As the COVID-19 virus has forced us to abandon some of our usual activities and routines, many of us are struggling with feelings of boredom.  Perhaps your friends are hundreds of miles away, and contact via social media does not give you the same fulfillment or charge. We are, after all, embodied creatures, and we get nurtured by sensory contact — the very thing that can be dangerous right now.

One question that you might ask yourself is: Are you bored because you are depressed? Boredom and mild depression have a few things in common.  However, simple boredom can be fairly easily resolved by a change of scenery or with the right kind of stimulation. Depression may be a bit more persistent. With boredom your thoughts may be vacuous or characterized by daydreaming. With depression, they are often negative or despairing.

If you are bored and not depressed, keep in mind the boredom is a common experience. Many of us get bored from time to time. You may remember a time, perhaps as a teenager, when you thought, Why is there never anything to do? Meanwhile, a world of possibilities awaited you just outside your bedroom door. 

Adopting a growth mindset can help you see opportunities in the current challenge. If you find yourself with more time on your hands, perhaps it’s time to learn something new. What are the things you’ve put off because there never is enough time? For instance, you could learn how to create an app, study a new language, cook a new dish, take up a musical instrument or pick up a book that teaches you how to draw. If you tend to be sedentary, you could go outside and explore the neighborhood. Just moving around and occupying different spaces and landscapes can jumpstart the process of waking up your body and mind.

If you have considered learning how to meditate, there is no time better than the present moment. Meditation teaches us how to drop below the level of our surface emotions, whether those emotions are boredom, self-doubt or fear. And when we can access those deeper places within ourselves, we may uncover an inexhaustible source of curiosity and well-being. Meditation can also provide a wider perspective from which to view current events and our emotional reactions to them.  Meditation resources online are abundant, such as on Youtube and the free app, Insight Timer.

Here are some further suggestions for overcoming boredom:

• Vary your activities. Sometimes just stepping into another room shifts your perspective and mood. If you have been spending long hours engaged in sedentary activity, then be sure to do something physical too.
• For many of us listening to music is a way to dial in a different mood. Just think of all the new artists or new songs that wait to be discovered!
• Set up regular video chats with the people who are important to you.
• Do something you have never done before. Do something you have previously done but do it in a new way.
• Limit your time with mindless activities that eat up your day and leave you feeling empty, e.g., checking your messaging app every few seconds or playing that same silly game on your phone.
• Spend some time reflecting on what you really enjoy doing and what gives you the greatest sense of fulfillment. Make a plan to do more of those things. If limited by social distancing, get creative in pursuing your interests in new ways.
• If you have more free time than usual, consider how much of a privilege that is. Think of all the people in the world who do not have that opportunity. How do you want to use this privilege? 

There will come a time when we will come out of isolation and life will return to something like normal.  How will you want to look back on this time in your life?  What will you feel most proud of? What will you have learned that you can carry into the future?

Mark Evans, Ph.D.

Senior Staff Psychologist