Boredom in Early Recovery

One of the things I dealt with as a newcomer in AA was boredom in early recovery—the result of being and feeling alone. Boredom and idleness became a breeding ground for trouble. There is a lot of truth in the saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

When I was alone, I was often ill at ease. Without alcohol to numb my feelings, my mind could race with anxiety and never arrive at a solution. Isolation opened the door to self-pity, fear, and old thinking patterns. It was easy to drift into a “poor me” attitude. As we often hear in AA, “Poor me, poor me—pour me a drink.” That kind of thinking could easily have led me back to the bottle.

I also learned the truth behind another familiar saying: “When I’m by myself, I’m in bad company.” Left unchecked, my thoughts could take me places I did not need to go. So how do you get out of that funk?

It Begins with Commitment

For me, recovery began with commitment. In those early days of my sober life, mental pain was real enough that I became willing to follow suggestions. So, I committed to attending in-person AA meetings and followed the recommendation of ninety meetings in ninety days.

It was suggested that I get a sponsor, and I did. I was willing to do anything to stay sober. We often sat down for coffee after meetings and talked about recovery and life. That started to break down the boredom and gave me something to look forward to.

Also, I quickly became involved in the Twelve Steps, made step meetings a priority, and attended speaker meetings to hear how others had found sobriety and learned to live life on life’s terms. I got active in service work and became involved in the fellowship. Over time, the fellowship became my primary source of friendship, support, and encouragement. Boredom was no longer a problem.

Looking back, I found that boredom and isolation lost much of their power when I stayed connected. Recovery taught me that I did not have to sit alone with my thoughts. There was always a meeting to attend, a sponsor to call, someone to help, or another alcoholic to talk with. Connection became the antidote to isolation, and involvement became the cure for boredom.