I Drink Every Evening Because I Feel Lonely

Like nicotine, heroin, opioids, and other drugs, drinking results in chemical and psychological addictions. Chemically, alcohol causes the brain’s pleasure centers to overload, so https://ecosoberhouse.com/ you experience cravings to repeat those experiences. In this post, we’re going to uncover some truths about mindset, alcohol, and how to overcome boredom after quitting drinking.

Cortisol is a hormone that activates the “fight or flight” response in the brain and is responsible for experiences your mind interprets as stressful. It’s also simply not true that alcohol is fun. Think back to the party scenario at the beginning of this article. The confusion brought on by drinking that puts your brain in a fog, the slurring of your words, your loss of memory, your hangover.

Life feels boring without drugs and alcohol?

I thought that wine was the glue, holding my life together, helping me cope with my kids, my stressful job and my busy life. I didn’t realize that my love affair with drinking drinking out of boredom was making me more anxious and less able to manage my responsibilities. That her whisper for you to change your relationship with alcohol is so much more than that.

• Exercise is critically important in early sobriety and for ongoing mental health and wellness.
• But you get to decide what those things are.
• Alcohol addiction support groups such as AA only perpetuate this narrative.
• In fact, drinking makes it more difficult to cope with stress—more on this below.

It’s not as simple as “getting out there” and “trying something new.” It’s hard to do that when you suffer from extreme depression and anhedonia. The very things you should be doing to feel better require a level of motivation you might not be able to fathom.

Where Else To Find Alcohol Mastery

When I drank alcohol, I could (and did) sit and do nothing for hours. It’s hard to fill that time, especially when dealing with alcohol cravings and triggers. It’s why nothing seems fun or exciting, and you struggle to motivate yourself to have a good time. In fact, when you first quit, it feels like everyone in the world is out getting drunk but you.

• I bought a beautiful photo of an ivory blanket for the top of my bed which was soft and decadent.
• And to actually be forced to think about things other than drinking that might possibly amuse you, might bring you joy, or occupy your time.
• We almost have tunnel vision when we quit drinking.
• Alcohol has convinced you to settle for situations, conversations, and people that are…well, boring.
• In fact, when you first quit, it feels like everyone in the world is out getting drunk but you.
• Alcohol makes dull situations less so…and our brain craves stimulation.

And not just in essential oils and bubble baths, which by the way I adore and long walks with podcasts, but also in things that are fun. Because those are the things that are going to keep your sobriety going. You need to follow the divine breadcrumbs of things that spark some joy in early sobriety, you need to follow joy and pleasure that exist without substances, creativity and ideas.