Boredom

well I watched about 45 movies from blockbuster
then the olympics

then I was able to start walking just a little.
now I can work 5 hours a day -it's getting a lot better, now if I was able to get some good sleep.

shepaints- How long have you been feeling this way? To me, when people say that they are perpetually bored, I translate that as depressed.

If it is simply that you have hit a "speedbump of life", you might want to think through how you are living it, and make some changes. You might want to find some new interests that will spark your imagination.

But if you feel perpetually bored and weary, it might be a good idea to have a medical checkup. If that comes out ok, you might want to explore your feelings further.

Not to devalue angst, but I've found that contemplating the kitchen floor and a scrub bucket evoke many, many notions of delightful alternative activities.

..It is definately situational boredom, Phoenix....

My post was triggered by talking with a bright student who dreads going back to school......suffers from chronic boredom in the classroom.......

I've been getting bored a lot at age 26. I find myself losing interest in things usually for some sort of reason that comes to mind that doles it. Some times I think life is over rated and maxed out like a credit card. The things that are sure to excite me would be criminal acts though--something that's sure to give me a rush.

Being bored is when you're not excited. Some things excite for so long until they no longer excite you. I figure when you get older you grow bored of many things that play out to you. Then you can only move on toward other things that'll excite.

Get caught up in something like a show on T.V. where it'll make you forget about yourself. Go on a mission of some kind which might make time doing so interesting. Put together a group about whatever for whatever cause. The key is to get caught up in the moment for as long as you can be.

Noddy, of course, does not devalue angst. She elevates it to a new high.

Roger--

Are you bestowing kind words on my wording or are you giving public recognition to my inner crybaby with a loudspeaker?

Of course, in true angst, the kitchen floor has no meaning and neither does the dirt. They are equally irrelevant to the emptiness of the soul.

Boredom is, unfortunately, the natural state of a biological entity that is not under immediate stress from a threat to its existence.

Accepting the feeling as normal, and ignoring it, rendering it 'background status', is the beginning of the process of 'detoothing' it.

Change is the cure, because with it comes challenge, and to some extent 'danger', or at least a degree of stress about the new environment that you are creating for yourself.

[Reinvent yourself!]

I would not agree that accepting boredom as "background noise" will detooth the beast, in my opinion there lies a quick trip to chronic depression.

Change, however, is a marvellous remedy. A change of scenery, a new challenge, something which engages those underused brain cells in a pleasurable manner.

shepaints- Interesting reaction. I think that if I were in that situation, I would feel frustration, not boredom.

What is your relationship with this student? Could you possibly talk to her about her situation? Is there anything that you could do to help her? I think that if the student was what sent you into the funk, helping her to deal with the situation would energize you.

good points....boredom = lack of excitement, stress, challenge, threat!

In school, you just have to get through the hours behind a desk
taking required subjects that bore you. I empathize with the student since I used to be chronically bored with the methodology and approach of some of my teachers.

Phoenix, yes, I think frustration is a byproduct of boredom. You want to change the situation, but are stuck there. (I am talking about a student in classroom).

As an adult, I am more able to remove myself from the boring situation,
try to find something interesting in it, or move on to something else that engages me.

Classroom boredom I can empathize with.

I spent eight years in elementary school vowing that once I was All Grown Up, I'd never subject myself to intensive boredom again.

What I couldn't understand was why I wasn't allowed to finish my deskwork and read....I still can't understand that.

True. But you could help her with modifying her perception of what is happening. There was a time when I had to drive thru rush hour traffic. There were spots in my trip where the traffic would slow to a crawl. I was perpetually frustrated, and angry.

I then spoke with this guy, who worked with me. He said that he loved the crawling traffic. It would give him a chance to think through his day, and plan for the evening. He would "people watch", and enjoy watching the various expressions on their faces. He would put on the radio, to some music that he liked. He said that his ride home was one of the bright spots of his day.

Same crawling traffic........different attitude. I learned a lot from this guy. From the time of the conversation on, I never got angry and frustrated with traffic, and I never do now!

Agreed Phoenix, an attitude adjustment and maturity helps. It is unlikely to be more than a band-aid solution for my student though!
It's all too easy to start cutting up in the classroom and evading the work!

By the way, wasn't that guy in the car practicing 'escapism'?!!...I hope he also concentrated on his driving!

I suppose my question is, how do you discipline yourself to stay on task, even though you are bored?

Noddy says: "What I couldn't understand was why I wasn't allowed to finish my deskwork and read....I still can't understand that. "

Noddy, for the life of me, I can't understand it
either.

Start a conversation with an interesting individual, but your unconsciously demonstrated what your personally reply is[visiting able2know].

Wouldn't watching the Olympics elevate the level of boredom?

I'm also very familiar with classroom boredom. These days, I just accept it the same way I would any other bland, repetitive job (for example, working in a fast food joint) and seek my own education after hours.

I know how bitchy this is, so don't bother launching the personal attack. When the others in my class need something repeated to them for the TENTH time, (even though most of them had expensive private educations AND they all must have gotten extremely high entrance scores to get into the course- grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr to the educational system), I pretend that I'm watching a program that parodises the educational system and laugh inwardly. It works because you stop taking it so seriously.

I hope that helps. They are extremely childish and demonstrate appalling attitudes but they work, so you might consider sharing them with your student.

Thanks Eccles, it is easier for adults to find strategies to keep boredom at bay, because
we have more control over our lives. Kids
are stuck in a classroom.

I thought it was interesting
that Phoenix said that boredom was an
indicator of depression....i would never have
thought of that, but it makes complete sense.

In my experience, at the risk of generalizing, elementary schools are better for girls than
boys. Girls seem to enjoy the seat work and
be more interested in making posters, colouring
maps etc. than boys who want to be more active.

I wouldnt want to have to go through to either elementary
or high school again.

This may not be what you were looking for and I definitely do not want to insult anyone so please take this from a humorous point of view.

When I was a child and ever said I was bored my mom would answer instantly-

"only boring people get bored."

Oh my god that used to piss me off!!! So it is with some hesitation I post it here. Anyway I finally figured out she was right to an extent and that I was most definitely in control of this.

However there are times I am tempted to admit that I *might* be a little bored ha ha. You just wont ever hear me say it.