You’ve made it. Sobriety is starting to look good on you. Recovery was a long hard road, but with laser-like focus and dedicated resources, your addiction treatment was successful. Yet, every day there is a silent danger, skulking around every corner like a hungry wolf. Its name is boredom, and it is one of the most dangerous things to somebody in recovery.
In the past, when presented with boredom, the addict would turn to their drug of choice. What of the sober person? How do people who don’t suffer from addiction keep busy? With these 5 ways to stay busy, boredom will be just another ghost along the path to sober living.
#1. Get Creative
While addiction is a destructive force that brings ruin in its wake, sobriety presents an amazing chance to create. Instead of succumbing to boredom, finding new purpose through creative hobbies is a fantastic way to help stay busy, which will help you stay sober living homes. The next time boredom decides to come knocking, try one of these activities:
- Writing is a great way to express thoughts and feelings, important elements of sobriety.
- Soap or candle making can be a great way to experiment with essential oils and results in great gifts.
- Painting programs have been a popular hobby, and with all sorts of classes, are easy to find.
- Music ability run in your family? Taking up an instrument will keep your hands and mind busy.
- Woodwork is an enjoyable hands-on experience that can be both decorative and rewarding.
#2. Stay Healthy
Getting sober is one of the hardest things to do, but is also easily the healthiest. Where addiction robs, sobriety gives better sleep, improved heart health, and in many cases healthier weight. Through recovery, mental health can lead to a domino effect of whole body improvement. Instead of giving in to being bored, get up and get active with these great alternatives:
- Runners high is a real thing, and running is the cheapest way to keep in peak condition.
- A great alternative to running, bicycling offers the same benefits with low-impact on joints.
- Interested in meeting new people focused on health? Try a membership to a Crossfit gym!
- If calm is more your thing, yoga can be done alone or in a class and helps with mental clarity, too.
- Get back to nature with a hike in one of the hundreds of national forests.
#3. Compete to Win
For the more intense recovering addict, competitive activities are a novel way to stay busy, beating boredom at its own game. Rather than slipping back into crippling vices and addiction, try one of these challenges:
- Park league and pickup sports like basketball, hockey, soccer, and softball are always fan favorites.
- More digitally inclined? The rise of e-sports has brought video games into a league of their own.
- For old-school players, competitive board games like chess, checkers, and Scrabble are a win.
#4. Appreciate the Arts
While under the control of addiction, the cloudy haze that suffocates the mind dulls the senses, making everything seem grayer. Recovery, however, clears the fog and by contrast, opens up a world of beauty. How to stay busy with this new frame of reference? Check out the world of art by visiting one of these incredible venues:
- Art museums, both modern and classic, are plentiful and most are free or ask for a small donation.
- Check out some online reviews and go watch a movie at your local theater.
- Not into box office blockbusters? Find an independent troupe and watch a play.
- Try going to a concert while sober and find a new appreciation for good music.
#5. Volunteer to be a Volunteer
Part of recovery is owning up the wrongdoings performed while under the influence. While staying sober, use the pent up energy that is wasted on boredom by balancing the karmic ledger and volunteering. The following options will help you stay busy by contributing to your community:
- Into animals? Visit your local humane society and play with some pets before they get adopted.
- Save the planet! Join one of the many groups who clean up local parks, waterways, and trails.
- Or help out one family by building a house with your local Habitat for Humanity.
- Addicts are the best people to help addicts. Check out the needs of your local NA/AA chapter.
Whether a health-nut in the making or a newly benevolent giver, keeping active is the best way to keep from a relapse. By choosing one of the many options above, staying sober doesn’t have to be boring.
