It happens to everyone, that feeling of wanting to do something but not knowing what to do. Boredom. People describe boredom as “the desire for desires”.
Sometimes you hit that point during your dull time where you think you’re going to “die” from boredom. Is it true? Well, you cannot actually die from boredom but it can most definitely cause problems in adolescence.
In today’s society, everyone is so used to the hustle and bustle and always having something to do, so when a situation does arise when there is nothing to do, children and teens become bored much faster than they used to. People who lean toward more high-risk life styles are more prone to getting bored. This can spiral into a dangerous situation because those who experience chronic boredom gravitate towards alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, and eating disorders.
Scientists also know that high-risk, boredom prone people have naturally lower levels of dopamine, which means they require a higher sense of novelty to stimulate the brain. When non high-risk people experience a new situation, dopamine comes in to play and gives people a “non-bored” feeling.
No, one cannot die from boredom; it just isn’t an exciting time to experience, as I’m sure we all know. To reduce boredom, physical exercise and finding new hobbies is always a great idea. A study with teenagers proved that teens with strong interest have higher self-esteem than teens that are bored.
Work Cited
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/bored-to-death1.htm
Now that I have read your article I can definitely see the connection between boredom and habits that tend to be worse for people in the long run. Although I’ve never thought of it as such, it’s true that when people are constantly busy, they tend to make better decisions that those who tend to do less. This was a very interesting topic!
This is a really neat post! I found it really intriguing that high-risk boredom-prone people are more likely to develop addictions. I wonder if this has anything to do with adrenaline release? Very interesting article!
I found your post very interesting, since the phrase “I’m dying of boredom” is so overused. I can see the correlation between boredom and alcoholism, gambling, and eating disorders. I feel that it would also be related to depression disorders as well. Finding hobbies and things like that is definitely a good idea for a solution to boredom.