How To Break the Boredom-Alcohol Loop

Not only this, self-medicating can lead to and exacerbate mental health conditions leading to a dual diagnosis condition. Sitting in traffic, for instance, is one of those things that most people would rather forego. Other tasks like laundry and cleaning the house can cause boredom and be a source of anxiety. These stories remind us that boredom isn’t merely a state of inactivity or idleness — it can also be a time for reflection, creativity, and unexpected discovery. In such scenarios, our brain searches for something exciting or rewarding, leading us towards behaviors that can stimulate and intrigue us. It’s why we might suddenly find ourselves reaching for that remote, a candy bar, or for some, a bottle of alcohol.

What Is Existential Boredom? (And Why We’re Not Going There Today)

Jill has worked in several inpatient and outpatient centers, treating clients in all levels of care in both individual and group settings. Outside AspenRidge, Jordan enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, and playing volleyball and soccer. She believes she was probably a rodeo queen in another life and recharges by spending time with friends and family.

How to Break the Boredom Drinking Cycle

Over time, alcohol becomes the thing that keeps us in boring situations we don’t actually want to be in. The hidden downside of using alcohol to cope with situational boredom is that it often keeps us stuck—tolerating situations we might otherwise exit, transform, or outgrow. Avoiding boredom isn’t always possible, but changing how you respond to it is. For those tasks that cannot be eliminated, many of us tend to default to numbing or distracting ourselves from them. We scroll through social media, snacking without thinking, or if drinking is in the mix, reach for a glass.

Tips to stop drinking out of boredom

If you want to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink, it makes sense to avoid busy bars and thirsty friends. But many of us should because millions of us resort to drinking out of boredom whilst relaxing at home. 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. Facing your unhappy thoughts can be overwhelming, and it’s natural to need a break or a distraction from time to time.

When boredom strikes and you find it more difficult to muster the motivation to work on your hobby, read these journal entries. That reminder of how good you’ll feel should keep you from heading to the fridge. For example, CBT might help you realize you look at boredom in a negative light. You might believe you should always be doing something useful or constructive, so you reach for a drink to calm the negative emotions boredom creates. A sure sign of problematic bored drinking is failing to achieve hobby-related goals.

The Evolutionary Root of Boredom: How It Drives Action and Craving

While the holidays are indulgent, there’s also plenty of downtime (hint, hint) for learning how to deflect urges to drink. If bored drinking becomes a habit – or if it’s occasional – it can affect your ability to sleep soundly. And if you routinely drink on other occasions too, you’ll experience worse sleep disruptions. drinking when bored But if you enjoy alcohol, and boredom suddenly strikes while isolated, reaching for a drink is an easy way to satisfy the need for stimulation. Originally from Boca Raton, Florida, Danny moved to Denver to study at the University of Colorado and earned a master’s degree in counseling.

When referring to alcohol addiction, some may conjure up an image of a person consuming multiple daily bottles of low-end vodka and struggling to hold a steady job. Alcohol use disorder impacts millions across the nation, many of which are considered high-functioning. Boredom can indeed lead to cravings for alcohol, but it doesn’t have to be this way. With understanding and a few targeted strategies, you can retrain your brain to seek healthier, more fulfilling ways to escape boredom. We focus on rewiring the belief, building the skills, shifting the mindset to change how you respond to life’s boring, stressful, or emotionally itchy moments—without needing to numb them away.

Karlie is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and began her education in psychology at the University of Cincinnati. She participated in research studying ADHD in children, mindfulness and anxiety, and embodied cognition. During grad school, she treated clients involved in the legal system as well as at a detox facility. After graduating, Karlie gained experience working in a residential program for eating disorders and a private practice before joining the AspenRidge team. Originally from Nashville, TN, Jordan moved to Colorado with her family at age five.

Over time, with regular alcohol consumption, our brain starts to adapt. Our reward system gets recalibrated to account for the frequent dopamine hits coming from the alcohol. Our brain starts needing more and more alcohol to experience the same level of reward or pleasure, resulting in increased alcohol consumption. To break the boredom drinking loop asks us to upgrade the beliefs that alcohol is the answer to boredom and to build the skill of find engagement and joy even in the tedious tasks. Many high-functioning drinkers who try to take a break from alcohol find that boredom is one of the hardest emotions to deal with when getting alcohol-free.

She specializes in mood and personality disorders as they relate to addiction and is passionate about healing trauma by way of brainspotting and other trauma therapy methods.
Reframe supports you in reducing alcohol consumption and enhancing your well-being.
You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with our licensed Reframe coaches for more personalized guidance.
Many people claim that they drink for the totally opposite reason – they find themselves drinking out of boredom.
For other people, drinking alcohol out of boredom is a much more active choice – they drink to cope with negative feelings like anxiety or loneliness.

Things that people do during that day that don’t involve recovering or boozy brunch. But if you can’t or aren’t able to do a group class, at the very least, take a tech-free 30-minute walk every day. I promise it will do wonders for your mental health, which, in turn, will help you feel motivated to do more things. Exercise is critically important in early sobriety and for ongoing mental health and wellness. It’s a great way to boost dopamine and endorphin levels naturally.

Why Drinking Feels Like It Works—At First

Boredom, a state we’ve all experienced, can be a tricky beast.
Before moving to AspenRidge, Nate served as operations director at a local organization that has sober living homes throughout the Denver area.
Parties, seasonal events, family meals or work gatherings might spring to mind.
When you begin to view your negative thoughts and feelings as problems to be solved rather than the embodiment of who you actually are, you liberate yourself.

However, feeling bored without alcohol isn’t actually a bad thing. And the sickness and tiredness you feel after the initial high of alcohol consumption wears off is neither fun nor interesting. So drinking because you’re bored isn’t doing much for you in the long run. Instead, you should find ways to cope with your boredom that keep you productively occupied and are more fulfilling. People often use alcohol to enhance experiences, but this kind of drinking is problematic because it makes you dependent on alcohol to not feel bored or to have a good time. For example, most people drink at concerts, sports events or parties to transform their experience and heighten the moment.

I did math, even if we live to 90, that’s just 32,872 days on Earth. It’s made of small moments—including the mundane, repetitive ones. Believe it or not, in my experience, up to 30–40% of situational boredom can actually be avoided or reduced. Opting out is an underrated and underutilized option—especially for high-functioning people who are used to pushing through. While it once pushed our ancestors toward survival and purpose, today it often drives us toward quick fixes like alcohol.