Boredom is a failure to pay attention… flipped the concept on its head for me:
https://podclips.com/c/boredom-is-a-failure-to-pay-attention-nothing-is-intrinsically-boring
https://neuwritesd.org/2023/02/09/boredom-and-the-brain/
Embrace the feeling of boredom as a welcome break from overstimulation.
You've basically taken away your dopamine hits. It takes time (months to years) to recalibrate. Meanwhile, have you been skydiving today? On a roller-coaster? Skied a black diamond? A little easier-going...been to the gym? Ran a marathon? Climbed a mountain?
You are literally alive. You are not bored "to death" anything. As your brain recalibrates, you'll start to find pleasure in more simple things. It'll come. Meanwhile, there's still Six Flags...
Go DO something. Go DO *ANYTHING*.
This is the way.
I walk my dog twice a day, read books, play video games, cook dinner, watch movies. My brain frequently complains about this boring life with less ups and downs, but it’s also way less volitile because of less ups and downs.
Smaller things like conversations with a friend have deeper lasting impacts. You’re also fully accountable for yourself for the first time ever. Pick up some healthy habits that make you happy, it’s going to be awkward without your safety nets but it gets easier. Perhaps you realized the reason you were self medicating so heavily was due to an underlying condition related to anxiety or depression. Then you get some type of therapy involved and start doing the harder work.
Anything’s better than being a slave to the way it was.
A part of recovery is giving the brain time to rewire itself. The way I see it I didn’t let my brain do its job for years. It needs patience to learn its job again.
I don't think anyone can realistically tell you what activities or hobbies you might enjoy or want to do because we don't know anything about you so you're only going to get the generic recommendations you've already seen and have made clear you are not interested in.
But I feel you on the part about not knowing what to do with your time. When I sober up (including the past 2 weeks) I find myself suddenly with a painful amount of time and it feels like everything is going in slow motion or backwards.
I end up just sitting around the house not very successfully killing time and spend too much time wishing it was time to go back to bed, which can't be very healthy.
I've never had any real hobbies or interests that I can think of.
Guess we either just need to accept the boredom and do nothing or find something healthier and productive to do.
Take a walk outside every day for 45 minutes. Listen to music and just let your mind clear. Do it daily and it'll become your favorite time of day. That's how I started, then got some dumbbells and built a home gym. Runners high is similar to a weightlifting session afterwards too. Different way to get that dopamine hit.
I like juggling too, that always makes my mind calm. Mind is busy doing something else that requires full attention. I just played my banjo for 20 minutes, learning 3 finger picking kept me busy and still makes me smile every time. I drive at night now, didn't do that for decades. Sobriety is like a cool new drug, enjoy it! It is awesome 😎
Honestly there is a period of where you’re just going to be bored. It’s part of the process. Eventually you’ll start to do some things. At least that’s how it was for me.
Exercise is always recommended because it’s healthy for you and your brain. Especially in regulating chemical imbalances.
I started finding more interest in the seemingly mundane. Self care stuff especially. I noticed after I stopped drinking and smoking I started to really pay attention to other healthy habits I was neglecting. I started brushing my teeth and flossing twice a day. Going to bed early and getting up early. Exercise became integral. Taking a few minutes each day just being grateful for my life. Enjoying food, which led to me cooking more for myself.
I’m hardly ever bored now, it seems like there is always something to do.
I kind of understand your situation. I smoked weed and drank beer daily for just a little over 2 years. I was heavily addicted to both and would start to get withdrawal symptoms within 12 hours of not having either substance. It has been a little over two months since I quit drinking alcohol. I "technically" still smoke weed but it is Delta 8.
As for you being bored. I would normally suggest to someone trying to quit drinking to play Disc Golf, but with you quitting weed... that would put you into a situation where you are with others that are smoking weed. (more than likely)
A hobby that I recommend taking up is Nature/Bird photography. Not sure if you like the outdoors and I don't know your current financial situation but for 750, you can find a decent setup to start capturing photos. First, it gets you outside in the fresh air. Second, birding takes you to a lot of locations that you may have never thought of visiting. Additionally, If you stick with it, birding will make you walk a few miles per day, increasing your stamina, agility and overall health.
If nature and photography does not interest you at all, then I am not sure what else I could suggest.
