Boredom: The Impact Of Emptiness And Chronic Boredom

We could define boredom as an uncomfortable combination of dissatisfaction, boredom and fatigue. Behind him is also inscribed the shadow of that chronic boredom that permeates everything and blurs it. Now, from a psychological point of view, this state of mind is more complex than it seems because it has, on average, a great impact on mental health.

We have all felt a certain boredom at some point and we know how suffocating it is. It is much more than losing motivation, it is perceiving that what surrounds us is unpleasant and meaningless. Thus, in the world of literature, figures like Baudelaire made this concept a recurring theme in their works, defining it as that state in which the divine vanishes and existence becomes a plain.

In this way, perceiving that on our horizon there is nothing more than an expanse saturated with voids undoubtedly leads us to an existential monotony in which anguish, anxiety and even depression soon emerge … It is important to know how to detect these states and act accordingly for our well-being and happiness. We analyze it.

What’s behind boredom?

If we were to find a word that defines the opposite of boredom, it would be enthusiasm. Few emotions are as enriching, vital and inspiring as feeling enthusiastic, with that exalted state of mind with which one feels capable of doing anything. Now, with boredom, an emotional reality is ignited that annihilates everything and that goes beyond sadness.

It is striking to perceive how this dimension was, until not long ago, the territory of philosophy rather than of psychology. Blas Pascal, for example, already pointed out at the time that boredom was (and was going to be) the main problem of humanity. George Steiner, for his part, affirmed that we are subjects of boredom when life becomes an eternal waiting and, in turn, that poison that leads us from boredom to despair.

Schopenhauer pointed out that this dimension arises when everything leaves us: love, the pleasure of traveling, reading … It is then that “nothing” arises, that total absence of stimuli and passions that leads us to suffocation because everything that surrounds us, it is homogeneous, hollow and boring. Thus, it is precisely this last dimension, that of boredom, that psychology also takes to explain the roots of boredom.

Chronic boredom and emotional pain

Indeed, philosophy navigated for decades on the idea of ​​boredom as that breath that emerges from constant boredom, disinterest and emptiness. For psychology, those who feel jaded experience chronic boredom, and under that reality there is often a traumatic event.

When someone lives an experience of great emotional hardship, they hardly try to silence fear, anger, sadness … These conflicting psychological states are tried to silence in order to continue moving forward through life.

To do this, what is often done is to disconnect from one’s own emotions, thus falling into a state of constant boredom, of emptiness, where the overwhelming pain is hidden. Boredom is in these cases the mask of the underlying despair. 

How do you know if what you feel right now is boredom?

Most of us know the feeling of being jaded. However , there are times when this type of feeling, far from being something specific, settles in us like a constant haze, like a thorn that digs deep until it alters our way of being. Let’s see what its characteristics are:

• Nothing attracts your interest, not even the things that you used to be passionate about.
• Everything seems routine to you, meaningless.
• You have no short or long term goals.
• Nothing excites you, or awakens laughter and happiness in you.
• You feel dissatisfied with your life, with what surrounds you, including the people around you and the society in which you live.
• Also, you feel physically and psychologically exhausted.

Boredom and depression

At the beginning, we pointed out the importance of bearing in mind feelings of boredom as it is often a risk factor for psychological health. In this way, we already know that someone who feels continually jaded evidences that form of apathy and chronic boredom that hides, in many cases, some traumatic factor.

We are facing a kaleidoscopic mental reality, there are many dimensions to consider and to take into account. However, there is something that we must never lose sight of. Studies such as those carried out at the University of Virginia Commonwealth indicate that chronic boredom often leads to depression in most cases.

Emptiness, apathy, lack of motivation and vital meanings eat away at the spirit and boycott identity. They make us feel useless in a world invaded (apparently) by nothingness. It is very difficult to get out of that inertia of felt fatigue and absence unscathed. Detecting these realities and acting as soon as possible is therefore decisive. To do this, in addition to requesting specialized help, it is good to take into account the following:

• Talk to someone about how you feel. Allow others to open new perspectives on you.
• Change your routines and lifestyle habits. Any variation will be a new stimulus.
• Try new things. Get started in other projects, hobbies, meet new people.
• Put aside everything that bores you.
• Exercise, take care of yourself, practice self-care.
• Go to psychological therapy to treat possible traumas or realities in your life that you should attend to.

To conclude, the nothingness that accompanies boredom vanishes as soon as the person has new signifiers and purposes to their existence. This is what we should practice daily: renew our goals and nurture the illusion.