Aside from anxiety, one of the main reasons I always fall back into drinking is because I get so bored so easily. I know it’s not an excuse, but no matter how much I occupy my time there are always times when I’m alone and feel the need to pass the time with alcohol. I guess I’m just wondering how all you guys have dealt with this.
I totally understand! Anxiety and boredom were when I drank the most. I read a lot, now that the weather is nicer I’m outside in our yard or garden, playing with my dogs, weeding, relaxing. I color, I journal every day, I pray and I surround myself with people who are non toxic, and who fully support me in my journey. I clean a lot lol! If I start getting restless or bored I reach out to a friend or family member and go hang out or just have conversations so I’m not focused on the drink. In all reality I constantly remind myself WHY I don’t drink anymore. The bad choices, the multiple day hangovers, the pain/worry I caused my family, all of those things keep me from picking up that drink. It’s harder some days than others but just keep focusing on the WHY and enjoy all of the good, positive things that result from your sobriety. Tuesday I’m celebrating 4 months and I am damn proud of it. It’s work, but it is so worth it! You’ll find what works best for you, some things you didn’t enjoy doing, maybe revisit those and who knows you might find a new hobby. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on fun because I’m not drinking but really, I’m enjoying things more because I can be present in mind to do so 
hang in there! @Try2change
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Such great advise from @Amiss. You definitely don’t want to be inside alone with yourself and have nothing to do. I had to get outside when my cravings got bad. What hobbies do you have that didn’t involve drinking? Since opiates are my DOC, I didn’t have to be afraid of going to places that had or served alcohol. I don’t suggest going places where you maybe tempted to buy or drink alcohol alone. Do you have a family member or friend who knows your trying to stop drinking? If so, bring them with you. Journaling is a good way to get your feelings out. Sometimes just writing about the cravings I was having was enough to keep them in check.
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Yep boredom is something I have always suffered with. I swear I was the most bored child ever. Always wishing the time away and drink just to make it go faster. Now I’ve just realised that I am 38. Where there fuck did that come from? It creeps up on you. Now time seems to be going a lot quicker, but I still get bored. I wish I knew the answer. My problem is I struggle to concentrate or focus for very long. It’s a pain up the ass. Sorry that’s really not very helpful to you. What do you like doing?
Being home alone was a huge trigger for me. That was when I could drink as much as I wanted and no one saw it and could comment. So for quite a while I had to make sure i was never home alone.
If being bored is to tempting to drink you need to make sure you don’t let yourself get bored. It doesn’t have to be anything major…even just going for a walk will keep you busy. But you can do other things like sign up for a class, or go to the book store and browse books with a coffee. There’s so much you can do to keep yourself busy.
What do you think you can try??
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I used to drink when I was alone and bored. Time can be such an enemy. But at least you can identify it as a trigger point and recognise it can lead to drinking. Changing habit was key to addressing it for me.
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can totally relate to this, and everyone above. my go-to time to drink was when i was alone with just me, my dog sitting on my porch.
once i made the decision to go sober, i created an on-going list of things i want/need to do. such as clean my jewelry, wash the inside of my car, etc. not necessarily things that need my immediate attention, bc i’ll do those when they need doing, but ‘chores’ that can be done when i have a free hour or 2 in my day. i keep it in my living room so its always close at hand and i always have something that needs my attention.
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Sounds crazy but I even took to memorising poems just to give my brain something to do. I think I would relish the opportunity to learn lines and do some acting. Haha.
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These are all great points and suggestions! I really enjoy playing sports and being active, so I actually joined a team a few months ago. It’s only 1 day a week, but it really does help me stay sober for that day (obviously I can’t drink beforehand because I have to be fully functional to play but there is always temptation after the games are over). Perhaps I can make a to do list that I can go to whenever temptation creeps up.
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Work on changing the way you think.
Start conditioning you mind to not think about drinking, if you find yourself bored.
I used to just sit and watch TV at night with an open tin. Once I made up my mind to stop, I replaced it with a soft drink. And just stuck to the thought that I no longer drink.
It takes time to recondition your thinking, but it took a while to learn to read, but you got there. What about driving, we’ re not born with the skill set, we have to learn.