Boredom : Mundane episodes

 By Ms. Supriya Rajgopal Iyer

M.A, PG Diploma in Counselling,  BEd

Psychology domain   |  Boredom is good or bad for mental health ? 

Boredom is a psychological condition with the experience of missing something significant. This experiences creates restlessness and certain amount of frustration.

There is flip side to the same condition. An individual who gets bored of the usual settings come up with creative ideas and indulge in  creative actions. Boredom creates an opportunity in the minds of people to engage in various activities which are meaningful for them.

So how much boredom is good for health ? Boredom is good, when an individual utilizes his or her energy in concrete task with innovation or without it. High intervals of this phenomena does affect the mental health. Researchers have given evidences that how depression has a powerful link with boredom. Boredom is described as having a feeling of unsatisfied, uninterested, under utilization of  energy and difficult focusing on task.

Children, teenagers, adults, or older adults experience boredom the most ? Mostly children, adolescents & young adult often express  boredom. Boredom is expected, when an individual does not want to do the task, or the task is difficult, or they are unable to focus on that task, and uncomfortable dealing with their thoughts and feelings.

Feeling bored or  feeling empty ? If we are feeling empty, we might find ways to fill that emptiness. Boredom is linked to the characteristic of  self - control. While Waiting in a long queue, some individuals experience restless, bored, frustrated and stressed. These are experiences an indication of  not having control. Boredom is directly liked to control. A person ends up giving the tasks or situations to be handled by others when they get bored. Not able to have control over the situations is often the right indication of boredom.

The freedom to choose the activity versus any task without their preferences will vary the level of boredom. Mostly individuals would be excited and energetic when the task is given preferences as compared to those task which are not appealing to them.

Individual tend to engage in maladaptive behaviors in order to reduce their boredom. Such as drinking, smoking, extensive social gathering, avoiding daily activities and other unhealthy behaviors.

Some of the significant reasons and signs of boredom are mentioned in next page box no. 3

An interesting and easy strategy are introduced below : These points will clarify all your doubts and clear the dilemma.

 

Box no : 1

‘’ The Science of Boredom ‘'

The research on boredom  was conducted by many psychologist. A prominent Psychologist Sandi Mann, in her book argues that the boredom is a ‘’ NEW  STRESS ‘’.

The real concern is, are pupil aware of boredom as universal phenomena in daily life.

Food for the thought

A person with boredom condition, have higher Mental health risk such as depression, anxiety and sadness,. Life satisfaction and purpose or meaning of your life is lost in the process of boredom.

Is it true ?

Do you know boredom can be measured ?

Boredom Proneness scale measures external stimulation, perception of time, constraints, affective responses, and focusing on endurance.

It determines the sources & intervals of boredom, and the steps to combat it.

Would you like to take this test ? To know your score ….?

 

Box no : 2  Gender Girls often experience boredom as compared to boys. Boredom is common among teenagers and young adults. What is making them bored ? Any research evidence to the same? Chronic boredom Boredom seen for long period of time & with high frequency is an indication of mental condition. Try not to neglect and get yourself checked for the signs mentioned below in box. Boredom a learned behavior    The phenomenon influence the person in a negative way. It is a learned helplessness.   Emotions experienced  during boredom            Apathetic condition •    Dissatisfied •    Restless •    Weariness •    Mild to high  frustration •    Anger

The freedom to choose the activity versus any task without their preferences will vary the level of boredom

Box no : 3

 Reasons of boredom

•    Lack of mental stimulation

•    Insufficient rest

•    Improper diet & nutrition food intake.

•    Lack of control over daily activities.

•    No indulgence in recreational  activities.

•    Poor perception of  time

•    Monotonous schedule

•    Seeking novelty

•    Lack of goals

•    Lacking amusement skills

•    Not celebrating success

•    Not Evolving

•    Low self image

•    Not syncing with your liking

•    Fear of failure

•    No connection with like minded people

•    Working too hard

•    Laziness

•    Confusing instructions

•    Feeling unable to try new approaches to the activity.

•    Loneliness and isolation

•    Attention deficit

•    Frustration and stress.

•    Feeling sadness

Strategies to reduce boredom

•        Try some novel activity : ‘’Creative ‘’        

Involve and engage in new activities that generates more ideas and interest. This is a motivating factor to become creative. 

