During the pandemic, we’ve all been through peaks and troughs of boredom. This doesn’t mean that we are getting used to life in lockdown, but that we are at least over the initial hump and shock of it all.
Boredom with limits
When your usual habits and routines have been taken away from you, you might find yourself wondering what to do from the moment you wake up.
Without being able to settle those small urges (like the urge to just pop out for lunch or browse the high street) you can find that you just don’t want to do much!
When you’re feeling bored, it’s usually a feeling of helplessness and being out of control. Your brain is telling you that you need to put your mind to something – by either achieving something or just finding joy in any kind of activity.
To satisfy these urges, you need to use the built up energy that boredom is telling you to use up.
So, what can you do?
- What would you be doing?
What would you be doing without Coronavirus? Formulate a new way to do it. For example: I can’t get to the gym, so I have formulated a home workout routine so that I can still use some of that energy.
- The past is the past
We’ve all been guilty of swooning over our favourite restaurants, or wanting to give your niece a cuddle. It’s not fair. But using your energy thinking of all the things we used to be able to do can just make you feel more frustrated, trapped and angry.
- Reframe what is achievable
Not being able to live the same life as before can leave you feeling dejected and frustrated. What you must do in this case is reframe your wants and needs for this current situation.
Your niece will love just as much to see you reading her a story on Zoom, or taking this time to put together a favourite home meal.
By taking these steps you will be able to redirect your pent up energy and boredom onto things that can make you feel validated and fulfilled, rather than frustrated and out of control.
This is a topic I want to delve deeper into so I will be going into this more in some future posts.
Stay safe and take care.
