Holds1325

Anyone else get severely boooooorrrreeed when not drinking? My routine is pretty much the same (change it up I know) since quitting drinking now i just get soooo bored. I was thinking, you know when I come home, I do pretty much the same thing, theres just no alcohol involved now...

Another bad thing is I live in a small town miles away from any cities. Anyway to combat this boredom? Cant walk right now, wildfires putting out too much smoke! even though they are hundreds of miles away

Dee74

Hi Holds

I think the key is do things differently.

What was good for drinker - sitting at home watching TV - doesn't really cut it for someone who's sober.

Small town or not, there must be things to do.

I hope this list can maybe give you a kickstart with ideas?
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ething-do.html

D122y

OI learned what to do when not drinking from my wife and son. My wife, sits on the couch and watches TV. Jr. Plays video games. That is the bulk of it.

Now I hit the gym, play on my tab, play guitar, watch Netflix. I also do jiu jitsu.

sleepie

Well there's always the good old internet.
Thing is like many, I bore easily. Especially without alcohol to keep me interested.
So it's that fine line between engaging in an activity that isn't too taxing and frustrating yet not... boring.
Lately I listen to stories on youtube. Pick a genre, it's fun. I watch a lot of stand up comedy on youtube as well. I like to keep it light and try to laugh. Audiobooks at the library too.
Lately I like cheap thrills so have been listening to scary stories at youtube and you could try old time radio, there's some fun stuff there if you like spooky stuff.

zjw

I started doing lots of research on natural remedies to fix my ailments, polished things, cleaned things over and over,read book after book, drank so much tea, walks,paced with gritted teeth and clenched fists sigh and climbed the walls. But working in my garden to taking care of stuff I had been meaning to do cause I wanted to but because I was just trying to pass the time.

zjw

The question what did we do before the internet seems almost as challenging to answer!

Holds1325

I went to my church and played the piano for a good hour, even taught myself a new song! At first I didnt want to do anything but Im glad I did.

Fingers hurt though havent played in years

Thanks for the suggestions and support guys

WaterOx

Oh yes thanks for reminding me. Louis CK is fantastic. Love Bill Burr as well

StellaPolaris

Someone here once recommended coursera.org (free online courses). I spent some time there when newly sober. The course on the addicted brain was an eye opener..! They have courses on almost anything.

TEDtalks also kept me busy - short talks on every topic imaginable. I checked out a lot on spirituality and addiction.

PurpleDan

I'd recommend a hobby or two. I started customising Barbie dolls in early sobriety, having always thought I had little in the way of artistic capabilities. That eventually became my full time job for a few years. I've also learnt to knit, which I find really soothing and meditative.

NestWasEmpty

Quotes -" I do pretty much the same thing, theres just no alcohol involved now".
Holds , Boredom can set in , but now without alcohol I'm Free to do things , which I couldn't or wouldn't attempt whilst drinking . I live in the country up in the sticks . An hour away from even a Walmart , but now I can drive there.
It's all the Big or Small things you can do now. Endless opportunities to not be bored

aasharon90

In early recovery I use to whin to my
sponsor about being bored. You'd think
with having a little family and being a
stay at home mom would be enough to
keep my busy, however, I was still bored.

Why?

My sponsor explained to me that I
was too much into self. Self absorbed.
Too much thinking.

I needed to get out of myself and
do something for someone else. Hmmmm?

First it was suggested to go to my
Big Book of AA and read page 449
on Acceptance. And so I did, countless
times. Then......

Because I admired my sponsors own
recovery, I wanted to experience what
she and countless other members were
experiencing with many days sober. I
wanted to be happy, joyous and free.

What I admired mostly about her
was in her actions. The things she
did, her service work.

She loved to bake and was very
creative. So I decided to bake too
and bring goodies to my many many
meetings I attended for other members
to enjoy with their coffee.

In doing so, it allowed me to continue
going to my meetings to learn, absorb,
listen and apply a program of recovery
in my everyday life.

It allowed me to suit up, show up early,
stay afterwards and open up to other
member so they could get to know me
and see that I was staying sober and doing
whatever I needed and wanted to do to
remain sober.

It allowed me to take care of my family
and continue on in my recovery doing
some sort of service work to get out of
my own self and do something worthwhile
for others.

This has kept me sober for a many one
days at a time to get me where I am today.
Finally experiencing what so many before
me have experiences in remaining sober.

Happiness Health Honesty Joy Freedom

skg

There are plenty of opportunities to do something for someone other than self. Suggestion: the next time you are at the supermarket or the shopping center, grab a shopping cart or two and take it back to the front of the store for no other reason than to do something for someone else without being caught. When you get good at it, offer to take someone else's cart up when they are finishing with it--especially young parents. Be an example.

You'll feel better about yourself and help someone in a very personal way. CAVEAT: You cannot tell anyone about it or you don't get credit...

Of course, you could actually call another still-suffering alcoholic...

mcfearless

I feel your pain. In fact probably more because I don't even enjoy Video games and movies etc much sober. I know I should go out and socialize, but my god people bore me. I think that's part of the reason I needed to be drunk to go out, I can't tolerant the banality and vapidity of my average fellow man.

I do a lot of hiking and walking but the novelty of that is also wearing off. I've lived a high octane life full of drama and excitement as a drunk and while I absolutely needed to stop drinking to stop destroying myself, the adjustment towards a slower mundane pace .....it's tough. Tough, but I have committed to it and I will see it through. The tough and the going and all that. But really it's not like there aren't things we could be doing like some team sports, or learning a new skill etc. I think we just need to get off our buts and actually try something and I'm sure we will be pleasantly surprised.

I'm going to start going to AA meets this week and try not to be a know it all and write everyone off the first meeting. That's my short term goal.

Holds1325

Yes I know how it feels to not want to do anything but sometimes we do just need to go try something at least. The problem is that I deal with too much worry when I'm bored, so really I just get worried that anything at all is going to make it worse.