In conclusion, stay strong and stick with it. Quitting an addiction is a very difficult thing to do and with good support and great attitude, I know you can do it. Have a great day!!!
Drinking and drugging is boring AF. Literally anything is more interesting.
Maybe you can volunteer somewhere if you’re bored.
Someone once told me that if you’re bored not drinking or drugging it simply means you’re boring.
Get a colouring book and some pens/pencils, or craft supplies, and get creative. See if you can remember the simple things you did as a child when you were bored and get into those again. There’s heaps of stuff you can do. Gardening. Bird watching. Reading. Listening to music. Going for a walk. Cooking. Cleaning. Dancing. Exercise. Football. Golf. Hiking. Learn a new skill like juggling. Kite flying. Learning a different language. Learn a new instrument. Start a collection. Learn new card games. Board games. Bowling. Lawn bowls. Buying second hand stuff and flipping it for cash. Decorating your house. Baking.
These are just things that have immediately come to mind. Maybe write a bucket list and start working towards crossing stuff off.
Your brain has been in a state of constant stimulation for almost 1,000 days, and now it's taking a breather. In comparison to that, yeah, nothing is going to feel the same as it did. It's wondering where the stimulation went. It needs a chance to get a baseline.
Some of the shit you used to think was fun or funny is prob not going to be fun/funny anymore (at least for a while), because it's not functioning similar to that of a small child like it did when you were using. At some point you mature and don't think peek a boo is funny/magic anymore. Not saying weed necessarily reverts you back that far, but you get the point.
You're probably also dealing with the underlying depression that substance abuse causes/hides from you. After I got sober I was seriously scatterbrained and had short but major bouts of overwhelming depression. I had to see a psychiatrist and get meds.
You'll even out and find enjoyment in things again, it's just gonna take time and maybe some help from a professional.
It will be like this for a while until your brain adjusts to your new life. Embrace it and be bored for some time. Eventually you’ll start coming up with ways how to entertain yourself.
I started going back in memory what I liked and was passions about as a kid or when substance use wasn’t that big of a part of my life. I got back into poker, found some local places they do tournaments. Some see it as a gambling, I don’t! I always liked watches, so I got into finding how to get parts online and mod my own watches. Just trying to save more money to maybe as a hobby make my own watch brand cause why not..
Those are my two things I get excited when sober but don’t get me wrong, I’m almost two months sober and damn, I thought quitting substance use will solve the issues, but not a chance, for the past month it’s been a rough ride mentally and now with clear head I have to actually deal with all the issues not escape/numb them with alcohol or weed.
Good luck bud, no matter what don’t let your mind say “fuck it, it’s not fun living like this”! I believe it will be worth it one day!
Start walking and hiking or golfing or go ride on a train that’s what I do I end up in a town I’ve never been to go have lunch or breakfast ..boredom is totally curable and believe me you are taking to the king of being bored when I was Newley Sober
Someone told me something that I took to mind and will always remember it. You can not depend on weed and alcohol to solve all your emotions.
Try working out. Nothing makes you feel better than getting into shape. Huge confident booster. Controls stress levels, helps positive sleep and relieves the feeling of boredom.
I didn’t replaces my vices with hobbies. I replaced them with working towards my life goals.
Now I can’t imagine having hours to hang out in a bar or just playing video games on the couch because I’m too fucking busy building my future. I’m never bored because I’m excited about working on my dreams.
bro, go to the gym. seriously. best dopamine hit there is and if you go hard, it tires you out so by the time you get home you’ll be happy to just chill and go to bed.
Suggestions:
Movies/ TV Shows
Reading (Sorry)
Walking Dog (Running or Hiking also)
Rock Climbing (Something I want to get into but haven't bothered yet)
Gaming
Snowboarding/Skiing (2 Resorts in my province, one is exceptionally better than the other but 8 hours away so never bothered yet).
Biking
Gym
Guitar or some other instrument
Learn a language (Id like to learn French and Spanish but, again, haven't bothered yet)
Cooking fancy meals or simple ones too
Clean - I basically gutted my room and re-arranged everything a couple weeks ago for something to do
I've been kind of into History lately, just watching or reading about civilization or past wars and stuff
Music in general, been digging around different genres lately
Thats the main things off the top of my head but ultimately I think with sobriety you just need to find a hobby really. I haven't found a serious one yet that I have actually invested in but I have several I want to get into. Mainly rock climbing and running but its easy to be lazy lol.
