Dealing With Complete And Total Boredom

• People don’t mind admitting they are bored.
• Boredom means your brain is not being stimulated enough.
• You can have a very busy life, but still be bored!

In this article we are going to be looking at the first of your primary feelings; the feeling of being bored. We will also look at what boredom means and see how you can respond appropriately to it.

The Feeling Of Being Bored

Boredom is one of the most common feelings people experience, and also the most admitted to feeling.

We are for example, less likely to admit that we are feeling scared, upset or lonely than we are bored. This may be because unlike these other feelings, boredom is something we don’t feel others will judge us negatively for feeling.

In fact the opposite is often the case, as some people see boredom as an indicator that they are superior or smarter than others.

As a result, they feel bored because they are not being stimulated or challenged enough, and so find other people, things or events “boring”.

Don’t Confuse Boredom

Whilst the underlying message of boredom is that we are not being stimulated/challenged enough, boredom is something which can easily be confused with other primary feelings.

For example, most people find that they can get rid of the discomfort boredom brings by keeping themselves busy. So they conclude that they were bored, because doing that activity made their feeling of boredom go away.

Most of the time this is the case, however if you find that you have to be constantly busy in order to avoid feeling bored, then you may be using these activities as a distracter.

A person who keeps themselves busy all day by cleaning the house, or doing lots of small chores for example, may be using these activities as a means of distracting themselves from a painful feeling they would experience if they did not do these activities.

The Danger Of Using Distracters

Just like other distracters such as drugs, alcohol and entertainment your distracter may provide you with short term relief, but it will fail to address your real unfulfilled needs. This then leads to more feelings of frustration, and a greater addiction to your distracter.

For example, if you are feeling lonely and confuse it with feeling bored, then you may try to distract yourself from the discomfort loneliness brings by keeping yourself busy with lots of other activities (distracters).

However because your need for love and relationships is not being addressed (because you are distracting yourself from it) your feelings of loneliness will become more painful, which will result in feelings of frustration eventually leading to depression.

Are You Really Feeling Bored?

As you can see it is very important to correctly identify the feeling of boredom, otherwise you will just cause yourself more pain later on.

So if you are constantly feeling bored everyday yet your day is full and busy, ask yourself, am I really feeling bored? Or am I doing what I am doing to distract myself from another feeling I would rather avoid.

Busy But Still Bored?

Another important point to remember is that although boredom can come a result of not being stimulated / challenged enough, being constantly busy doesn’t necessarily mean you are receiving an adequate level of mental/physical stimulation and challenge.

This is because the brain quickly adapts to repeated patterns of activity (habits) which means it doesn’t require much brain power to do them.

In real world terms this means you can have an extremely busy day, but if you are always doing the same things, you are going to feel bored doing them.

The only way to successfully alleviate this boredom is to add some diversity to your life, and engage in activities that give you a sense of satisfaction upon their completion. These are usually the things you find fun and interesting to do.

Dealing With Boredom

Use the following guidelines to help you identify the feeling of boredom, and then respond appropriately to it.

1 – Identify Boredom

Boredom generally comes as a result of not having much to do, or doing lots of repetitive tasks.

2 – Remember The Meaning Of Boredom

The message boredom tells you is that what you are currently doing, and your current environment, is not providing you with an adequate level of mental/physical stimulation and challenge.

3 – Decide Why You Are Feeling Bored

If you are not being stimulated and challenged enough in your life, ask yourself why? What are you doing when you feel bored? Try to be as specific as possible.

4 – Find Something To Do To Remove Your Boredom

By listening to the message of boredom you know that in order to remove your boredom, you have to do something stimulating and challenging. This means doing something new, something you haven’t done before.

Ideally this activity should be related in some way to the reason why you are feeling bored. Although it doesn’t have to be, as true boredom will go away once you stimulate your brain enough.

For example, if you say I’m feeling bored because I haven’t got anything to do, you could alleviate your boredom simply by doing something you find interesting and fun.

Because we each have different interests in life, the way you get rid of your boredom will be unique to you. So don’t assume that what other people find interesting will be enough to stop you from feeling bored.

Also remember that if at any time you feel frustration trying to get rid of your boredom (such as by doing things but still feeling bored), then there is a good chance that whatever you are doing is not fun or interesting enough to stimulate your brain.

When this occurs, do what we discussed in the previous articles. Listen to your feeling of frustration, and try doing something else.

Summary

Feeling bored is something all of us have experienced at some point in our life, and comes as a result of a lack of stimulation of the brain. The more you stimulate your brain, the less likely you are to feel bored.