Boredom Surge : A Friend or Foe?

Boredom. I am all sure we face it. Maybe once in a day or once in a week. Boredom is that one enemy we can’t make heads or tails. We all have different ways to show ennui or boredom. It might be by just lying on the bed, staring at the wall warily or maybe by just throwing a ball at the wall. But what is this foe and why do we experience it.

What is Boredom?

Well according to Healthline, Boredom is a common feeling. Feeling unsatisfied by an activity, or uninterested in it can lead to boredom. 

Ennui may occur when you feel energetic but have nowhere to direct your energy. It may also occur when you have difficulty focusing on a task. Boredom is marked by an empty feeling, as well as a sense of frustration with that emptiness. 

When you’re bored, you may have a limited attention span and lack of interest in what’s happening around you. You may also feel apathetic, fatigued, nervous, or jittery. 

In some cases, ennui can make it more challenging to focus and can make you feel stressed or distracted. This feeling of emptiness is sure challenging to cope up with. Because as humans we are used to stressful schedules, and hectic evening but once we get a breather, our mind ironically now seems to want some work to keep us occupied. So well in other words its just our mind wanting us to do work when there is no work at all. So you might ask what can we do to combat boredom. Well the medicine to boredom is quite diverse.

How to deal with Boredom?

It differs from person to person because every individual has a different way to keep their mind stimulated. For example you cannot force a person who hates yoga to make up yoga and combat stress. But all the same, boredom indicates that it is time for you take up a hobby. Or maybe as a child you could also do some extra homework, if you are desperate. Because hobbies come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is for sure.

Binge watching Netflix is a popular choice nowadays. But many of you might be wishing for a magical genie wish, say to banish boredom from the face of the earth and maybe let it have a permanent holiday in a black hole. Well to quote ‘The Conversation’, boredom in small doses is the necessary counterbalance to the overstimulated world in which we live. It can offer unique benefits for our nervous system and our mental health. This is opposed to long periods of ennui where increased default mode network activity may be associated with depression. 

There are several benefits of giving ourselves permission to be occasionally bored: 

• Improvements in creativity, allowing us to build “flow” in our thoughts.

• Develops independence in thinking and encourages finding other interests rather than relying on constant external input. 

• Supports self-esteem and emotional regulation, because unstructured times can help us sit with our feelings which are important for managing anxiety. 

• Encourages periods without device use and breaks the loop of instant gratification that contributes to compulsive device use. 

• Rebalances the nervous system and reduces sensory input to help calm anxiety.
   

But once again,boredom or ennui might be more than just emptiness, it can be a feeling of rejuvenation if dealt with care. So ennui, is more than just a feeling, it is a sign that you need mental stimulation and though it might seem you just earned a well deserved rest, your mind might not feel so. That’s boredom in a peek. Hope you enjoyed this article.

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Bibliography:

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/boredom#symptoms
2. https://theconversation.com/boredom-gets-a-bad-rap-but-science-says-it-can-actually-be-good-for-us-255767#:~:text=In%20small%20doses%2C%20boredom%20is,may%20be%20associated%20with%20depression

Cover Image Credits:  https://www.empoweringperformanceinc.com/blog/is-boredom-a-bad-thing

Inside Image Credits: 

1. https://www.brainson.org/episode/2023/08/01/can-boredom-be-good-for-you
2. https://neurosciencenews.com/boredom-overstimulation-neuroscience-29141/
3. https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/hobbies-and-interests

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