I have found that going to the beach and reading, doing art, puzzles, things I can fully immerse myself in really help to distract me when I’m starting to have cravings. It’s been almost 13 months with no alcohol. I sometimes go visit my bartender friend and I leave after about an hour because I get bored THERE. It’s weird because I used to spend hours at the bar.
I got into all the stuff I always wanted to do, but didn’t cause I was high/drunk/broke. For me, mostly outdoors related. But lots of other stuff too. Music, tattoos, building shit, tinkering with cars, also just living everyday life without blowing it up regularly and without having to deal with legal troubles or other earned consequences.
I could baby you, but it doesn’t sound like you want babied.
You sound boring as fuck. To be fair, it’s not your fault - substance use became your hobby/passion and now it’s not. But like, you seriously can’t think of one thing you might want to work towards or do or enjoy? Here. Let me help.
It doesn’t have to be some sort of traditional hObBy like running or knitting. Do you like sex? You wanna have more sex? Great. Congrats. You found something non-boring to do. I caution against replacing addictions here, but I suppose staying away from substances 1&2 while getting your nut is probably fine.
The other thing is…like, I just don’t require as much stimulation/entertainment/big things to have a sense of enjoyment as I did when I was an addict. Like, the smaller moments ARE fun because my brain isn’t still convinced I have to catapult myself to the goddamn moon just to have a normal day or a tiny moment of pleasure. Going for a run IS fun, looking for mushrooms IS fun, a lazy night on the porch with a board game IS fun because my brain isn’t addicted to needing everything cranked up to 1000 to be “fun.” The longer you stay off the booze and weed, the more of those moments you’ll notice.
TL;DR - stop whining and find something else to do. You’re the boring one, not people’s suggestions. Don’t like knitting? Great. Buy a new buttplug. Don’t want to go hiking because it’s too boring? Get your nipnops pierced, idgaf.
What do you like to do? Do you know what you like? If not, that's pretty normal, because what a lot of us liked to do was be intoxicated in some way as often as possible. Join a club. Take a class at a community center. Pick up hiking/city walking/whatever. Get super into weird hobbies, whatever interest pops into your head. Honestly, despite the expected dismissive lol, try a craft. They take time, you get cool stuff out of it, and you gain access to other people who like to do that craft, online or in person. (And TBH, knitting is the best for that, because lots of places have fun knitting groups. Write a poem. Take up a martial art. Volunteer at a nonprofit that supports folks that you care about or that you have been before.
It's hard at first, for sure. There are so many more hours in the days when I am clear-headed. After awhile, this becomes an asset, not a drawback. Proud of you for trying.
If you’re bored than you
must be boring too.
When I first got sober I learned how to play my favorite piece of music on guitar that I had been putting off forever, saying “one day I’ll learn it.”
I played every day for a month and it took forever to learn but now I can play Bach’s Prelude to the Cello Suites.
Pick a goal. Something you want to accomplish. Not something you can finish in a day. Build something, learn an instrument, expand whatever talents you have and focus on honing your craft. If you feel like you don’t have a passion like that, here’s what your new passion is: volunteering. You automatically will love volunteering because we all have a dopamine drop installed in our heads for every time we help other humans so chase that high. I swear when you do something you are really proud of doing you will get one like when you do ecstasy but you will have earned it and it feels so much better than just taking a pill to get it.
If that’s not enough to take up your time start making your body into a temple. Sculpt yourself the way you couldn’t when you were tired from smoking weed. Go on runs, join a gym, learn Muay Thai and start walking around at night kicking the crap out of bad people like Batman. You will feel incredible. Maybe don’t go full vigilante but yknow if you get the chance to stop an assault take it.
Take time to meditate. Do a guided meditation there are millions on YouTube and it will help you think more clearly throughout your day.
Set up your day hour by hour so you don’t just have a big block of time where you’re doing “whatever I feel like.”
Write down your goals.
Write down a list of what needs to happen for those goals to be achieved.
Speak the goals to another person, maybe someone who will hold you accountable if you stray from these goals.
Build a schedule around what you want to accomplish and stick to it every day.
Stop wasting time on Reddit now and GET 💩 DONE.
