Boredom
What is it? –
Boredom is a state of feelings where one feels uninterested with their
surroundings, feels that life is dull, feels somewhat sorrow, etc. Boredom occurs
when a person struggles to fill in time, it can also be defined as one not having
stimulation or stimuli in their environment leading to such a feeling. It is caused
by a lack of stimulation in the environment, lack of motivation or desire to do
something and a lack of sense of purpose and energy. It can also arise from
monotonous routines in which one commits repetitive tasks every day or has a
lack of novelty. There are 5 stages of boredom.
1. Calibrating boredom – Calibrating boredom is the unpleasant feeling of
wanting to do something different, but not knowing what. If something
pleasant were to come up you would have the drive to pursue it but the
difficulty lies in thinking of that alternative to occupy that drive of energy
you contain.
2. Searching boredom – Searching boredom is like calibrating boredom giving
the person unpleasant feelings of restlessness however you remain
proactive and focused to appease this restlessness. Some who can’t
achieve this find themselves experiencing reactant boredom.
3. Reactant boredom – Reactant boredom is the worst type of boredom
where the person experiencing it feels strong anger, frustration, twitches
and squirms, etc. They also feel tense and are desperately trying to seek
and exit.
4. Indifferent boredom – Indifferent boredom is the opposite of these, with
the person being relaxed, calm, or withdrawn. It is not as unpleasant as
the rest and some people find it pleasant finding it as a chance to recoup
and relax.
5. Apathetic boredom – The most recently discovered form of boredom,
apathetic boredom can make the person experiencing it feel helplessness
and has the potential to contribute to depression. Feelings of unhappiness
are present, and the person has little drive to do anything about it leading
to a vicious cycle of chronic apathy.
Boredom is a state of feeling which can influence one very deeply. It’s sense of
control through emotional state allows it to trigger many bad habits or
implement addictions on people. This is because of the urge to satisfy the lack
the of motivation or unpleasant feelings. People may get addicted to the internet
through repetitive use of it when bored attempting to satisfy the lack of stimuli in
the surrounding environment. Furthermore, people who abused substance the
past may be inclined towards it for arousal when experiencing boredom.
Boredom has single handedly caused large amounts of people in the human
population to become addicted to the internet and other risky behaviours
causing a large increase in depression, internet addiction, and other risky
behaviours.
How do we cure boredom? –
Boredom is caused by lack of activities to occupy time in the day, it causes
unpleasant feelings in which an individual can experience negative thought
patterns, pessimistic emotions and experiences and much more. The cure to
such an experience is quite simple. Doing things, whether you have calibrating
boredom, searching boredom, reactant boredom, indifferent boredom or
apathetic boredom, distracting yourself by doing another activity or something
completely new gets rid of the negative experience you would’ve been
experiencing before. If you have calibrating boredom and can’t think of
something to do, then try something completely new to you such as going on a
bike ride, or painting a picture, etc. Doing something will allow your mind to get
off negative thought patterns previously set by the boredom, the activity may be
outside your comfort zone, but it may spark an unexpected interest.
Doing an activity is not even required, if you want to do something but don’t
want to do an activity just rest, think of your boredom as a source of free time
and use it to recoup, relax, think about your life and what you can do to make it
better. Furthermore, you can take a nap, catch up or get some extra sleep
allowing you to be well rested and fast forward time.
Conclusion –
However, you experience boredom, distracting yourself is always better than
relying on harmful behaviours and activities to satisfy yourself. Try thinking of
your boredom as spare time, make use of it however you want and feel like
spending it like its money. This will allow you to spend your time much better,
experiencing new activities, sparking new interests, relaxing, thinking about your
life and so much more. Doing this will not only make use of your time but also rid
your negative thought patterns and dull point of view when experiencing
boredom and change it to a more positive and carefree, relaxed experience.
