Bored? You are not broken, yet you may need to add a new response to boredom. It is probably your best friend. Choose to accept the message from boredom. Don’t send it packing this time.

Bemoaning boredom prior to relapsing is a common occurrence in the stages and cycles of dealing with addiction issues. I’m bored. What’s the point, and a call to the dealer is placed, or a hand reaches for the next bet on an app, or another trip to the pub or off-licence is made. Boredom, like far-reaching possibilities, is put on hold for the time being.

Inviting clients to “lean into boredom” in my ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy – pronounced “act”) therapy sessions raises a few eyebrows. Boredom, on the other hand, is important feedback, a messenger who is frequently shown the door far too soon. Perhaps we should get our journals out and spend some time being bored. Keep an eye out for its subtle message. It’s interesting to take proactive time to sit with boredom, noticing feelings and sensations with openness and curiosity. I choose to engage in a curious relationship with boredom, being open to its presence. Perhaps take notes and record any thoughts that arise.

The urge to move away from boredom may be the old behaviours. What can you do differently today?

We can feed it addictions or invite its assistance as we begin to identify our values and aspirations. Simply put, boredom is a disconnect from our true values, what we stand for, and our purpose.

I believe that addicts and alcoholics (although with ACT we are not hot on labels) have amazing personalities. When addictive, creative types like us are willing to open up to boredom and allow it to speak to us, we will discover our true self and, with it, our purpose. Listen to your amazing competitive talent self.

That can be quite overwhelming and frightening, so we resort to our old familiar avoidant behaviours. However, there are times when we have a choice. Choose to be open to our aspirations, inspirations, and a version of ourselves that are willing to strive, thrive, and pursue a new path.

Boredom will message you incessantly when your experience is exposed to abstinence. Your mind will autopilot to “avoid and control unwanted experiences with whatever it has long been trained to do, thus relapse will appear to offer respite.

Radical Acceptance invites a paradoxical response to boredom. Just maybe, your boredom opens the door to possibility. A room brimming with new possibilities. Will you enter or leave today?

Boredom is sending you a message. You do not have a problem with alcohol or drugs. You have a sober problem. As a result, sobriety and abstinence as a life goal will only take you so far. Boredom invites you to consider living from values of sobriety/abstinence, and thus you are now open to a Rich and Meaningful Life. One that challenges your fears and blocks because it serves a real purpose. It’s an identity you desperately want to feed.

The RedChair ACT Pathway Programme is designed for addictive creative types when abstinence and sobriety are insufficient. Your ambitions can become a life role, a way of life, my “what I do.” What makes that really effective is when you also create a path that includes getting paid to do something you truly enjoy and want to spend your time involved in and with. Boredom will message you, and relapse will appear, offering respite, if there is no purpose and possibility in action.

Bill Stevens