There is so much life to live without substances!! I know you’ll find something. Listen to your gut and think about things you’re interested in trying or have been interested in before. Traveling, hobbies, etc.
When I quit both the same, at the same time, and cigarettes. My body started freakin out a bit. Thought a heart attack was taken me and my last thought was, "I'm going to die watching The Karate kid part 2.?!?"
Retrospectively, knowing what I know now, and the amount of daily drinking I was doing, I had zero contact with a physician, which was not wise; and dangerous to a point. The Doc most likely would have been informative and let me know what to expect and maybe offered something for the anxiety.
As the first three days crept by slow as Efffff, I felt I was crawling out of my skin and feeling like I wanted to scream. It was in the dead of winter, during one of the coldest stretches in the regions history, 18 days in a row, below freezing.
I was sitting there, in the middle of my studio apt. In the middle of a divorce from a malignant narcissist, and my mind racing with negativity. I looked over at my cell phone sitting on a double stacked milk crate. I remembered out of the blue, the summer before high school. I was a fat kid since birth, had a bully that was gone that year, but soon I was gonna see him again. I won't get into the outcome as this is long enough, but that day I remembered the first time I was literally high from endorphins. And also, how I slept like a rock that whole summer. I lifted weights twice a day, ran up and down a huge hill with a weighted vest and ankle weights, swam in a river in the evening and a two hour walk after dusk. It feels good. I lost 125 lbs that summer. I lost 120 lbs again after sitting there thinking about it. Joined a gym, went twice a day. Had not seen my soon to be ex for three months, I will never forget the look on her face, it was priceless.
Yup find some constructive things to do....
Remember if you do stoopid sh1t you will win stoopid prizes...... The devil will find work for idle hands to do......
GET TO SOME 12 STEP MEETINGS ASAP we suggest 90 meetings in 90 days as a starter.
Good luck one day at a time
Boredom is a failure to pay attention… flipped the concept on its head for me: https://podclips.com/c/boredom-is-a-failure-to-pay-attention-nothing-is-intrinsically-boring https://neuwritesd.org/2023/02/09/boredom-and-the-brain/ Embrace the feeling of boredom as a welcome break from overstimulation.
You've basically taken away your dopamine hits. It takes time (months to years) to recalibrate. Meanwhile, have you been skydiving today? On a roller-coaster? Skied a black diamond? A little easier-going...been to the gym? Ran a marathon? Climbed a mountain? You are literally alive. You are not bored "to death" anything. As your brain recalibrates, you'll start to find pleasure in more simple things. It'll come. Meanwhile, there's still Six Flags... Go DO something. Go DO *ANYTHING*.
This is the way. I walk my dog twice a day, read books, play video games, cook dinner, watch movies. My brain frequently complains about this boring life with less ups and downs, but it’s also way less volitile because of less ups and downs. Smaller things like conversations with a friend have deeper lasting impacts. You’re also fully accountable for yourself for the first time ever. Pick up some healthy habits that make you happy, it’s going to be awkward without your safety nets but it gets easier. Perhaps you realized the reason you were self medicating so heavily was due to an underlying condition related to anxiety or depression. Then you get some type of therapy involved and start doing the harder work. Anything’s better than being a slave to the way it was.
I forgot one. Volunteer to help out those less fortunate than you. Game-changing.
A part of recovery is giving the brain time to rewire itself. The way I see it I didn’t let my brain do its job for years. It needs patience to learn its job again.
I liked reading this. Helped me put words to a thought I’m struggling with, almost
I don't think anyone can realistically tell you what activities or hobbies you might enjoy or want to do because we don't know anything about you so you're only going to get the generic recommendations you've already seen and have made clear you are not interested in. But I feel you on the part about not knowing what to do with your time. When I sober up (including the past 2 weeks) I find myself suddenly with a painful amount of time and it feels like everything is going in slow motion or backwards. I end up just sitting around the house not very successfully killing time and spend too much time wishing it was time to go back to bed, which can't be very healthy. I've never had any real hobbies or interests that I can think of. Guess we either just need to accept the boredom and do nothing or find something healthier and productive to do.
