This just seems so boring.

[rebel]

Hello, I am on my first day of trying to quit drinking. I am like many on this board. I thought that just because I was physically healthy, own my own business and have a great familly that somehow I didn't have a problem. I am finding myself drinking every day when I get home from work and really drinking on the weekends. I feel that I mainly drink during the week from the stress of my work, and on the weekends I am just blowing off steam with my friends. I see why they say most people have to hit rock bottom to quit. I have a lot of my old college buddies coming in town this weekend for a big football game and this will be my first test. I just want to know, do you guys get bored being sober? I am not trying to be funny, I really find it hard for me to really have fun when I am the only one not drinking.

[InnerStrength]

This just seems so boring.

Yes I do.

Hey Rebel
I have to say that yes I do sometimes get bored. I cannot lie. It is something I am still working on. When I am home I spend a lot of time on this board or I read, or clean, or I am trying to exercise more....when out with friends I am moderating so I try to drink slowly etc- I DO admit I stay home more than before....
Do others have advice?
Wish I could say more!
Jen

[xtexan]

This just seems so boring.

Rebel:

In my case, I had to find all new things to do. I used to drink with my buddies until shutting down a bar, and then go home and drink until I passed out.

Actually now at nine months sober, new things are getting me interested every day, and I enjoy them even more without the alcohol. I had been a hard drinker for 35 years, so anything is possible in this world.

It does require learning a new way to be alive. Being sober takes a while to learn how to do right, and I'm still learning myself.

The folks here are a super motivator for me, as they've given their support in a big way for my new life. Still holding on, but the days without booze are getting a bit easier all the time.

Check the place out. There's a lot to learn here about being sober and not being bored!

Neil :welcome:

[lushy]

This just seems so boring.

Sorry to admit it but, yes, I am guilty of being bored as well. It is not like I do not have anything to do but it just nothing has the same "zip" when I am having an alcohol-free night. When I go more than one night without a drink though the others nights are not so bad. Then again, I am trying for moderation and so I know that at the end of the week I will allow myself some. YOur situation might be different. I can say that being around people drinking when you are not is BEYOND boring for me. I won't put myself in that situation if I can help it. Probably makes me realize how stupid I look when I am drinking... Good luck and keep posting here if you need support this weekend.

[Newyear]

This just seems so boring.

Hi rebel:welcome:

I hope what I'm about to write comes out in a positive way...so here goes.
Maybe you are bored because drinking with your buddies is actually boring. Maybe the conversation is not as interesting or funny when sober because it is truly not all that funny or interesting.
I just got back from dinner with some people I work with - 5 of us all together- two had one drink, one had two and two had none (not a heavy drinking crowd)-
and I have to say I had a great time and laughed until my sides hurt. These were interesting people who had some great stories and we just all had a great time. Normally I would have several drinks but I had none and still had a great time.

I guess what I'm saying is that you may just be bored with what you are doing and the alcohol makes it all seem a little better...but instead of drinking to make it better maybe you could change what you are doing.
Other drunk people tend look silly when you are sober.
It is hard to change habits overnight and it is really hard to change friends - especially ones you have had for a long time - but I think you might benefit from hanging out with some people who are having some fun sober.
Hope that was not preachy cause I don't mean it that way at all. Glad you are here and hope you stay for awhile!!
Lisa

[sunny]

This just seems so boring.

hi

hi rebel
Its true you may feel very bored and irritated. You need to remind yourself that this is expected, and don't rebel!. I am going through the same as well. God bless. sunny

rebel wrote: Hello, I am on my first day of trying to quit drinking. I am like many on this board. I thought that just because I was physically healthy, own my own business and have a great familly that somehow I didn't have a problem. I am finding myself drinking every day when I get home from work and really drinking on the weekends. I feel that I mainly drink during the week from the stress of my work, and on the weekends I am just blowing off steam with my friends. I see why they say most people have to hit rock bottom to quit. I have a lot of my old college buddies coming in town this weekend for a big football game and this will be my first test. I just want to know, do you guys get bored being sober? I am not trying to be funny, I really find it hard for me to really have fun when I am the only one not drinking.

[mojomuppet]

This just seems so boring.

heya rebel! nice to meet you in chat. as you left jen came in to look for you, lol gotta have some patience.there are not many functions i can go to without wanting to drink.. oh ok no functions at all. you will find lots of us in the same boat as you, have bussinesses and good jobs and still struggle with this. it is an evil monster( no it does not look like macks devil) and we all fight with it. you have freinds here. yes freinds just hang around and see!

