55 Sober Activities to Try That Actually Sound Fun

Support a local studio or sign up for photography lessons at the community college. If learning from home is more your speed, check out Audible’s Masterclass series or see if anything on Skill Share sparks your interest. Board games are having a bit of a renaissance right now. That means there are tons of great options — and we don’t mean new versions of Monopoly. Invite a few family members or new friends and break out the board games. Self-care is great for your mental health.

• A therapist can help you learn new coping skills, develop new thinking patterns, and address any co-occurring mental health conditions that may make recovery more difficult.
• And one day, it will occur to you that you’re actually happy and enjoying your life.
• When you quit using drugs or alcohol, you need to take some time to let it go, to lose this way of coping with the world.
• This could mean volunteering your time with a local organization, donating school supplies or toys to families in need, or participating in a fundraiser or food drive.
• If I was sad, I drank alcohol to feel better.

The Spice of Life

You can’t go to your old hangouts or see old friends that could trigger your relapse. On top of it all, you can’t use substances to pass the time. How do you avoid boredom when you’re newly sober?

Accept that you are in a transitional phase, which will take time.

• But nobody warns you about this the first time you reach for a joint, a bottle, syringe or pill.
• People who are newly sober find themselves with more time on their hands, time that used to be spent acquiring, using, or recovering from their substance of choice.
• Little to no exercise before or after.
• It just might make the difference between relapse and recovery.
• These posts can be important to people struggling themselves, Jessica.

Sobriety is not boring, here are a few things you can do to fill in all your new-found free time. ” Can you find drinking because of boredom new places to explore? Can you hold good conversations with others? Do you want the most out of your life?

• Take what applies to you and leave whatever doesn’t.
• If drinking defines you, then you probably cannot imagine what sort of a person you will become without it.
• Such symptoms are often related to mood and may include irritability, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and fatigue.
• So, the best way to avoid this scenario is to surround yourself with a support network of friends.
• We have expert addiction specialists standing by ready to speak confidentially with you.

Drinking Was Hard On My Marriage. So Was Recovery.

Whether your sobriety has you wallowing in boredom or self-pity, please know that it will get better. Even if you have no idea HOW things can change, trust the process and keep working on it. It also opens up space to approach your internal world differently. One of the biggest impediments to my sobriety during my relapse days was my inability to avoid getting consumed by emotions. You have to understand what you’re feeling and WHY you’re feeling this way in order to change it. So much of this list is not just about finding things to do, but treating the underlying causes of extreme boredom in sobriety.

Thursday, as we all know, is the real start to the weekend and getting trashed with your squad on Friday is the norm. We are over-worked and underpaid millennials and we need to let off steam. Creating new habits and rituals will help you grow more comfortable in your alcohol-free life and discover all the activities that truly bring you purpose and joy. Looking for some extra support and guidance on your sobriety or moderation journey?

If you must dig WAY back into childhood for this answer, then do that. Staying busy is a great way to stave off boredom and create space for healing the parts of your brain that took a walloping from drinking. It’s particularly therapeutic to find something to do with your hands. Right now, you’re doing a very hard thing, and sometimes hard things feel lonely.

It is also responsible for regulating movement and emotional response. Dopamine depletion can cause apathy, boredom, and lack of motivation. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of happiness, well-being, and pleasure. It’s also responsible for moderating moods and emotions. Serotonin depletion can cause major mood swings and feelings of sadness, anxiety, and irritability.

Alcohol artificially boosts serotonin and dopamine in your brain.

I was sober, but instead of binge drinking on the weekends, I was binge-watching Netflix and eating pizza like a champ instead. Not exactly the Eat Pray Love dream I’d envisioned for my sober self. No woman is an island I soon realized and so decided I needed to get out of the apartment and find some fun things to do before I became all Grey Gardens (minus the Hamptons location). The beloved Princess Diaries actress, thriving in her forties, said it’s a “milestone” that she has stayed sober for half a decade. In Austin, Tex., a substance abuse counselor named Chris Marshall operates an event called Sans Bar, featuring sober glow-in-the-dark disco, karaoke and ’90s-rock singalongs. Mr. Marshall, 36, began a national nine-city Sans Bar tour this past January and plans to expand.

Resurgence offers numerous resources, support, and numerous methods to navigate sobriety. Resurgence Behavioral Health can show you how sobriety is not boring. When people boldly and unapologetically embrace sobriety the more it will seem normal.

• It’s why nothing seems fun or exciting, and you struggle to motivate yourself to have a good time.
• So it’s not that sobriety is inherently boring; it’s that your serotonin and dopamine levels are now very low.
• Think about when someone is grieving, especially when there’s a death involved.
• Total abstinence may be the goal, but the reality is that setbacks are common.
• The best way forward for your recovery from alcohol or substance use is to incorporate a wide variety of strategies that will help foster success.
• To avoid relapse and remain sober, it’s important to develop healthy relationships.

How Spirituality Rewires Our Brain & Why It’s So Needed Right Now, From A PhD

Physical activity that also requires you to be mentally and emotionally present can be a powerful tool in taking control of your situation. Getting more active can be as simple as taking your dog on those walks you’ve been promising them. Find outdoor activities that you actually enjoy to build sober habits that stick. Host one at home with your favorite mocktails or non-alcoholic wines if you don’t want to tempt yourself at the bar. Sobriety is a process and setbacks are common. The best way forward for your recovery from alcohol or substance use is to incorporate a wide variety of strategies that will help foster success.