Additionally, I examine the way mental and physical health as well as our relationships with others impact the reasons people drink and their role in maintaining sobriety long-term. At Promises Behavioral Health, we understand that the decision to seek out help for alcohol addiction can be a difficult one. We are here to provide the support and treatments you need to achieve lasting recovery.
- The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that 17 million American adults have alcohol use disorders.
- You can pick up a new project, you can dive into photography, and I’m going to talk about all those ideas later in this episode.
- 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.
- Instead, resist the urge to get defensive, be open, and ask the person what exactly they’ve noticed about your drinking.
- 24 percent of adults in England and Scotland regularly drink over the recommended guidelines and 27 percent report binge-drinking on their heaviest drinking days.
- Before you know it, your list of things to celebrate when bored gets longer, and the number of drinks you enjoy each week goes up.
Drinking wine every day for a week
Each evening, when I was ready to relax for the night, I had a glass of red wine. That’s one implication of a recent survey by the national behavioral health provider FHE Health. A Saturday Night Live sketch skewered this trend by asking cast member Aidy Bryant, as the birthday girl, to showcase the variety of gifts given by her group of close female friends.
Build a strong support network.
Not on its own, but maybe it starts a conversation and a friend comes over just to sit with you and make sure you’re good. It’s important to have the right mindset about sobriety. When you remove alcohol from your life, you free up all the time you spent drinking and recovering from drinking. If you ever sit down to do that math, you will shock yourself with how much time went towards drinking.
Addiction Treatment Programs at Promises Behavioral Health
It’s hard to fill that time, especially when dealing with alcohol cravings and triggers. My friends and I got together for happy hours after work. During the day, there were all-inclusive brunches. It all felt normal, even the terrible parts like awful hangovers and hangxiety. So it’s not that sobriety is inherently boring; it’s that your serotonin and dopamine levels are now very low.
The important thing is that we understand our relationship with alcohol, realize where it may not be serving us, and make informed decisions about its presence in our lives. This way we, rather than the drinking, are in control. I’ve heard drinking described as “a cup of extroversion,” providing confidence in situations that otherwise would trigger awkwardness, embarrassment, or even anxiety.
Fall in love with what is, then work to grow from there. Karlie is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and began her education in psychology at the University of Cincinnati. She participated in research studying ADHD in children, mindfulness and anxiety, and embodied cognition. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she continued her education at the University of Denver and earned a master’s in clinical mental health counseling with a side specialization in addiction. During grad school, she treated clients involved in the legal system as well as at a detox facility. After graduating, Karlie gained experience working in a residential program for eating disorders and a private practice before joining the AspenRidge team.
- If you’re in the beginning, yeah, everything you’re doing is just navigating life without alcohol.
- Mindfulness practices and stress management techniques can empower you to cope with boredom and negative emotions without turning to alcohol.
- And it held me in a place where I was stuck and where my world got smaller and smaller.
- It’s hard to fill that time, especially when dealing with alcohol cravings and triggers.
- By seeking professional help, you can find resources to stop drinking and address ongoing issues that can make a huge difference in your recovery.
Being alone doesn’t automatically make a person bored. But if you enjoy alcohol, and boredom suddenly drinking out of boredom strikes while isolated, reaching for a drink is an easy way to satisfy the need for stimulation. Unrealistic expectations can exacerbate boredom. If someone expects that every Friday night they should be out on the town with friends, but they’re alone on a couch, it may be easier to justify boredom and self-pity, followed by booze.
Every single day of my life, I was recovering from a headache, hangover and watery eyes, and just trying to get through the day. But I PROMISE you, if you keep moving forward, things in your brain will start to click. And one day, it will occur to you that you’re actually happy and enjoying your life. By removing the alcohol and making those necessary lifestyle changes, we increase the chances of becoming people who can enjoy the simple pleasure of life once again. One of the best things you can do for yourself when you’re feeling bored in sobriety is to find a way to serve others.
- But if you can’t or aren’t able to do a group class, at the very least, take a tech-free 30-minute walk every day.
- Don’t get down on yourself because you can’t get wasted at the bar with your friends anymore.
- That’s worrying because self-medicating feelings of boredom with alcohol can invite health problems.
- This time around, for the sake of research, this wine-every-day trial was worth a go.
This is the part where you figure out how to enjoy life without a little something extra to help loosen you up. So now comes the arduous task of learning how to manage the tough stuff without a chemical crutch like alcohol. It’s likely your doctor will order some bloodwork, which can be the start of your path to physical recovery. When I was finished, it was like someone had hit the refresh button on my brain. I could go back and re-read what I wrote and approach it from the perspective of an outside observer.