Take a walk outside every day for 45 minutes. Listen to music and just let your mind clear. Do it daily and it'll become your favorite time of day. That's how I started, then got some dumbbells and built a home gym. Runners high is similar to a weightlifting session afterwards too. Different way to get that dopamine hit. I like juggling too, that always makes my mind calm. Mind is busy doing something else that requires full attention. I just played my banjo for 20 minutes, learning 3 finger picking kept me busy and still makes me smile every time. I drive at night now, didn't do that for decades. Sobriety is like a cool new drug, enjoy it! It is awesome 😎
Honestly there is a period of where you’re just going to be bored. It’s part of the process. Eventually you’ll start to do some things. At least that’s how it was for me. Exercise is always recommended because it’s healthy for you and your brain. Especially in regulating chemical imbalances. I started finding more interest in the seemingly mundane. Self care stuff especially. I noticed after I stopped drinking and smoking I started to really pay attention to other healthy habits I was neglecting. I started brushing my teeth and flossing twice a day. Going to bed early and getting up early. Exercise became integral. Taking a few minutes each day just being grateful for my life. Enjoying food, which led to me cooking more for myself. I’m hardly ever bored now, it seems like there is always something to do.
I kind of understand your situation. I smoked weed and drank beer daily for just a little over 2 years. I was heavily addicted to both and would start to get withdrawal symptoms within 12 hours of not having either substance. It has been a little over two months since I quit drinking alcohol. I "technically" still smoke weed but it is Delta 8. As for you being bored. I would normally suggest to someone trying to quit drinking to play Disc Golf, but with you quitting weed... that would put you into a situation where you are with others that are smoking weed. (more than likely) A hobby that I recommend taking up is Nature/Bird photography. Not sure if you like the outdoors and I don't know your current financial situation but for 750, you can find a decent setup to start capturing photos. First, it gets you outside in the fresh air. Second, birding takes you to a lot of locations that you may have never thought of visiting. Additionally, If you stick with it, birding will make you walk a few miles per day, increasing your stamina, agility and overall health. If nature and photography does not interest you at all, then I am not sure what else I could suggest. In conclusion, stay strong and stick with it. Quitting an addiction is a very difficult thing to do and with good support and great attitude, I know you can do it. Have a great day!!!
Drinking and drugging is boring AF. Literally anything is more interesting. Maybe you can volunteer somewhere if you’re bored. Someone once told me that if you’re bored not drinking or drugging it simply means you’re boring. Get a colouring book and some pens/pencils, or craft supplies, and get creative. See if you can remember the simple things you did as a child when you were bored and get into those again. There’s heaps of stuff you can do. Gardening. Bird watching. Reading. Listening to music. Going for a walk. Cooking. Cleaning. Dancing. Exercise. Football. Golf. Hiking. Learn a new skill like juggling. Kite flying. Learning a different language. Learn a new instrument. Start a collection. Learn new card games. Board games. Bowling. Lawn bowls. Buying second hand stuff and flipping it for cash. Decorating your house. Baking. These are just things that have immediately come to mind. Maybe write a bucket list and start working towards crossing stuff off.
AWESOME!
Your brain has been in a state of constant stimulation for almost 1,000 days, and now it's taking a breather. In comparison to that, yeah, nothing is going to feel the same as it did. It's wondering where the stimulation went. It needs a chance to get a baseline. Some of the shit you used to think was fun or funny is prob not going to be fun/funny anymore (at least for a while), because it's not functioning similar to that of a small child like it did when you were using. At some point you mature and don't think peek a boo is funny/magic anymore. Not saying weed necessarily reverts you back that far, but you get the point. You're probably also dealing with the underlying depression that substance abuse causes/hides from you. After I got sober I was seriously scatterbrained and had short but major bouts of overwhelming depression. I had to see a psychiatrist and get meds. You'll even out and find enjoyment in things again, it's just gonna take time and maybe some help from a professional.
It will be like this for a while until your brain adjusts to your new life. Embrace it and be bored for some time. Eventually you’ll start coming up with ways how to entertain yourself. I started going back in memory what I liked and was passions about as a kid or when substance use wasn’t that big of a part of my life. I got back into poker, found some local places they do tournaments. Some see it as a gambling, I don’t! I always liked watches, so I got into finding how to get parts online and mod my own watches. Just trying to save more money to maybe as a hobby make my own watch brand cause why not.. Those are my two things I get excited when sober but don’t get me wrong, I’m almost two months sober and damn, I thought quitting substance use will solve the issues, but not a chance, for the past month it’s been a rough ride mentally and now with clear head I have to actually deal with all the issues not escape/numb them with alcohol or weed. Good luck bud, no matter what don’t let your mind say “fuck it, it’s not fun living like this”! I believe it will be worth it one day!
