New to recovery, reaching out for some accountablity :)
Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Gainesville, Fl
Posts: 435
Originally Posted by DriGuy 
Great opening post, Freshout. I get it.
Boredom: My counselors, both asked me why I drank, and when pressed to answer, I would say, "Because I was bored," but that was just a knee jerk response when put on the spot. Now, I know these counselors were professionals and all, but I believe that question is irrelevant. Consequently, I came up with an irrelevant response. Yes, I was bored sometimes, but so what? If you want to make a federal case out of it and press the issue some more, what could be more boring than a life of drinking yourself to sleep night after night? Yeah, I was bored, quite a bit of the time, actually, but let's put the focus on alcoholism, not boredom.
My chronic boredom went away when I quit drinking. There was nothing magical, creative, or step related that took it away. It was just an unexpected residual. One day several months into sobriety, I was surprised to realize that I hadn't been bored for months. There's just too much to do in life to justify boredom.
Boredom is self imposed, not a condition of your environment. To be honest, boredom does present itself from time to time, but it's never crippling, and I laugh at it. I can choose to live with it, or do something worthwhile, and believe me, I've got a "TO DO" list that is never completed. Yeah, it may require that I drag my lazy ass off the couch or away from my computer, but it's a choice I can make that changes the direction of my frame of mind.
I am no longer that child that I used to be whining to my mother, "I'm so bored," only to be told to go out and play. I'm an adult. I have resources, both financial and psychological. Boredom (or not) is my choice.
Boredom: My counselors, both asked me why I drank, and when pressed to answer, I would say, "Because I was bored," but that was just a knee jerk response when put on the spot. Now, I know these counselors were professionals and all, but I believe that question is irrelevant. Consequently, I came up with an irrelevant response. Yes, I was bored sometimes, but so what? If you want to make a federal case out of it and press the issue some more, what could be more boring than a life of drinking yourself to sleep night after night? Yeah, I was bored, quite a bit of the time, actually, but let's put the focus on alcoholism, not boredom.
My chronic boredom went away when I quit drinking. There was nothing magical, creative, or step related that took it away. It was just an unexpected residual. One day several months into sobriety, I was surprised to realize that I hadn't been bored for months. There's just too much to do in life to justify boredom.
Boredom is self imposed, not a condition of your environment. To be honest, boredom does present itself from time to time, but it's never crippling, and I laugh at it. I can choose to live with it, or do something worthwhile, and believe me, I've got a "TO DO" list that is never completed. Yeah, it may require that I drag my lazy ass off the couch or away from my computer, but it's a choice I can make that changes the direction of my frame of mind.
I am no longer that child that I used to be whining to my mother, "I'm so bored," only to be told to go out and play. I'm an adult. I have resources, both financial and psychological. Boredom (or not) is my choice.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 17
Once again thanks for all the responses everyone! It's so nice to be able to share with people who understand and offer no judgment. Update: still going strong. Each day gets better and better and I completely agree that mornings are fantastic. I've always been someone who loves watching the sunrise and being out the door before most people are even awake. Over the last ten years when drinking took over there was simply no way I wouldn't be hungover over on a Saturday or Sunday and thus no way to do it.
Last Sunday I was up around 7. Brewed some coffee, packed a bag and then took the bus to the beach (about 30 mins away). It's hard to describe the feeling of peace I had. It was just me, a few older men getting in a morning swim and a couple of surfers. The sky painted the water all sorts of different colors. I'd been to this beach plenty of times but it was always in the middle of the day with a bunch of hair-of-the-dog beers . Never had the state of mind to really appreciate it. This is yet another thing I'm learning in early sobriety.
Drinking drained my world of color and life but I barely realized it. Now that I've stopped drinking and my senses are gradually returning to me I am able to fill it back up again. I truly never thought I would feel like this again and simply thought I was getting old. Yeah, drinking gave me hangovers, but I had no idea it affected me even between weekends.
Last Sunday I was up around 7. Brewed some coffee, packed a bag and then took the bus to the beach (about 30 mins away). It's hard to describe the feeling of peace I had. It was just me, a few older men getting in a morning swim and a couple of surfers. The sky painted the water all sorts of different colors. I'd been to this beach plenty of times but it was always in the middle of the day with a bunch of hair-of-the-dog beers . Never had the state of mind to really appreciate it. This is yet another thing I'm learning in early sobriety.
Drinking drained my world of color and life but I barely realized it. Now that I've stopped drinking and my senses are gradually returning to me I am able to fill it back up again. I truly never thought I would feel like this again and simply thought I was getting old. Yeah, drinking gave me hangovers, but I had no idea it affected me even between weekends.
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