Bored Drinking: How to Defend Against the Sneakiest Trigger

Danny spent the first nine years of his career working in youth residential treatment. After managing that program for six years, Danny moved to AspenRidge and now leads the clinical team. Nate Denning is the Lead Admission Representative at AspenRidge Recovery. Before moving to AspenRidge, Nate served as operations director at a local organization that has sober living homes throughout the Denver area.

The Boredom Drinking Loop

• Many people say that they drink alcohol to manage anxiety – to numb it or take the edge off difficult feelings.
• If Danny won the lottery, he’d start a tech company focusing on deep learning to support people in coping strategies.
• Megan’s therapeutic approach is multifaceted, drawing from narrative, feminist, and existential therapy modalities.
• She typically works with people interested in taking a holistic approach to treating their addictions.

The association between drinking and having a good time has been perpetuated and promoted for years by companies marketing beer, wine, and spirits. Given the ubiquitous nature of alcohol advertising, you might look forward to having that drink as soon as you walk through the door at home or meet your pals at a bar. You feel more relaxed after that drink and look forward to the reward. Pretty soon, the anticipation starts to happen more frequently. This kind of patterned behavior can lead you down a path toward alcohol addiction.

Increased Risk of Mental Health Issues

• I kept a notebook and pen beside my bed in case I woke up in the middle of the night with a brilliant song lyric or poem.
• For those who didn’t work from home, only 12% were prone to excessive drinking.
• Alcoholism profoundly affects the entire body, especially the brain, heart, pancreas, mouth, liver, and the immune system.
• In the midst of these stimuli that keep us busy, engaged, and upbeat about our lives, it can be easy to assume that life of its own accord is here to entertain us.
• “Almost alcoholic” is a term that refers to individuals who skirt the boundaries of having a drinking problem.

Physical exercise and outdoor activities offer a great way to stay active, have fun, and improve your mental health. Engaging in physical exercise and outdoor activities can boost your mental wellbeing and help you resist the urge to drink out of boredom. Some fun and exciting examples of physical exercise and outdoor activities include kayaking or fishing, camping, spin class, yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, Zumba, Bootcamp, and Class Pass. By engaging in these activities, you can effectively quit drinking, replace boredom drinking, and promote a healthier lifestyle in 2024.

Surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family who encourage sobriety and engage in alcohol-free activities can be incredibly beneficial in combating boredom drinking. By building a strong support network, you can access the encouragement and guidance you need to stay sober and successfully overcome boredom drinking. Recognizing and addressing personal triggers that lead to boredom drinking is crucial for maintaining a sober lifestyle. By developing self-awareness and reflecting on your emotions and thought patterns, you can uncover the triggers for boredom drinking and take proactive steps to address them. Have you ever found yourself pouring a drink not to celebrate, but simply because there’s nothing else to do? In fact, boredom has been linked to anxiety, depression, and even addiction.

There are many reasons for this, from previous patterns of alcohol use to brain chemistry. It can take time for both our personal habits and our physical bodies to adapt to not using alcohol. While it may provide temporary relief, the long-term effects are far more damaging. The cycle of drinking to fill time leads to mental, emotional, and physical challenges that can be hard to reverse.

So whether you are an absent-minded drinker drinking boredom or a lonely or anxious one, what can you do to prevent drinking out of boredom? Here are 5 tips to help you make changes to your drinking habits that could help you feel better, for good. 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.

Why do I drink alcohol out of boredom?

So often, our lives are full of distraction, social interaction, entertainment, and things we consider fun. In the midst of these stimuli that keep us busy, engaged, and upbeat about our lives, it can be easy to assume that life of its own accord is here to entertain us. Recovery is hard work, but we think you’ll find it’s well worth it. Alcohol is one of the world’s most commonly accepted drugs, so it’s also regularly left off the list of addictive drugs that negatively impact people’s lives. Reframe supports you in reducing alcohol consumption and enhancing your well-being. Understanding this connection is the first step towards breaking the cycle.

The following quiz is called the AUDIT, which is short for Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. It’s used by medical professionals to assess your risk for alcohol dependence. What if you’ve tried to do the “normal” stuff people do for fun and don’t like any of it? You feel like an automaton simulating a life, but not finding any real purpose, joy, or meaning. It’s at this point where a lot of people realize they’ve veered into risky gray area drinking or even alcohol use disorder.

KARLIE ROSHONG – Clinical Manager

Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help you become more aware of your emotions and triggers. Practicing mindfulness or meditation can reduce the impulse to turn to alcohol when boredom strikes. It teaches you to sit with your feelings, including boredom, without feeling the need to escape them through substances like alcohol. Exercise is a powerful way to rebuild your body in recovery and a healthy coping skill. It’s a way to care for yourself by committing to a practice that releases positive, mood-enhancing endorphins and alleviates stress. Finding a new activity and hobby such as working out can provide something to look forward to each day.

As these nights add up, you’ll wake up with less energy, a clouded mind, and the inability to perform at your best.

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. Sitting in traffic, for instance, is one of those things that most people would rather forego. Other tasks like laundry and cleaning the house can cause boredom and be a source of anxiety. For resources related to AUD, including how to get support, please visit the NIH website.

It searches for a spark, something to stimulate and captivate us. This might explain why, in such moments, we impulsively reach for distractions, like the remote or a social media scroll. By seeking professional help, you can find resources to stop drinking and address ongoing issues that can make a huge difference in your recovery. Swapping our routines and habits that are damaging you for ones that can strengthen your body and soul will give you a really clear reason why you want to stop drinking out of boredom. All these tips are here to help you prevent drinking out of boredom.

The human brain releases dopamine to reward behavior and encourage one to reinforce it. Check out our suggestions for what sober people do for fun to get started on your journey. For more insights on how alcohol affects enjoyment, visit our article on alcohol addiction myths. Located in Central Ohio, our comprehensive addiction treatment facility offers several levels of care to fit the needs of each individual. In active addiction addicts spend the bulk of their time obsessing over their habit, worrying about where they’re going to find their next fix, and using.

The more alcohol you drink, the more difficult it is to make rational decisions. People who drink alone may decide to drink and drive because they might not know how drunk they are. Unstructured time leads to unpredictable behaviors, which are problematic in recovery. Every month, we launch fun challenges, like Dry/Damp January, Mental Health May, and Outdoorsy June. You won’t want to miss out on the chance to participate alongside fellow Reframers (or solo if that’s more your thing!). This is the part where you figure out how to enjoy life without a little something extra to help loosen you up.

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. But if you enjoy alcohol, and boredom suddenly strikes while isolated, reaching for a drink is an easy way to satisfy the need for stimulation. The practice of mindfulness involves being present in the moment and paying attention to your thoughts and feelings without judgment. It can help you stay focused on the present and appreciate the small moments in life. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, such as meditation, yoga, or simply taking a few deep breaths and centering yourself when you feel overwhelmed or bored.