I am completing 6 months of treatment tomorrow and have 6 months and 19 days sober, yay! It’s the first time I’ve committed my self to it out of the three times I’ve done treatment, and my biggest struggle in the past that I have now been able to identify and accept as an issue is having to much free time. I have a weekend job and volunteer at the food bank three times during the week but also having ADHD makes it easy to find free time when I’m not busy. Any advise is accepted and who knows, maybe someone reading struggles with ADHD and addiction and may see some benefit in this post. Thanks for the help.
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Welcome to the community and a wonderful job on your 6 months 19 days of sobriety. I am sure other here can chime in on how to deal with ADHD and addiction.
For me I need to keep myself busy mentally and physically so that the urges don’t have time to fester. Below are some ideas of activities to do to keep yourself busy.
Hope to see you around!
- Ride a bicycle.
- Go for a walk.
- Meet a friend for lunch.
- Read a book.
- Play a board game.
- Try a new nonalcoholic drink.
- Attend an exercise class.
- Organize old photos, albums or books.
- Cook dinner.
- Bake cookies.
- Volunteer in your community.
- Write a kind thank-you note.
- Play with your pet.
- Binge a few episodes of a favorite TV show.
- Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in awhile.
- Pick up a new hobby through classes or online tutorials.
- Collect items from around your home for donation.
- Go for a run.
- Play a game on phone or with family member
- Clean your home.
- Meditate or pray.
- Learn a new language with books or an app.
- Try at-home exercises like crunches or planks.
- Help your child with their homework.
- Clean out your car.
- Print and frame digital photos from your phone.
- Take a nap.
- Go to the movies.
- Meal-prep lunches for the workweek.
- Catch up on errands like laundry.
- Walk your dog.
- Finish a home-improvement project.
- Call an elderly relative.
- Plant a garden in your yard (or join a community garden).
- Write in a journal.
- Do a crossword puzzle.
- Plan a vacation (or staycation).
- Make it an early night and head to bed.
- Stream a movie online.
- Run yourself a hot bath.
- Catch up on your favorite podcast.
- Take yourself out for ice cream.
- Brew a pot of tea.
- Put together a jigsaw puzzle.
- Write a poem.
- Try mindfulness techniques.
- Catch up on budgeting for the month.
- Visit a local museum.
- Update or polish your resume.
- Practice yoga.
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Exercise is great imho - I’ve been running a few times a week for almost 6 months now and it’s been a real game changer
Also idk if it’s your thing - but I’ve been running a D&D game and I can spend hours/days Hyperfocussing on stuff for that - worldbuilding, dungeon design, encounter planning, researching, learning new software to use
Congrats and good luck btw!
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Congrats on 6m+19!!! 
Free or idle time was definitely my biggest trigger. It also doesn’t help that I work in IT so I’m remote at home. It was too easy and it progressively got worse to the point where 3 shots at 7am was my breakfast. And that was just the start. Wow. I sure do not miss that!!
The list on this thread is great. For sure something to pick from when there’s some free time.
But I think what’s helped me the most is always looking forward to something. It can be as little as coffee in the morning to a trip that’s coming up in a few weeks. Thinking on those things keeps my mind occupied and busy and going from one thing to the next. It’s amazing how much time I can accomplish stuff in rather than waste a precious day in a fog and be unusable.
My prayer life is critical as well to all of this. Asking God for things to keep me busy with is something He has graciously answered with in abundance.
Keep going strong my friend 