[Bubbles]

This just seems so boring.

Hi Rebel,
It will be two weeks this weekend without drinking for me and I am incredibly bored and I am boring as well. I hope this is just a phase and I will get used to living this way. Soryy I couldn't be more positive.....just being honest.

[Cheeks]

This just seems so boring.

You don't live longer if you stop drinking ....it just feels like you do!!

I thought the message left by Lisa made a lot of sense . It's hit home with me. I going to make some chnages.

Cheeks

[wwbarb]

This just seems so boring.

Boredom

When I didn't drink for six weeks, I was more lonely than bored. Most of my friends are busy and have families, so I don't hang out with them in the evenings and weekends, so I was kind of alone. Hubby didn't change his habits at all. But you know what wasn't boring??

• Getting up without a hangover
• Staying awake to watch the whole movie that I rented
• Remembering what I promised my son the next day
• Accomplishing tasks that needed to get done
• Finishing knitting projectsLearning to use my sewing machineGoing to moviesGoing to the gymGetting a good nite sleepLosing 12 pounds

When I did stop at the pub and have a club soda, that was boring!! Several of my "bar buddy" girlfriends took my lead and took a break to lose weight.

Someone told Richard Prior that he wasn't as funny after he stopped doing drugs. He said "the highs weren't as high, but the lows weren't as low". There's something to be said for that.

Barb

[lushy]

This just seems so boring.

Barb that is a great quote by Richard Pryor. Thanks for posting it. It is so true. There is no worse depression for me than when I am completely hungover and feel like a pathetic loser. I will remember that quote next time I think about imbibing too much..........

[cpn1004]

This just seems so boring.

XTexan:
How long did it take for you to become sober?
Like you, I have been a consistent drinker for about 30 years. I have been tracking it for a year.
It seems to take a while to recover.
Thanks,
Phil

[xtexan]

This just seems so boring.

Phil:

I guess even though I have not had a drink in over 9 months, I am still sobering up, in a sense.

I just quit cold on December 15th of last year. Stopped smoking cigarettes cold on December 22nd.

I sort of tried to ramp down my binges over a 2 to 3 year period. I had a wall calendar with a magic marker by it. I would binge, but save all my empties in a designated place, and got quite analytical about it. Its the engineer in me wanting to measure and quantify over time as precisely as I can. So in early 2003 for example, I would have 20 to 24 beers during a binge. By 2004 it was in the 15 to 17 range. By early 2005 it was down to 12 to 15, but I developed some bad back problems (really a problem of several years), and started taking 20-40 mg of vicodin on my binges. The combination would knock me out, and by the end months of 2005 I would drink maybe 8-9 beers with a bunch of vicodin tablets.

I got real sick with pneumonia in December 2005, and that's when I stopped cold on everything. Booze, pills, cigarettes. I had pretty bad cravings for most of January and February. I could lessen their severity by exercising a lot, and taking a wide range of supplements. I didn't really start to feel better mentally and emotionally until this past summer. I kept after the exercise, but slacked off a bit to maybe twice a week, but upped the intensity because I was getting healthier. During the whole time, I was using my light/sound mind machine as well (my thread in Holistic section on that), which helped me with keeping the temper tantrums and wild mental excursions at least to a simmer.

Early this month, I had a bit of a crisis, and almost slipped. Thats what led me to this forum. As of today, I am feeling real good. I think I'm on another ramp up now, and things are getting clearer to me now. I know another wave is out there, and I just don't see it now. It's out there, and I hope to high heaven I can ride it out. I've learned some new things from the members here that I hope to use when it hits.

Sorry for the long-winded answer. Did I get even close to answering your question?

[sujul]

This just seems so boring.

Hmm, this is very thought-provoking....

Bottom line, for me, boring is:
--waking up with a hangover, day after day after day...
--complaining about my weight, day after day after day...
--moaning about how nothing is going right, day after day after day....
--promising to do "something" about my drinking, day after day after...
--wondering what I said the night before, day after day after day after day...
--freaking out wondering where all my money went, day after day after day..
--worrying about how my health is deteriorating, day after day after day....
--being drunk, day after day after day after day after day after day after........

Now THAT'S BORING!!

Putting a "NOT" in front of all those things--NOT SO BORING!!!!

susan

[lushy]

This just seems so boring.

Amen Susan!!!!!