Self-medication with alcohol can have severe side effects, especially when mixed with other prescription drugs. 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. Our programs focus on treating the physical, mental, and emotional components of alcoholism in a safe and secure environment where individuals can focus on their healing process. Alcohol addiction rehab programs should address substance use as well as any underlying co-occurring mental health disorders. The most effective treatment provides access to ongoing therapy, skills training, group or peer support, relapse avoidance techniques, and prescribed medications, if necessary.

Instead, even if boredom predicts social confidence, this variable appears to have no effect on binge drinking behaviors. We may suppose that the uncomfortable feeling of boredom calls for psychological effects such as “disinhibition” or “escape from problems” rather than “acceptance in the peer group” and “approval”. For example “feel like the others” and “be fashionable” (i.e. items of “interpersonal and social confidence”) are social motivations that did not mediate between boredom and binge drinking. Thus, adolescents who are bored seem to engage in binge drinking more to reach “chemical” than social effects. By volunteering at organizations that help people struggling with addiction, you can provide a meaningful sense of purpose and fulfillment, which can replace the fleeting pleasure of boredom drinking.

Drinking to Avoid Social Interaction

If your job represents a form of security but is painstakingly boring, explore new possibilities for employment even if you never fill out an application or get a job interview. When children or adolescents are spending too much time in front of the television (or screens of any kind) or listlessly whiling away hours, it may be time to step in. Curtail the screen-time hours and help your child look for and plan stimulating activates or hobbies.

People who tend to be bored may also be weary or restless because of a lack of personal interests. They may be bored with themselves, their jobs, and their life. Reducing alcohol intake may produce withdrawal symptoms such as sweating,
shivering, high blood pressure, vomiting, fatigue, etc.

Are You an ‘Almost Alcoholic’?

Managing our expectations can relieve boredom as well as the unhealthy compulsions to relieve it. Say, for example, that it’s Friday night and you’re alone with no plans. I get a free night all to myself to do whatever I want.” Or, on the other hand, you might think, “It’s a happening Friday night, and I’m all by myself with nothing to do. I’m a loser.” In how to stop drinking out of boredom the second case, boredom is going to feel much more painful—and a drink (or two, or three) may prove harder to resist. Surround yourself with people that support you and help you in whatever
you’re going through in the present moment. It can be your friends,
colleagues, or family who know you for ideas of things you can do to fill
your time differently.

• Use Sunnyside to track your drinks and better understand the connection between how much you drink and how you feel.
• 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.
• If you have the time, sign on to a longer-term project like helping with this year’s charity bake sale or the big 5K race your city holds yearly.
• You can even add a splash of lemon or lime to the water to trick your mind into thinking this is a little treat.
• So much of this list is not just about finding things to do, but treating the underlying causes of extreme boredom in sobriety.

Not only this, self-medicating can lead to and exacerbate mental health conditions leading to a dual diagnosis condition. Eating well, staying hydrated, getting physical activity, and not stocking up on alcohol for the winter are other helpful strategies to stop drinking out of boredom. Boredom is a natural state or emotion that’s part of the spectrum of things we feel as humans, and we all experience boredom in different forms and at different times.

How is boredom treated?

One of the best ways to deal with bored drinking is to anticipate it — why is not always easy. Not to mention alcohol also suppresses hormones related to appetite. Hobbies occupy the mind and give you a sense of accomplishment. Bored drinking might elevate your mood briefly, but it won’t ever match the satisfaction of mastering a hobby. 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. There are plenty of situations where having a drink is a great way to celebrate an accomplishment.