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spen71 01-13-2010 01:05 AM

Boredom
 
I know this has been done a thousand times before but I am so bored. Due to the weather here it has been impossible for me to do any work. I am on day 23 now of sober and these last couple of days have been so hard. I have £20 quid in my pocket and keep thinking that I could get smashed for that.

On the bright side I have managed to stop myself from having a drink and the snow will be gone by the weekend.

intention 01-13-2010 02:36 AM

Hi Spen,

Congratulations on being sober. Fantastic achievement. :a122:


Now are you really bored ? Or is that your alcoholic child-like mind jumping up and down, stamping its feet, having a tantrum, screaming "I want a drink!" ???

Stealthealer 01-13-2010 02:48 AM

It's amazing how sobriety stages can be so similar for so many of us. Weeks 1& 2 physical issues, weeks 3 & 4....BOREDOM. I'm on day #25 now and am going thru the same thing as you...life can seem slightly grayer around the edges. I'm told this is only a phase.

Keep your mind and body occupied. Pick up a hobby; resume an old project. Let's find out when the days of sobriety are interesting again.

JJB 01-13-2010 02:48 AM

Hi there spen. Great to see you again .
Yeah I know what you mean about the cold weather getting you down. I agree with intention tho I think it's just the alcholic mind playing tricks with you -as it will do when it's nice and sunny outside and we'll think "oh wouldn't it be nice to have a drink in the sunshine?"

Glad to see you're back on track-come on we can do this! (I'm on day 5 this time round)
Have you tried the mindless games in the arcade when you get bored?

And as countless other members on here have said don't forget how boring we get when we are drunk!

Keep posting -that will stop you from being bored!

intention 01-13-2010 03:14 AM


Originally Posted by JJB (Post 2484891)
as it will do when it's nice and sunny outside and we'll think "oh wouldn't it be nice to have a drink in the sunshine?"

So true!

NEOMARXIST 01-13-2010 03:22 AM

Acknowledging that there will always be an excuse for a drink is key to acknowledging ones alcoholism.

This is what made me feel so hopeless about my situation when I was still drinking. It would not have mattered where on the earth I moved to or what I was doing or who I was mixing with. Sooner or later an all-mighty Binge would have happened and I would have been back to square one.

Acceptance that I am an alcoholic has given me great hope for my fututre as now I know what I must not do if I want to be moving forward positively. To take a drink cannot be an option for me as I accept my alcoholism. Just for today I will not drink/use. Gives me the oppurtunity to work on what I know needs to be worked on.

Hang in there man, it does get better.

CarolD 01-13-2010 04:06 AM

Several years ago our members compiled this list
:)

