Can Boredom Cause Depression?

Can Boredom Cause Depression? Can boredom cause depression? A really interesting topic to delve into! Isn’t it? You may feel bored in your day-to-day life, and it is certainly not a pleasant feeling. There is an extent of boredom when you are literally at your wit’s end. You feel sad, and nothing excites you. Also, this feeling starts interfering with your tasks and how you cope with things. For instance, humor can be an effective way to deal with tough or uncomfortable situations. However, when you are not excited enough, you lose your wit, and even the smallest things can make you sad. Boredom is also linked to depression and can have deleterious consequences as well, such as loss of motivation, anxiety disorder, and other types of mental health disorders. Understanding the relationship between boredom and depression can be insightful when you get a feeling that your behavior is no more goal-directed. We will discuss the relationship between the two including the helpful things you can do in this scenario. What Is Boredom? Definition and Symptoms Boredom is an emotional state that depicts that you are not deriving joy or satisfaction in what you are doing at present. It shows either you are not fully engaged in your current task or the task is not meaningful to you. You feel like you are forced to do a task that doesn’t serve a

meaningful purpose or has important goals. This negative outlook toward the task can make it extremely tedious and draining. Boredom takes you to the lower energy states, and you don’t feel stimulated. You can understand it better with the symptoms that it shows. What are the Signs of Boredom? Some of the most commonly experienced symptoms of boredom are: ● Lack of interest in the activities. ● You feel agitated and can’t rest or relax. ● A persistent state of missing excitement. ● Loss of interest in something instantly. ● Dissociation with the external environment. ● It is hard to remain motivated toward a goal. ● Lack of external stimulation. ● Missing sense of purpose in the tasks. ● Repetitive tasks and lack of newness. Is Boredom Linked To Depression? Boredom and depression are correlated and share some commonalities; however, they are not the same. One can’t directly cause the other, but there are some link between these two conditions. Long persistent boredom, especially when it is paired with the other conditions can evoke sadness, or signs of depression. The below-given pointers highlight the interconnection between boredom and depression. Prolonged Boredom Evokes Negative Emotions Boredom is a common behavioral pattern that occurs when you feel detached or unsatisfied with a work. However, when it remains persistent for a long time, it can promote negative emotions, such as emptiness, frustration, lack of satisfaction, or meaningfulness. These negative emotions need to be addressed with the help of a psychiatrist. If ignored for a long time, it can result in sadness, poor mood, and other symptoms of depression. Lack of Stimulation Due To Boredom Stimulation or engagement is crucial for you to give your hundred percent in a task or activity. However, where there is a lost sense of stimulation, you don’t derive joy in the activities and feel

bored. When you are indulged in repetitive activities that don’t seem meaningful or challenging, it can evoke a sense of purposelessness. It is also a common feature of depression. Boredom Causes Social Withdrawal or Dissociation Boredom can also cause social withdrawal, wherein you feel dissociated from your external environment. Nothing seems fulfilling, be it relationships, activities, or several others. Social isolation is an alarming sign of depression that not only hampers your social connections but also limits meaningful communication with others. Alleviated Motivation Due To Boredom Long, persistent boredom can cause reduced motivation to indulge in activities or motivation to pursue a goal. With impaired motivation, you might feel useless and purposeless. These are the apparent symptoms of depression. Boredom Can Cause Negative Thought Patterns Boredom can also hamper your self-esteem and can lead to negative thinking patterns, such as self-criticism, seeing the negative aspects and discounting the positive, poor self-esteem, overthinking, and several others. Negative cognitive patterns can also trigger depression among individuals. How To Prevent Boredom? If you feel prolonged boredom or lack of interest in activities, it can affect your quality of life. In such a scenario, you can count on these preventive measures: ● Make sure that your routine tasks are not all repetitive or disengaging. There must be some exciting activities as well. ● When handling large and tiresome tasks, decompose it into the smaller segments, take breaks, and set rewards for accomplishing different milestones. ● Create a list of the activities that make you feel fulfilled, and try them when you feel bored. ● Switch between the activities when one becomes boring or tedious.

Support And Resources When you are so consumed in your daily chores, it becomes difficult to take care of your mental and psychological well-being. In such a scenario, you need to take time for yourself. You can develop a new hobby, spend time with your family and friends, work, or choose the activities of interest to you. However, when the line between boredom and depression starts getting blurred due to the severity of the symptoms, you can contact an experienced psychologist for depression Related Article: What is Clinical Depression?.