How to Deal with Boredom?
What is boredom?
Many people struggle with chronic boredom. It is a feeling unsatisfied by an activity, or uninterested in it. It may occur when you feel energetic but have nowhere to direct your energy. As well as it may occur when you have difficulty focusing on a task.
Boredom is a common complaint among children and adolescents. In some cases, they may also complain of boredom when they’re uncomfortable dealing with their thoughts or feelings.
To foster positive mental health, it’s essential to stay engaged and learn different ways to cope when you feel boredom setting in.
Boredom can show itself in many ways, but these are a few common signs:
- Lack of interest in activities
- Unable to stay interested for more than brief periods
- Unable to rest or relax
- No feeling of excitement
- Difficulty staying motivated
Causes of Boredom
Displaced Psychological Arousal
Boredom may occur when you are psychologically energetic and want to engage in something but don’t know what to do. While your mind may be running wild, you might not have anywhere to put that energy, causing you to feel bored.
Lack of Motivation
Being unmotivated could be due to several factors, such as a mental health condition, stress, or feeling like your actions aren’t creating positive change.
This may incite a feeling of laziness and keep you stuck. To break this cycle, you may choose to jump into action, despite lacking the energy or motivation to do so.
Busy Environment
An overabundance of environmental stimuli may feel overwhelming, leading you to withdraw, disengage, and feel bored.
Mind-Wandering
Trying to overcome boredom while your mind wanders may feel impossible. A wandering mind may increase boredom.
A Lack of Control
The less control you have over any action or situation, you may feel more likely to experience boredom. On the other hand, if you feel that you can impact your environment, you might find yourself becoming more absorbed in the task at hand.
How to overcome chronic boredom?
- Find a rhythm
Routines structure our days, and provide a sense of coherence that bolsters our meaning in life. One’s life feels more meaningful in moments when he is engaged in daily routines.
We lose those routines when we give up going to the office, or when we are laid off. This loss of routine can foster feelings of boredom.
By creating new routines, people can restore a sense of meaning that buffers them from boredom.
- Make internal and external changes.
It might include making lifestyle changes such as developing new interests and hobbies, taking up a new exercise regime, making an effort to invigorate an existing relationship, beginning a new relationship, taking steps to make existing employment more rewarding or enjoyable, beginning new employment, changing the family dynamic such as by having children or getting a pet!
Also, it’s important not to neglect one’s inner psychological and spiritual environment. Examples of such “internal” methods that are reported to be helpful for finding greater meaning and invigoration in life include contemplative techniques such as meditation, and other mindful practices.
- Be aware of impermanence.
Life is incredibly precious and there is no guarantee that we will still be alive tomorrow. It might sound like a cliché but living each day as though it was your last is sound advice. Being bored with your life is truly a waste of the time you have left on this earth. Therefore, starting from now, try to avoid procrastination and make every effort to fully taste each moment of the day.
- Be adventurous!
Relating to life as an ever-changing adventure is likely to increase our willingness to seek out and experience new situations. Being adventurous doesn’t mean we have to become an adrenaline junky or engage in behaviors that involve excessive risk-taking. It may simply mean stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying new things like taking that dance class you were postponing.
What should you do if you’re experiencing mental health problems related to boredom?
If you’re experiencing mental health issues related to boredom, it’s important to remember that help is available. It’s important at some point to consider seeking a psychologist, psychiatrist or therapist to uncover the root cause of your boredom. Most emotional issues stem from deeply rooted beliefs that are not serving us, and have been anchored in the past in our subconscious programming.
To find out how, reach out to Dr. Carla to learn all the new modalities including Rapid Transformational Therapy and behavior modification that will assist you in your journey to self discovery!
