Why Is Early Sobriety So Unbearably Boring?

And some solutions for how to navigate it.

Photo by Abbie Bernet on Unsplash

Now I’m almost five years off the sauce, the idea of sobriety being boring is laughable. Life has improved ten times over since I quit drinking, and it feels a lot less boring since I stopped spending whole weekends at the pub. I have more time to focus on my relationships and hobbies and projects, and no longer feel restless, irritable or discontent so much of the time.

But I still remember the agonizing boredom of early sobriety. When I suddenly had so much more time than I was used to, and no idea what to do with it. In those early days, the whole experience of getting sober sometimes felt like an unbelievable drag.

So here’s some of what I’ve learned about why early sobriety feels so boring, and what you can do to fix it.

1. You are used to being able to change your mood in seconds

Alcohol makes you feel good immediately after you drink it. It gives you a rush and quietens the part of your brain that worries about everything. After you quit, you have to learn ways of doing this without turning to beer.

At first, every alternative seems to take a lot longer to create the same effects to a lesser degree. This sucks. And there is no…