Boredom can be surprisingly easy to miss. But it can be a check engine light that something might be wrong. Paying attention to it, and make some changes to enrich your life even further.
Am I bored?
Have you been playing solitaire for three hours? Or maybe listening to a book– but you don’t remember anything that happened in it. Six TV episodes, but nothing really comes to mind about them.
You might be bored.
Boredom is sneaky and perhaps harder than you think to recognize. We get so used to our routines that we can easily lose grasp of the things that bring us joy. Foods, shows, people, places— they might not feel the same, over time. Here are some signals that boredom has crept into your routine:
- Doing dull activities without purpose
- Sleeping more than usual
- Stronger impulses (good or bad!)
- Jittery, frustrated feelings
Of course, we all feel bored from time to time. If you’re waiting for a doctor’s visit, and you find yourself doing a dull crossword without purpose, you probably shouldn’t be worried.
But if you keep feeling like this— day in, day out— it might not just be the doctor’s visit.
So what does that mean?
Boredom isn’t just a bad emotion. Just like when we get upset, or anxious, it can be a check engine light that something’s wrong. A signal to switch things up, or look deeper into the feeling.
If your cause is simple— waiting for the doctor’s, having to take off work for an injury— the best thing to do is just knuckle down and get it done. A swift end might be the best option! In the meantime, try to find simple things to keep each day fun, even something as simple as scheduling a meal with yourself.
But if it seems to linger, or you can’t find the cause, it might mean you need to switch up something. Perhaps a lifestyle change. An addition to your routine. You can add and remove things slowly, and see if each one helps you feel less bored.
What happens if I just stay bored?
You might have previously heard about a particularly shocking study on boredom. When given the option to either sit in a room and do nothing or press a button that would administer a shock, nearly half of people pressed the button.
They’d felt the shock before. They knew what it would do. But when looking ahead to sitting alone with their thoughts, nearly half pressed the button instead.
Of course, our lives aren’t this simple.
But the thought holds. If you continue to be bored, you might have stronger impulses to do more reckless things just to fill that time. Recent studies have also shown that boredom can have an impact on our mental health, productivity and even our physical health.
It’s been linked to depression, poor work performance— such a common emotion can have some bad effects if overlooked.
So what do I do?
Mind that check engine light!
Even if you don’t have the resources to totally change your life, there are many things you can do to be less bored.
The first step is to take a minute. Is there a reason you’re bored? Was some of your usual routine interrupted? Did you retire? Did someone you spend a lot of time with leave your life? Did something become inaccessible to you?
If you can identify the problem, and it’s something you can fix, that’s the first step. If you can’t fix it, or perhaps it came on without any obvious cause, you can try some of these:
- Add an exercise to your routine
- A simple one, like five squats in the morning, can even help!
- Try a new restaurant
- And make sure to rate it after!
- Learn a dance
- And post & tag us in it!
If something simple like this doesn’t sound good— if, maybe, you feel no way at all about anything lately— there might be a deeper problem. Is there something going on that could be keeping you from helping yourself?
If so, consider a few things:
- Finding your local mental health center
- If you’re in Austin, like us, try your state government website
- Reaching out to your family
- They can’t help if they don’t know you need it
- Connecting with us
- Our companions would love to support you
You can connect with us at hello@CaringConnections.us or (512) 996-1434. We’d love to hear from you.