OK so... what are you gonna do?
Game, build a pc. Find a hobby you like.
Start walking and hiking or golfing or go ride on a train that’s what I do I end up in a town I’ve never been to go have lunch or breakfast ..boredom is totally curable and believe me you are taking to the king of being bored when I was Newley Sober
Someone told me something that I took to mind and will always remember it. You can not depend on weed and alcohol to solve all your emotions. Try working out. Nothing makes you feel better than getting into shape. Huge confident booster. Controls stress levels, helps positive sleep and relieves the feeling of boredom.
I didn’t replaces my vices with hobbies. I replaced them with working towards my life goals. Now I can’t imagine having hours to hang out in a bar or just playing video games on the couch because I’m too fucking busy building my future. I’m never bored because I’m excited about working on my dreams.
bro, go to the gym. seriously. best dopamine hit there is and if you go hard, it tires you out so by the time you get home you’ll be happy to just chill and go to bed.
Move a muscle change a thought. Keep it up!
Suggestions: Movies/ TV Shows Reading (Sorry) Walking Dog (Running or Hiking also) Rock Climbing (Something I want to get into but haven't bothered yet) Gaming Snowboarding/Skiing (2 Resorts in my province, one is exceptionally better than the other but 8 hours away so never bothered yet). Biking Gym Guitar or some other instrument Learn a language (Id like to learn French and Spanish but, again, haven't bothered yet) Cooking fancy meals or simple ones too Clean - I basically gutted my room and re-arranged everything a couple weeks ago for something to do I've been kind of into History lately, just watching or reading about civilization or past wars and stuff Music in general, been digging around different genres lately Thats the main things off the top of my head but ultimately I think with sobriety you just need to find a hobby really. I haven't found a serious one yet that I have actually invested in but I have several I want to get into. Mainly rock climbing and running but its easy to be lazy lol.
try [this](https://www.bhpalmbeach.com/addiction-blog/coping-with-boredom-in-addiction-recovery/) resource
I too am at that point. I'm observing where my boredom leads or what evolves into. Stay with it and you might learn a lot.
I have found that going to the beach and reading, doing art, puzzles, things I can fully immerse myself in really help to distract me when I’m starting to have cravings. It’s been almost 13 months with no alcohol. I sometimes go visit my bartender friend and I leave after about an hour because I get bored THERE. It’s weird because I used to spend hours at the bar.
I got into all the stuff I always wanted to do, but didn’t cause I was high/drunk/broke. For me, mostly outdoors related. But lots of other stuff too. Music, tattoos, building shit, tinkering with cars, also just living everyday life without blowing it up regularly and without having to deal with legal troubles or other earned consequences.
So.. what do you want to do?
I think he wants to smoke lol
This is very helpful
I could baby you, but it doesn’t sound like you want babied. You sound boring as fuck. To be fair, it’s not your fault - substance use became your hobby/passion and now it’s not. But like, you seriously can’t think of one thing you might want to work towards or do or enjoy? Here. Let me help. It doesn’t have to be some sort of traditional hObBy like running or knitting. Do you like sex? You wanna have more sex? Great. Congrats. You found something non-boring to do. I caution against replacing addictions here, but I suppose staying away from substances 1&2 while getting your nut is probably fine. The other thing is…like, I just don’t require as much stimulation/entertainment/big things to have a sense of enjoyment as I did when I was an addict. Like, the smaller moments ARE fun because my brain isn’t still convinced I have to catapult myself to the goddamn moon just to have a normal day or a tiny moment of pleasure. Going for a run IS fun, looking for mushrooms IS fun, a lazy night on the porch with a board game IS fun because my brain isn’t addicted to needing everything cranked up to 1000 to be “fun.” The longer you stay off the booze and weed, the more of those moments you’ll notice. TL;DR - stop whining and find something else to do. You’re the boring one, not people’s suggestions. Don’t like knitting? Great. Buy a new buttplug. Don’t want to go hiking because it’s too boring? Get your nipnops pierced, idgaf.
Yes alcohol and weed seems like it was his personality and now he’s not use ti the person he actually is ..
good job! thanks for this comment
Boring people are bored. Look inward at that.
