If eating out of boredom could be a sign of disordered eating, a person should contact a healthcare professional for guidance and support. Research suggests that emotional eating often happens as a response to loneliness, boredom, or anxiety. Therefore, taking care of one’s mental health is an essential aspect of avoiding eating out of boredom. At any point during recovery, you may struggle with finding enjoyment or sober fun, which can lead to thinking that boredom is inescapable. Or, after attempting to recapture the excitement and interest of activities that were previously pleasurable only to find them no longer appealing, it’s natural to become disappointed.
Practice Mindfulness
- But no matter what, you can still have friends who are sober and be bored.
- Bored drinking takes place when people reach for alcohol to kill time, simply because they have nothing else to occupy their minds.
- By engaging in creative pursuits and learning new skills, you can effectively replace boredom drinking with more fulfilling and enjoyable activities.
- Dealing with monotony and underlying mental health issues typically requires self-awareness and outside assistance through various forms of therapy addressing underlying conditions.
After managing that program for six years, Danny moved to AspenRidge and now leads the clinical team. Self-medicating can drastically impact overall health and well-being. Not only this, self-medicating can lead to and exacerbate mental health conditions leading to a dual diagnosis condition. Alcohol dependence also means that you have developed a tolerance to drinking.
What happens to your body when you stop drinking?
- Step outside of your comfort zone and go to meetings in an area you haven’t explored before, even if it means driving further or going alone.
- You can also find support groups through a therapist, doctor or word of mouth from acquaintances with addiction recovery experience.
- She spends most weekends in the mountains hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, and camping.
If she weren’t excelling in her current role, Christy would likely champion environmental activism, advocating for nature’s preservation. Megan’s therapeutic approach is multifaceted, drawing from narrative, feminist, and existential therapy modalities. By employing these frameworks, Megan empowers her clients to confront their realities and comprehend the tangible impact of systemic factors on their lives.
Use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to identify triggers.
Having regular meals may help balance energy throughout the day and avoid hunger pangs, which may trigger eating from boredom. Addressing diet, emotions, and behavioral habits are helpful strategies that people can try to reduce snacking out of boredom. In coaching Ria Health members through the early stages of recovery, many have shared that they feel a sense of boredom—as in having nothing to do—which has led them to drink to pass the time. Joining a meeting will cure the boredom for that moment and forming connections with others outside of the group setting can help reduce boredom throughout the days.
With more than 20 million people in recovery, the need for resources for this group has never been greater. A simple strategy to stop eating when bored is to chew a piece of gum. Additionally, recruiting a friend to join them may also lift a person’s mood and help them commit to sustaining the new drinking boredom activity. Exercise releases endorphins and “feel-good” chemicals, such as serotonin, and can alleviate anxiety and stress. People can aim to get outside at least once per day, and in the winter months, they may consider using a light therapy device, which can also be effective at improving mood.
- Though boredom in early recovery can be challenging, remember that many before you have figured out how to sustain the changes they want for themselves.
- She’s passionate about working with clients to work through trauma and improve mental stability.
- Many people struggle with boredom drinking, but the good news is that there’s a way out.
- But at home, it’s easy to get a bit too comfortable… you can get a long way down a bottle when you are sitting in front of the TV half-watching some series to pass the time.