13 Ways to Stop Eating When Youre Bored

In addition, there have been reports from the USA of increases in alcohol use amongst people to tend to drink to cope, raising concerns of similar problems in the UK. This could lead to a rise in the number of people developing alcohol use disorders in the coming months, or in any future lockdowns. Drinking to facilitate social interaction, to foster celebration and cheer, or to relax and unwind are a few virtuous reasons for drinking. We shouldn’t drink to escape reality, dull our pain, gain the approval of others, or to lose our inhibitions.

#1 Remove Alcohol and Substances From Your Home

When we fall prey to perfectionism, we think we’re honorably aspiring to be our very best, but often we’re really just setting ourselves up for failure, as perfection is impossible and its pursuit inevitably backfires. As difficult a challenge as boredom can present to overcome for anyone of any age, the answer lies in confronting and moving through and beyond the causes of boredom. Anyone experiencing significant levels of boredom needs to ask themselves what challenging (and likely unpleasant) experience they are attempting to avoid.

• For instance, some scholars (Clark et al., 2012) have suggested that individual characteristics and alcohol expectancies (considered as metacognitions) have been involved in the dysregulated use of alcohol in binge drinkers.
• Some people may even overeat, drink too much, gamble, or shop compulsively to provide the distraction they seek.
• A lot of people don’t feel good when they first get sober, so it’s totally understandable if your feelings are all over the place.
• If you are an emotional overeater—meaning, you respond to your emotions by turning to food—boredom is bound to get the best of you when you can’t think of anything else to do.
• I promise it will do wonders for your mental health, which, in turn, will help you feel motivated to do more things.

Can Drinking Wine Make You Feel Depressed?

Given the ubiquitous nature of alcohol advertising, you might look forward to having that drink as soon as you walk through the door at home or meet your pals at a bar. You feel more relaxed after that drink and look forward to the reward. Pretty soon, the anticipation starts to happen more frequently. This kind of patterned behavior can lead you down a path toward alcohol addiction. Fried and overly sugary foods will also artificially spike your dopamine levels and cause your brain to overcorrect, leaving you feeling irritable, depressed, and cranky.

Avoid the urge to eat in front of a screen

Next time you feel bored, take a few minutes to think about how you’d really like to be spending that time. Some studies have found that people tend to eat more than they otherwise would when they’re distracted or in front of a screen, such as a TV or computer (35, 36, 37). What’s more, research has linked boredom to certain benefits.

Reasons You Might Feel Bored in Sobriety

Furthermore, scholars have shown that boys tend to start alcohol use at an earlier age than girls (e.g. Alvanzo et al., 2011, Buu et al., 2014). Will eating salads and drinking water make your boredom go away? Not exactly, but it can make you feel better, which has a ripple effect on whether or not you enjoy your life. Exercise is critically important in early sobriety and for ongoing mental health and wellness. It’s a great way to boost dopamine and endorphin levels naturally. Sometimes boredom in sobriety looks like not wanting to be around anyone.

• Remember that one of the things we’re attempting to do is not only get out there and experience fun activities that don’t involve alcohol but also heal the underlying damage in our brain from drinking.
• Adding variety to your day keeps things feeling fresh and exciting, and it might fend off boredom eating.
• Creating dull content is a mission they approach with some ingenuity, and the results evoke a kind of rueful, Beckettian comedy.
• An almost alcoholic may engage in activities such as drinking out of boredom or alone.
• Alcohol robs you of the ability to feel naturally motivated and inspired.
• Several things might make you feel lonely when you quit drinking.

“Is it an emotion that we can’t understand? I think we can understand it much better than we currently do. But like all things in the brain—there will be some parts of it that continue to elude us.” Both tasks that are too dull, such as factory work, or too complicated, such as drinking out of boredom doing taxes, feel tedious. Of course we all differ in our ability to focus, see the beauty and complexity of our surroundings, or ascribe meaning to our actions.

#5 Stay Physically Active

If the internet has shown us anything, it’s that neither matters. But also, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and get involved in activities around your community. Don’t get down on yourself because you can’t get wasted at the bar with your friends anymore. And while these things might sound serious and scary, it’s important to note that it’s one piece of a larger puzzle. My social circle changed when I got sober because I realized that many of my relationships were based on getting drunk together, and that was it. It all felt normal, even the terrible parts like awful hangovers and hangxiety.

1. Mediation analysis

• Pretty soon, the anticipation starts to happen more frequently.
• In addition, there have been reports from the USA of increases in alcohol use amongst people to tend to drink to cope, raising concerns of similar problems in the UK.
• It is possible that the roots of boredom lie in a fundamental breakdown in our understanding of what it is we want to do.
• When we fall prey to perfectionism, we think we’re honorably aspiring to be our very best, but often we’re really just setting ourselves up for failure, as perfection is impossible and its pursuit inevitably backfires.

It’s especially important to eat foods that are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins. If you have the time, sign on to a longer-term project like helping with this year’s charity bake sale or the big 5K race your city holds yearly. You’ll get to meet new people and be a part of something positive. When you begin to view your negative thoughts and feelings as problems to be solved rather than the embodiment of who you actually are, you liberate yourself. And the more I felt them, the more intense and blinding they would get. It also opens up space to approach your internal world differently.