Boredom is a common feeling, and it may strike a person gradually before he begins to paint his entire life in a dull gray color.
It is true that it is harmless in certain doses, and even necessary in some cases, but suffering from it permanently may cause you psychological and mental illnesses.
If you suddenly feel like everything is boring, there may be many causes that you need to know and carefully address before it is too late.
What is boredom?
Boredom is an emotional feeling that lets you know that you are doing something that does not satisfy you mentally and does not give you a sense of satisfaction or challenge.
Usually, boredom can tell you two things: first, that you are not fully present in the activity you are doing, and second, that the activity has no meaning or importance to you.
Boredom can appear in two ways, either through an intense feeling of lethargy, fatigue and apathy, or through irritability, nervousness and anger.
This feeling is not limited to the mind only, boredom with everything gradually seeps into your body as well, which leads to headaches, muscle cramps, digestion problems, and a general lack of energy.
Boredom becomes a real problem when it prevents you from completing necessary tasks or affects your quality of life (Pixabe)
What causes boredom?
Everyone experiences boredom differently.
According to psychiatrists for the Healthline website, this feeling may occur due to:
Not getting enough rest or nutrition.
Experiencing low levels of mental stimulation.
Lack of choice or ability to control daily activities.
Lack of diverse interests.
Inability to organize time.
Fear, anxiety disorders and depression.
Why are we bored?
There are many reasons to feel bored, and it is a very familiar and common feeling among humans.
However, boredom becomes a real problem when it prevents you from completing necessary tasks or affects your quality of life.
If you suffer from chronic anxiety and stress, you may be more prone to depression after prolonged periods of boredom.
Chronic anxiety and depression
WebMD Health and Medical Information explains that feeling useless associated with depression causes you to experience recurring feelings of hopelessness, sadness, guilt, failure or damaged self-image.
In that case, you should consult a specialized psychiatrist to help you find out the reasons for entering this vicious circle, and the best ways to get out of it and treat it consciously and wisely.
In the event that your feelings are not related to depression, most likely you have fallen into patterns of thinking and behaviors that increase your negative feelings.
lack of goals
When you feel without direction or goals, you are more likely to stumble through the day, doing the things that others demand or expect you to do.
It is true that you may have a life that others envy, but because of feeling useless you will want to change everything and escape from everything.
The idea of a meaningful life is to achieve personal satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, and a certain degree of happiness.
For some, these life goals may be in a profession that makes them happy and enthusiastic in its practice, while others may find their life purpose in serving others or the weak, or artists may find it in creativity.
There are an infinite number of paths, and they are all applicable, so there is no set path to life goals, and the path will be unique to you, and subject to improvement.
Excessive entertainment and technology
Excess exposure to entertainment has become a major cause of permanent boredom, as an endless number of entertainment and fun options can make them all look dull, boring and useless, especially with the multiplicity of social media, as the ability of humans to enjoy calm and activities with deferred pleasure such as reading has become , is rare.
This makes it difficult to engage in more challenging activities that may provide true meaning, excitement, or entertainment.
Excess exposure to entertainment has become a major cause of constant boredom (Shutterstock)
The solution is to get involved in life
The only way to know what makes you happy and satisfied and combats boredom in your life is to actively engage in life and do different things and activities until you find your purpose.
Even when you do things and activities that you don't necessarily like or enjoy, you expand your knowledge and view of the world, which combats chronic boredom, gives you the ability to connect with more people, and gives you a better understanding of what you really like and dislike.
So it's a good idea to do a few things you don't like before you find things to get you excited and energized.
Among those options are the following, according to the Conscious Rethink mental health website:
Engage in volunteer or extracurricular work with an organization.
Learn a new set of skills and crafts.
Make new friends in social settings.
Travel to places you've never been before.
Find a new job or change your profession entirely.
Doing sports and physical activities.
Spend time with friends and family.
Stop activities that don't excite you or make you happy.
Perseverance is the key to therapy.
The best way to find a goal is to just go out and start doing things to combat this agonizing feeling of chronic boredom.
And you may find that the things you choose to do do not necessarily lead to excitement or happiness, but actually provide you with the knowledge, experience, or people you need in the right direction.
So don't let the feelings of distress hold you back, just come back and keep trying.
And if you find that it's too hard to try, or that you can't find a direction on your own to get out of boredom with it all, you'll likely need the help of a professional therapist to help you make the changes in your life as you wish.