From The New Yorker
What is boredom, and is it worth paying attention to? It is easy to think of boredom as wanting more stimulation, and according to this New Yorker article, the answer is partly yes and partly no. The article suggests it may be worth noticing the next time you are bored. It also looks at a newer kind of boredom that the author describes as particular to this moment in history.
Noticing What Boredom Is Telling Us
When we are not distracted, we have a chance to look at what is going on in our thoughts and feelings. Boredom can also mean different things for different people. For example, an anxious person's boredom may feel very different from a depressed person's.
A Note From PPG
If boredom or restlessness is something you would like to understand better, individual therapy can be a place to explore it. For related reading, see our posts on difficult feelings and on unstructured time for children.
Related Care and Reading
- Adult Therapy: Individual therapy for adults.
- Child & Adolescent Therapy: Therapy for children and teens.
- Are Negative Emotions Bad? A Look at Difficult Feelings: Working with feelings we would rather avoid.
- Is Unproductive Time Actually the Most Productive?: Dr. Bly in The Recorder on play with no set goal.
