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. However, feeling bored without alcohol isn’t actually a bad thing. And the sickness and tiredness you feel after the initial high of alcohol consumption wears off is neither fun nor interesting. So drinking because you’re bored isn’t doing much for you in the long run. Instead, you should find ways to cope with your boredom that keep you productively occupied and are more fulfilling.

This will help you regain control of your life and improve both your mental and physical health. Are you tired of drinking out of boredom and ready to embrace a sober life in 2023? Many people struggle with boredom drinking, but the good news is that there’s a way out. AspenRidge Recovery offers online treatment programs that make it possible to receive recovery care while still maintaining a flexible schedule. AspenRidge Recovery methodologies prove to support clients through recovery and long-term care. We can address fear and healthy coping mechanisms to combat any doubt and uncertainty that either an individual or family may feel during these difficult times.

How Common Is Binge Drinking?

But you should turn to other, more productive ways to cope with your boredom that won’t be detrimental to your health. In a UK survey it was found that 29% of teenagers had turned to alcohol as a means to relieve boredom. This emotion is also blamed for fueling much of the binge drinking culture that exists in western countries. This consistent connection will help foster healthy relationships in recovery with people who can support you and what you’re going through in the present moment. Losing relationships to the substance can be challenging but anchoring to others in recovery can be the very thing you need to feel worthy of recovery.

• We’ll also teach you healthy coping skills that support long-term abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
• However, feeling bored without alcohol isn’t actually a bad thing.
• Valuing and prioritizing yourself in recovery can be a powerful way to remove the hold alcohol has on you.
• Therefore, it’s important to stop binge drinking, particularly if you have repeated episodes of binge drinking.

In certain situations, being bored too often may have detrimental health effects, such as increased rates of depression and altered eating habits (1, 28). When you remove all alcohol and addictive substances from your home, you can experience the emotions and thoughts that lead to drinking out of boredom without acting on them in a way that puts you at risk. Anything to change up that routine of drinking out of boredom and make it harder for drinkers to find a place to get comfortable. 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. Parties, seasonal events, family meals or work gatherings might spring to mind.

Avoid the urge to eat in front of a screen

A diet that leaves you feeling full and satisfied over the course of the day leaves less room for wondering about whether you should have a snack when you’re bored. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, how to stop drinking out of boredom you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems.

• By incorporating physical exercise and outdoor activities into your daily routine, you can effectively replace boredom drinking with healthier alternatives that promote mental and physical well-being.
• People can prepare regular healthy meals and snacks to keep them satiated throughout the day, making them less likely to eat through boredom.
• As the blood is circulated, alcohol affects all organs and tissues in the body.
• Throughout 2020 and into 2021, people reported feeling bored at higher rates than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic (27).

You feel restless, dissatisfied or unchallenged with what you’re doing. “The excitement or stimulation certain foods offer may help to distract people’s attention from the bored self,” explains a 2015 study. You had a bad day, so you head to the freezer, grab ice cream, move to the couch and dig right in. You don’t feel physically hungry, but eating ice cream is comforting. These terms are often used interchangeably, and both refer to turning to food to cope with emotions.

Drink Water and Other Beverages

If you’re drinking out of boredom, read on to learn more about what this means. One of the reasons why people are reluctant to escape addiction is that they fear that life in recovery will be boring. They imagine a grey future where their life will be focused around not doing that one thing they really enjoy. While boredom may appear like a trivial thing to a lot of people, the fear of it can drive an addiction by stopping people from seeking help. The sad thing is that it is really the life of the addict that is boring and predictable.

• When children or adolescents are spending too much time in front of the television (or screens of any kind) or listlessly whiling away hours, it may be time to step in.
• A person should examine their diet and how it influences when and why they snack.
• While it doesn’t automatically indicate alcohol use disorder drinking out of boredom can expose users to the extensive list of short- and long-term health effects due to ongoing alcohol use.
• 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.
• If a person’s cupboards and refrigerator are full of appealing but unhealthy foods, the person may feel inclined to eat them when they feel bored.
• There can be a link between eating when bored and emotional eating.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America says that alcohol and other substances can worsen anxiety symptoms. About 20% of Americans with an anxiety or mood disorder such as depression have an alcohol or other substance use disorder. Self-medicating can drastically impact overall health and well-being. Not only this, self-medicating can lead to and exacerbate mental health conditions leading to a dual diagnosis condition. Boredom is a natural state or emotion that’s part of the spectrum of things we feel as humans, and we all experience boredom in different forms and at different times.