Written By: Lynne Cole – Therapist and Counsellor | Published: August 2024
If you’ve recently found yourself asking the question, “why am I so bored with life?,” there could be several different factors at play. Feelings of boredom can be natural especially if your life is a bit stagnant lately. You may have no trips or events coming up, your work may be quite dry, or your friends and loved ones may not be available as much to spend time with. If life is getting boring, there are different steps you can take to get that zest for life again.
In our guide, we will explore the various reasons why we may feel bored with life, and how we can stop these feelings from spiralling into other negative emotions. We also discuss the many benefits of seeking professional help from a mental health therapist if your feelings of boredom are effecting your life.
Why Do You Feel Bored With Life?
There are various reasons why someone may feel bored with their current life. These include:
- A lack of variety in your routine: if you’re doing the same things, day in, day out, you may start to feel bored with your life. The questions of “why is life so boring?” can be answered if there is no diversity in your life, especially if your routine is feeling mundane.
- Your social interactions are limited: as human beings, we are social creatures who crave interaction from time to time, no matter how shy or introverted we might be. Some of us can go days, even weeks, without any social interaction, which can lead to feelings of boredom.
- You don’t feel challenged: if your work is starting to feel stagnant, or you have no challenges or goals in your personal life, boredom can take over. Work should never be too challenging that you don’t enjoy it or feel too stressed, but if it isn’t challenging enough, you may feel bored all the time. Lack of challenges in your personal life, such as exercise, can also lead to boredom.
- You have no time for hobbies: if you work long hours, or spend lots of time performing chores and errands, you may feel as though you have no time to do things you really enjoy. Living a life with no joy can not only lead to boredom, but other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
- You may be experiencing feelings of depression: already suffering with symptoms and feelings of depression can make boredom feel worse. Anhedonia, a disinterest in life and activities, is a symptoms of depression and can make feelings of boredom feel much worse. If you are experiencing feelings of depression, it is recommended that you seek mental health support from a qualified therapist who can help you understand how you’re feeling and tackle bored emotions.
Ways to Stop Feeling Bored With Life
It may seem hopeless when feelings of boredom decrease your quality of life, but there are ways in which you can start to fight boredom before seeking professional help. Trying remedies at home can help you gain control over your own life before matters spiral, and can provide you with helpful tips that you can rely on for years to come.
Daily Routine
Ensuring you stick to a daily routine is essential in ensuring you have time for work, play and obligations. If you are bored with your social life, try and set yourself daily goals to get out and about, or engaging in new activities. Starting small such as going for a walk in your local park, or even reading a book, can cure those small moments of boredom. Try and write down a schedule of your week and aim to stick to it so you can also try to motivate yourself as well as combat bored feelings. Small activities such as making breakfast, cleaning your kitchen or going shopping can be hard to do when you’re feeling bored and unmotivated, but setting a schedule that you can tick off can give you a sense of accomplishment.
Rediscover Your Passions and Interests
If you used to enjoy regular hobbies and social activities, but have lost the zest for life that you once had, it can be hard to get back into the swing of things. If you’re finding it hard to start up your hobbies again, try them in smaller doses. For example, if you used to enjoy running, put aside 10 minutes each day to spend time getting some exercise until you feel like spending more time doing what you used to love. If your interests involved meeting friends and playing sports or games, try and set a goal to meet once a week to ease your boredom and improve your mood.
Set New Goals and Challenges
If old hobbies aren’t interesting you anymore, or the lack of challenge in your life is a main catalyst of your boredom, who say’s you can’t set new challenges? It may feel daunting to start something new, no matter how big or small, but having a a sense of accomplishment in your life can feel invigorating. Small tasks such as a jigsaw or completing a video game, to larger ones such as running a marathon or climbing a mountain, can give you something to work towards and bring back the spark in your life.
Change Your Environment
Your environment, be it your home or the surrounding areas, can have a big impact on your mental health if it is cluttered or under-stimulating. Boredom can lead to a lack of motivation, which can in turn encourage you to skip out on your chores and be unwilling to venture outside. Forcing yourself to remove clutter, organise your house and go for a walk can have a great impact on your mental wellbeing; if your home is already clean, considering reorganising a room for a change of scenery.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of being present with your thoughts and feelings. It allows you to pay attention to what is happening around you, and encourages you to pay attention to your breathing as well as your sights, sounds and smells. It is advised that you try and practice mindfulness once a day to collect your thoughts and avoid being overwhelmed. A qualified mental health therapist can provide you with all the tools you need to practice mindfulness, a technique that can serve you for your entire life.
Seek Professional Help if Needed
Although we all feel bored from time to time, if it is taking a significant toll on your life, you should seek professional help to understand the root of your boredom. Feelings of boredom can lead to depression and anxiety, and alternatively, can even be caused by an underlying mental health condition. Talking to a therapist can help you understand more about why you are feeling this way, and help you develop new thought processes and behaviours that are more positive.
Some people may avoid seeking the help of mental health services because of the stigma attached; it’s only feelings of boredom and decreased satisfaction, it’s nothing to seek therapy over. These are, however, unhelpful ways to view a problem that is having a significant effect on your life. You should never allow your own brain to win in scenarios such as this.
Our brains are powerful tools designed to protect us, but they can also be a hindrance when it comes to decision making. Powering through and understanding that you are worthy of help and support can set you on the right path.
Summary and Key Takeaways
Boredom is a natural part of life, especially if your work has become dry or you’ve fallen into the same old routine at home. Switching up this routine, finding new hobbies to try out, and ensuring you prioritise your mental health can ensure these feelings of boredom don’t stick around for long. Prolonged feelings of boredom can lead to mental health issues, so seeking professional help could be the next step if the self help tips provided don’t work for you.
Each person is different, so there is no shame in trying new things that ultimately don’t work out. One thing is for sure; you will find a solution that works for you, and it will be a crutch to lean on for years to come.