seen. Seen, and buckets and buckets of local flowers that are lush and gorgeous and beautiful and a total treat.
- Even though we’re not traveling right now, I rented a farmhouse two hours away from me that I’m just going to go to just for a change of pace.
- And I have to tell you, I am not a crafty person.
- In fact, the action of drinking is quite boring.
- One of the first ways that I’d suggest that you overcome boredom is just to accept that it’s part of the discomfort that you’re going to go through, I mean that’s all it basically is.
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 yourself. When we feel bored, we notice our own thoughts. If those thoughts drinking because of boredom 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.
- Many people use alcoholic beverages to enhance experiences.
- Make notes in a food journal about what you’re doing and your environment when you feel the urge to eat.
And you need to stay the course and you do need to try, it won’t always fall in your lap. And you actually need this space, you need the blah, you need the quiet time between your drinking life and what is going to fill it up. And suddenly you look over and they’re doing something that you couldn’t even imagine that they would do because the thing that they were obsessed with was put down and put away. But that is because it gave them a hit and a distraction.
- Studies have shown that easily bored people are at higher risk of anxiety, depression, drug addiction, alcohol misuse, anger, and a number of other issues.
- And the minute I take it away, you are irritable, and annoyed, and frankly, a pain in the ass.
- These are all things you’re trying to overcome from drinking.
