How To Overcome The Boredom When You Stop Drinking Alcohol? (Transcript)
I’m Kevin O’Hara for Alcohol Mastery and today I want to talk about the question, how do I overcome the boredom once I’ve quit drinking?
First of all, boredom has a lot to do with your energy levels, so if you’ve got a lot of energy and you have no way of expending it, if you’re sitting around you’ll going to feel bored. If you’re nice and relaxed you’re not really too bothered about what’s going on in the outside environment then you’re not likely to be bored.
Another aspect of boredom is focus, so if you’re in your own home, then you should have plenty to do. If you’re a reader you should be surrounded by books that you haven’t read so you can go and read those. If you’re an artist you can always go and paint; if you’re a gamer there’s always going to be a game that you can play. These are the things where there’s not an infinite amount of leeway in them, I mean, if you sit and do these things all the time you’re going to be bored with them.
The problem is that your mind might be is elsewhere so you’re focusing on the alcohol that you don’t want in your life anymore and maybe focusing too much on the alcohol and you can’t get your mind back to the things that you really want to do. And a lot of that has to do with your environment, if you’re at home, in a place where you would normally drink, where you would normally drink alcohol then it’s very hard to get your mind, especially in the early days, away from the constant focus on the alcohol and the thing that you can’t actually have anymore.
We often say “well, don’t think about drinking.” But it’s almost impossible not to. The more you try not to think about it the more it comes into your mind. That’s why it’s important to try and change your environment in the early days as much as possible.
Another aspect of boredom is, if you’re trying to go to a bar, when you’re not drinking, and you’re still trying to uphold some of your old life, you’re going to find that extremely difficult because when everyone else is getting pissed and you know exactly how that reacts with the level of intelligence and conversation and all that kind of stuff, then you’ll going to remain the same and you going to get bored. You’re going to get bored with doing all this shit and 2 things that could happen, either you carry on being bored and eventually you’ll probably go back to the booze or you’re stuck into the pub.
One of the first ways that I’d suggest that you overcome boredom is just to accept that it’s part of the discomfort that you’re going to go through, I mean that’s all it basically is. There’s nothing wrong with boredom, we all get bored from time to time, just don’t get yourself so stressed out about it.
Relax and sort of think into it, breathe deeply, take some deep breaths and do what they call, a one minute medication, where you just calm yourself, close you eyes and breathe in, breathe out, long deep breaths in, and long deep breaths out and accept the boredom, just accept doing nothing.
In the modern world, it’s very very difficult to just do nothing. To let your mind wonder wherever it will go. You know, it that’s on the alcohol, then fair enough, if you’ve done your job and get rid of all the alcohol out of your house and you have no real temptations there, then you know, what the hell? Steer your thoughts around to why you’re not drinking.
It’s sometimes nice to just do nothing. If you find that that’s not helping you, then exercise is a great one, even if you get up and turn on some loud music and do a little bit of dancing or do 50 jumping jacks or get out and have a jog or skip or whatever.
I find walking is, for me, the elixir of everything. onceOnce, I could be bored shitless and I’ll walk around the block, and it’s gone. It just does me the world. It’s not going to work for everyone, it’s about finding your own things, but once you get up and you do something, that’s I think it’s very difficult to be bored while you’re doing something. It’s normally while your mind is glad let free or wonderingto wonder on its own, it’s only when you that you’ll get bored. So if you can’t accept the boredom then get up and do something.
So if you have any questions at all, give us a shout. Sign up for the newsletter. Until next time, I’m Kevin O’Hara for Alcohol Mastery, onwards and upwards.
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Thanks Kev! I think you were reading my mind!!! I REALLY ne to do this! I thank you for the message you are providing.
Jim
Reading My Mind!!!!
Thank you Kev!
This is just what I needed for the early days that I’m going through now. Thanks Kevin! A change of environment is a good one for me as I drank at home and not at the pub. The one thing I couldn’t understand about myself is that I’m a person with lots of interests, but during my many attempts to stop drinking, I would always give in … despite having other things to do. I think this time, the fact that I’m sure of my committment not to drink, has made the definitive difference.
All the best,
Lesley
Great ideas! I love to turn the music on and dance!
Thanks Kev
thank you Kevin, as always uplifting and informative
This was very helpful. I want to quit alcohol so much and have tried but it has not stuck and the biggest obstacle is what to do. For a long time now when I’m not working I drink and it has come to point where it has to stop. I work from home so it’s has been very difficult for me but I’m going to take take your advice. I used to be an avid reader and runner but drinking has changed all that and I hope I can get my life back. I am very thankful that I found your site and I hope I can do it this time! Thank you!
Boredom for me is the real killer. I could go Monday to Friday without thinking of drinking but once Friday night comes and I’ve worked my week I find it near impossible to not drink and that inevitably leads to drinking Saturday and Sunday. In fact Friday night drinks often turn into 4 day binges which has absolutely ruined so many of my jobs. Alcohol has taken so much happiness from me. I have managed 5 months not drinking but boredom got me back on it in the end. I’ve suffered with boredom my entire life, even as a kid long before I touched alcohol. I clearly remember the feeling of absolutely hating being bored. It drove me crazy and sadly for me, I am one of those types of people who was elated by the realisation that when I am buzzed up I am never bored. It’s a desperately vicious circle and I’m really quite bewildered as to what to do. I’ve kinda accepted the reality that booze has won this battle hands down. What a sad reality