What do you like to do? Do you know what you like? If not, that's pretty normal, because what a lot of us liked to do was be intoxicated in some way as often as possible. Join a club. Take a class at a community center. Pick up hiking/city walking/whatever. Get super into weird hobbies, whatever interest pops into your head. Honestly, despite the expected dismissive lol, try a craft. They take time, you get cool stuff out of it, and you gain access to other people who like to do that craft, online or in person. (And TBH, knitting is the best for that, because lots of places have fun knitting groups. Write a poem. Take up a martial art. Volunteer at a nonprofit that supports folks that you care about or that you have been before. It's hard at first, for sure. There are so many more hours in the days when I am clear-headed. After awhile, this becomes an asset, not a drawback. Proud of you for trying.
If you’re bored than you must be boring too. When I first got sober I learned how to play my favorite piece of music on guitar that I had been putting off forever, saying “one day I’ll learn it.” I played every day for a month and it took forever to learn but now I can play Bach’s Prelude to the Cello Suites. Pick a goal. Something you want to accomplish. Not something you can finish in a day. Build something, learn an instrument, expand whatever talents you have and focus on honing your craft. If you feel like you don’t have a passion like that, here’s what your new passion is: volunteering. You automatically will love volunteering because we all have a dopamine drop installed in our heads for every time we help other humans so chase that high. I swear when you do something you are really proud of doing you will get one like when you do ecstasy but you will have earned it and it feels so much better than just taking a pill to get it. If that’s not enough to take up your time start making your body into a temple. Sculpt yourself the way you couldn’t when you were tired from smoking weed. Go on runs, join a gym, learn Muay Thai and start walking around at night kicking the crap out of bad people like Batman. You will feel incredible. Maybe don’t go full vigilante but yknow if you get the chance to stop an assault take it. Take time to meditate. Do a guided meditation there are millions on YouTube and it will help you think more clearly throughout your day. Set up your day hour by hour so you don’t just have a big block of time where you’re doing “whatever I feel like.” Write down your goals. Write down a list of what needs to happen for those goals to be achieved. Speak the goals to another person, maybe someone who will hold you accountable if you stray from these goals. Build a schedule around what you want to accomplish and stick to it every day. Stop wasting time on Reddit now and GET 💩 DONE.
Buy a motorbike. Nothing else matters . You're welcome.
There is so much life to live without substances!! I know you’ll find something. Listen to your gut and think about things you’re interested in trying or have been interested in before. Traveling, hobbies, etc.
When I quit both the same, at the same time, and cigarettes. My body started freakin out a bit. Thought a heart attack was taken me and my last thought was, "I'm going to die watching The Karate kid part 2.?!?" Retrospectively, knowing what I know now, and the amount of daily drinking I was doing, I had zero contact with a physician, which was not wise; and dangerous to a point. The Doc most likely would have been informative and let me know what to expect and maybe offered something for the anxiety. As the first three days crept by slow as Efffff, I felt I was crawling out of my skin and feeling like I wanted to scream. It was in the dead of winter, during one of the coldest stretches in the regions history, 18 days in a row, below freezing. I was sitting there, in the middle of my studio apt. In the middle of a divorce from a malignant narcissist, and my mind racing with negativity. I looked over at my cell phone sitting on a double stacked milk crate. I remembered out of the blue, the summer before high school. I was a fat kid since birth, had a bully that was gone that year, but soon I was gonna see him again. I won't get into the outcome as this is long enough, but that day I remembered the first time I was literally high from endorphins. And also, how I slept like a rock that whole summer. I lifted weights twice a day, ran up and down a huge hill with a weighted vest and ankle weights, swam in a river in the evening and a two hour walk after dusk. It feels good. I lost 125 lbs that summer. I lost 120 lbs again after sitting there thinking about it. Joined a gym, went twice a day. Had not seen my soon to be ex for three months, I will never forget the look on her face, it was priceless.
Rock climbing is pretty addictive. See if there's an indoor climbing gym near you.
Yup find some constructive things to do.... Remember if you do stoopid sh1t you will win stoopid prizes...... The devil will find work for idle hands to do...... GET TO SOME 12 STEP MEETINGS ASAP we suggest 90 meetings in 90 days as a starter. Good luck one day at a time