•         Journaling

A routine task to practice, by expressing and listing down details via  writing a script on self.

f    Keep mobile aside : ‘’Screen time ‘’                                               Using mobile often to watch videos is a usual way to get rid of boredom. This process ends up increasing boredom among individuals.    

•        Exercising daily

Exercising everyday has lot of health benefits. Physical activities will increase positive thought processes and free mindset. This allows the individual to take right decisions. Their energies are channelized in right path.

•         Formulate short term goals       

Make a list of thing that you would want to achieve. Shortlist by prioritizing the one needs immediate attention. To identify those goals that we can achieve it later. Work on those things that are required in order to achieve the goal. Working on self growth or working on task.

•         Get Clarity

To be able to get clear picture of all, in order to gain meaning and purpose of what we are engaged in.

•         Take time for self : ‘’ Me time ‘’       

Give some time to self everyday. It is necessary to connect with our emotions, thoughts, words, actions and attitude.

•         Reflecting

To gain insight on thoughts, actions and meaning of life.

•         Respond to procrastination

Often individuals react to procrastination instead of responding to it. Responding would involve the individual to take actions and take one step to address this phenomena.                                    

•         Motivate self 

The ability to trust, give space and respond to the inner needs and wants. This gives them a growth perspective in respective areas of life.

Find out what is that you want : Finding ‘’ Purpose ‘’  and meaning is life gives you a direction and lowers down boredom to greater extent. In the process of finding meaning and direction, we will get the opportunity to know ourselves and our goals in life.     

•         Take short break to retract

Break is essential for any individuals to bounce back with full energy and enthusiasm.

•         Meet new people : ‘’ Friendship ‘’   

Box no : 4  Boredom psychology The trait boredom has correlation with self control, anxiety, depression and substance abuse.  Why mind getting bored ? 1.    Attention deficit : ADHD 2.    Lacking in self awareness 3.    Unable to articulate what is that he or she desires or wanting to do ? 4.    Emotional awareness : Unable to describe their feelings and emotions. 5.    Role of culture : modern luxury phenomena due to industrial revolution 6.    Monotony experienced as if, it is mental fatigue. 7.    Not matching: Individual’s skill and challenges presented in the environment. Boredom is significant A search for neural stimulation that isn’t satisfied. The moment  the neural stimulating task is  not identified , our mind has higher capacity to create its own. Feel good hormone Feel good hormone is being released by brain, when the task is stimulating and exciting.  Dopamine levels are low when an individual feels dissatisfied and disinterested.    The initiative to  develop interpersonal connect with others, will change your perspective on various tasks and situations.                 •        Mindful meditation Relaxing body and mind by relaxing. This activity will make the person realize the present conditions of their body and mind. •       Review your wins and highs         Assessment on our success and failures will  provide a complete details on improving self and process to rectify..                        •          Schedule : Fill the gaps A proper scheduling of the day will help in identifying the free time  and those time can be invested in goal oriented task, instead of indulging in unhealthy patterns.   •          To do list : ‘’ Set priorities ‘’      Priority are to be assigned for daily task, and also to streamline our target for a day. This will channelize our energy on the required task and goal to complete.                           •      Minimise distractions The best to reduce boredom is to not focus on multiple areas, which will increase diversions. See the possibilities of equally challenging task                         •      Create a challenging task Challenges will increase our bench mark and create more positive energy to consider the task as interesting and uplift. •      Cheerleader : Boost confidence        Become your own cheerleader, uplift your mood and energy. This will increase the confidence level and motivation.                   •         Change in environment Altering the atmosphere and situations does make a lot of difference in our overall approach towards the task.   •         Organize some refreshing activities Choose an interesting  activity to train your mind to enjoy and experience novel things. •         Emotional intelligence Emotional awareness is necessary for understanding self and to resolve our inner self. Expressing and understanding our emotions is primary for emotional intelligence.   •         Take short vacation      Taking short time to go out for refreshing ourselves.                        •         8 hours of sleep everyday  It is very essential to have proper sleep time and enough rest to reboot your mind and body. Proper sleep will enhance attention and improve mood. •      Learn new skill                                            Developing skills more often will enable everyone to deal with complex situations easily. Enhancing skills will uplift our confidence and  be focused on goal.   Try these amazing and undemanding tips to overcome boredom.