ventura47

Sitting here on a Sunday, and on my ninth day of sobriety, I realize one of the main reasons I drink is out of boredom, especially since Ive been pretty much unemployed the last year. I have a lot of idle time. Of course there are an abundance of things to do around the house and many projects I never got to. I was always being entertained by the bottle, and one knows that Alcohol is not the great motivator as it tells you it is.

So today I'm going to cook stuff and maybe clean out the fridge, that at this point can most likely get up and walk out by itself.

Not as entertaining (or so I think) as getting toasted, but none the less I'm sure it will be much more rewarding at the end of the day. :day6

NewDayNewWay

It was always a major trigger for me, but in time you find lots of things to occupy yourself with, meaningful things .
Enjoy your day

fallingwater

I found that I did that as well but I am slowly looking for things that I once found joy in and trying to embrace that once again ie cooking and baking. Even throwing in arts and crafts here and there. Good luck attacking the growth in your fridge...I'm scared to look at what might be in mine :/

LaFemme

I think it's a little like the chicken egg thing...did you drink because you were bored or were you bored because you didn't know how to do anything else. I know for me I was the latter. When I first got sober...I had all this time and no idea what to do with it. So I started off with the small things like cleaning the fridge

That's the amazing thing...I now live in a nice home, with clean clothes, a garden, I'm clean too!, I hold down 2 jobs and take good care of my 2 dogs. My friends are blown away by how much I do...I have even learned how to occasionally do nothing

least

I also drank for something to do... but now I know how to deal with boredom sober.

Dee74

When I became housebound I drank a lot more...I said it was boredom but I'm not sure now.

I'm still largely housebound - I'm not saying I'm Mr Positive every single day...but I'm not fundamentally bored like I used to be...and I haven't taken a drink in nearly 5 years.

I think the major change was in me - I used to sit around and wait for stuff to happen...

I think alcohol had a major part to play in that mindset - I was very geared to instant gratification...which of course I found in a bottle...

nowadays I see the value in work and effort....and I make things happen for myself, y'know?

I really believe we're only limited by our imaginations, Ventura

D

vInDaLoO

I have done it so many times, get bored end up drinking 12 cans of lager alone, realise that its an even worse condition to be in than when I first felt bored x 100.

SeekSobriety

What I was taught and what helped me when I was unemployed was to volunteer my time with a organization that needed my help. Wether it was a soup kitchen, a old age home, a hospital, etc. It made me feel much better about myself as well as was able to help othera. I met some great contacts, learned new skills and had something great to put on my resume. When going for job interviews it also helped me out to show that even though I may have been unemployed I was being proactive and spending my time helping my community and others.

colt

Boredom is a rough one. It's the thing that drives me to binge drink. Not anxiety or depression...boredom. Just boredom.

The only way to deal with boredom is to make a decision on what you are going to do and get busy doing it. Easier said than done, I know. Either that or just accept that you are bored and that's the way you feel right now. It's okay to feel bored. We're not meant to be happy and entertained 24/7. That's life. Sometimes we are just going to feel bored and that's how we are going to feel and there's nothing wrong with that.

Also socializing is very important. Right now we have youtube and netflix, and millions of things to do online and tons of endlessly amazing technology, but people still report feeling bored. My bet is that people aren't socializing enough.

gr8ful42day

Classic
Bored.com - Fun Stuff To Do When You Are Bored

New
Play Free Games & Have Fun at Bored.com

And, FWIW, yes colt, so important to socialize...I do most of my socializing these days at AA meetings.

MrSilver

If you are looking for something to do, try some volunteer work for a local charity. They are often looking for help. It is a good way to meet new people, get out of the house, and learn something.

PhaseOne

I also found myself drinking out of boredom almost more then anything else. I never had a problem with hobbies. I play guitar, I make music, I do computer/electronic related projects all the time, I just found myself drinking instead, it was the one thing that matter most. Honestly, one of the biggest things that has helped me not drink is this website and reading. When I get bored, I come to SR and just look around... so much interesting stuff on here, so many interesting people, and so many stories but we are all in the same boat. As long as your aware of the problem, and keeping yourself occupied, you're winning the battle in my book

mhealer3

i think boredom is deeper than having too little to do.
it's really lack of motivation & lack of ability to enjoy oneself.
i'm speaking from experience, & i can truly say that baby steps really matter.
it's overwhelming sometimes 2 attempt large projects alone
& somewhat depressing to BE alone.
my successes have been very small steps toward change that really add-up.
i wasn't able 2 muster up the 'go back to college' thing, or
find a boyfriend thing,
so i began knitting in a local knitters group, visiting the elderly with my dog @ the nursinghome,
getting a very small job, & finding a bingo-buddy.
i help out friends when they are not feeling well, & got 2 know my neighbors.
each little step can lead somewhere,& it's never a total loss 2 try something new.
it's been said that if your next year is going 2 be different from THIS year,
the small changes u make week-by-week, or month-2-month WILL CHANGE UR next year.
therefore DO EXPLORE what you used to enjoy doing, or try something totally new.
i dug up friends i haven't seen in 30 years, & now i'm so glad i made that effort.
be patient & persevere, friends...
keeping a journal of your successes really helps also.

eJoshua

I think this makes a lot of sense. I've found that when I'm bored it is rarely because I don't have anything to do.

ddrayer

being alone, not that I didn't have anything to do but yea bored and not wanting to do the little things so I just cracked a beer and watched tv instead...that one beer always turns into more

Lizzer

I tried making a list of things to do instead of drinking. Hoping to make today my first day so we'll see how it goes. Best of luck to you!