150 Things To Do Instead of Drinking

1. Read a book
2. Take a walk
3. Play a musical instrument
4. Knit
5. Clean your closets
6. Research your genealogy
7. Cook a gourmet dinner
8. Write an article for your local newspaper
9. Go take some pictures
10. Clean the mildew in your bathroom
11. Start writing that book you've been planning
12. Plan a garden
13. Plant a garden
14. Play with a pet
15. Read to a child
16. Visit someone in an old folks' home
17. Watch a news special on TV
18. Set up a family budget
19. Make a web site
20. Take up archery
21. Exercise
22. Go to an online recovery meeting
23. Surf the internet
24. Call your mom
25. Learn a foreign language
26. Write a poem
27. Play golf
28. Take a bubble bath
29. Draw
30. Teach a parakeet to whistle
31. Take a nap
32. Listen to music
33. Paint
34. Clean your desk
35. Start a stamp collection
36. Go window shopping
37. Browse in a book store
38. Go to an art gallery
39. Go for a drive
40. Paint a room
41. Watch the clouds go by
42. Play darts
43. Do target shooting
44. Do home repairs
45. Clean your garage
46. Sort your photographs
47. Make a scrapbook
48. Climb a tree
49. Plant a tree
50. Make marmalade
51. Make a list of things to do
52. Write a letter to the editor
53. Volunteer somewhere
54. Take a hike
55. Take a college class
56. Try yoga
57. Meditate
58. Get a massage
59. Make fruit smoothies
60. Bake cookies
61. Do a crossword puzzle
62. Go to the gym
63. Plant a color bowl
64. Sharpen your pruning tools
65. Change your engine oil
66. Sew
67. Groom your dog
68. Go see a play
69. Write a sonnet
70. Sort your recipes
71. Play solitaire
72. Go bird watching
73. Write a letter to a friend
74. Read a poetry book
75. Repot your houseplants
76. Go to a movie
77. Mow your lawn
78. Put up (or take down) your Christmas lights
79. Make pickles
80. Go jogging
81. Watch sitcoms
82. Plan menus for a diet
83. Do a jigsaw puzzle
84. Play chess
85. Write a country-western song
86. Watch a video
87. Go for a bike ride
88. Plant an herb garden
89. Start an online journal
90. Dye your hair
91. Go to a restaurant
92. Lift weights
93. Bake some bread
94. Learn a martial art
95. Polish the furniture
96. Make a flower arrangement
97. Read the newspaper
98. Start some seeds
99. Sort your magazines
100. Do some laundry.
111. Take a nature walk
112. Play with your kids
113. Volunteer at a homeless shelter
114. Volunteer at a school
115. Pick up garbage in a park
116. Tickle your kids
117. Play basketball
118. Volunteer at an animal shelter
119. Read to a child or pet
120. Sign up for obedience training with your dog
121. Take a walk and pick up litter you see on the way
122. Spend time at the library
123. Sort all your digital photos and make an album to print for holiday gifts to family.
124. Help your kid organize his closet.
125. Figure out the melody and chords to your current favorite tune on the piano.
126. Practice your holiday cookie recipes
127. Make crackers from scratch (that one didn't go so well).
128. Make tortillas from scratch (better).
129. Reread a book you haven't read for years.
130. Tango
131. Learn about someone else’s religion.
132. Reread one of your college textbooks.
133. Key out a wildflower.
134. Do your nails.
135. Do word puzzles.
136. Play a board game.
137. Burn CD’s of some of your favorite music for a friend.
138. Plant a bonsai.
139. Play Mad Libs.
140. Speak only in heroic couplets for an hour.
141. Read poetry online.
142. Ride a stationary bicycle.
143. Set up a domino topple.
144. Play backgammon.
145. Build a house of cards
146. Make an entry in Wikipedia.
147. Read a world almanac.
148. Publish a family newsletter.
149. Throw cards at a hat.
150. Go to bed.
__________________

I have done many of those along my way plus
AA=Awesome Adventures in living sober.....:yup:

JJB 01-13-2010 04:32 AM

Oh Thanks Carol I loved that!
I think I'll go tickle my kids! LOL

Tazman53 01-13-2010 05:02 AM

Boredom...... an evil thing it is, the cure I found was ACTION!!!

Here are a few things I do to deal with it, not in any real order:

1. I go to a meeting.

2. Call some one else in recovery to either talk recovery or just to BS.

3. Read recovery literature or a good book.

4. Find a nice quiet spot, get comfortable, pray & meditate.

5. All of Carols list.

I had several months sober and I told my sponsor that I felt kind of bored, he asked if it was possible I was confusing boredom with Peace & Serenity.

I pondered what he said for some time...... I realized that things were starting to go better, there was no drama going on at that time in my life, nothing was hanging over my head then either........ things were basically going okay, I felt pretty good mentally and physically.

Was I experienceing the Peace & Serenity spoken of by the old timers & my sponsor? What I found was that for so many years my life was in CONSTANT turmoil, I had no idea what it felt like when all of the turmoil was gone and life was Peaceful & Serene...... at that moment I saw that indeed my sponsor was right, I was mistaking Peace & Serenity for boredom!

Do not get me wrong, life goes on and some days I get dealt a bad hand in life, but due to my ongoing sobriety, maintaining my spiritual condition fit by keeping my HP in my daily life and applying the principles I learned in the steps, I am now able to play the hand I am dealt that day out to the end instead of trying to drink it away or fight it like a madman.

I am finding more and more days as time goes by where I get dealt a pretty good hand, when that happens as I play that hand I enjoy that Peace & Serenity that I was NEVER able to find in a bottle.

BTW congrats on the sober time.

intention 01-13-2010 08:50 AM


Originally Posted by Tazman53 (Post 2484960)
5. All of Carols list.

LOL, Tazman....all of the list ??! :rotfxko




I had several months sober and I told my sponsor that I felt kind of bored, he asked if it was possible I was confusing boredom with Peace & Serenity.

I love this quote by Nisargadatta Maharaj. To me it sums up exactly what you are saying.


There is nothing to do. Just be.
Do nothing. Be.
No climbing mountains and sitting in caves.
I do not even say "be yourself"
since you do not know yourself.
Just be
.


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