How to deal with boredom....

thehonestman · Post by **thehonestman** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:41 pm

After have been on this program for 12 weeks now and seeing how anxious and depressed of a person I was....I realized that a big reason why I developed these symptoms is because of boredom. Now I will admit I have missed out on a lot of opportunities in life because of anxiety and that has caused boredom but now that I'm much better and more "emotionally stable", I've realized two things:

1. It seems I run into a lot of people who have problems with anxiety and it kind of makes me anxious when I'm around them.

2. It's hard to find motivation and something to light a fire under your butt when you're not around people who have contagious positive energy to help lift you up. I can do all the positive self talk stuff in the world and the universe but ultimately what I find works best fo me is to be around something that is emotionally going to lift me up and make me feel alive and excited. Does this mean I should move from where I'm now living to a more lively, upbeat community and hope I'll be able to find some good people who will be the supportive type instead of the cynical, energy draining type? Can anyone relate to what I'm saying?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:26 pm

hey HM, I can and do relate to your dillema. After retiring at the old age of 49 I found myself in the same state as you described and I dont mean its because I live in Oklahoma. No sir I had not prepared myself well enough to take up time which I now had way to much of. Added to this fact loosing a son to murder and a few other life problems had me reeling. I found volunteer work and church to be the perfect starters back to living. I still am working on the grieving. Location certainly could be a factor but you sound like the type who could light some positive fires right where you are. I met a wonderful lady in my way back and we were married a year ago which also has the pure joy attached being that she had a 3 year old adopted son. My life is full again and it all started with my first steps to volunteer. I hope you find your reason for being soon and that with all the help thats needed in this world a good cause may be your ticket. Good luck, Bruce

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:44 pm

I'm sorry to hear about your son Bruce. I'm glad that you've found positive ways to occupy your time ever since your retirement and congrats on the new marriage and I hope everything works out. The thing with me and church is I have my own views on God and being in an environment like that I feel I would not fit in socially but the volunteer work may be something I could look into since I do have a BA in computer science. Thanks and good luck in all your endeavors Bruce. -John

derfy · Post by **derfy** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:33 pm

Hi,
I live in Germany and I´m a single Mum of 43, so I still have to work for a couple of years. After having a stressful job with a co-worker who hated me, I had the chance to change jobs with a collegue. All I could think of was to get away from the person who sat in my neck.
Ironically, the work I do now is quite boring and after working off the backlogs, I don´t have much to do. After going through a divorce recently, I will have to work full time again in November, which is okay, but I have problems to make the time pass by.
So, no challenge for my brain, not enough work to do and I also sit alone in a big office and feel loney. I don´t want to complain, but sometimes the situation drives me up the wall, and I can´t change it at the moment.
What I want to point out: I also get anxiety attacks at work although there is NOTHING. I know how anxiety feels when I´m under pressure, and this is exactly the opposite. Of course there are also other circumstances in my life that cause anxiety, but now I see that you can also get anxiety because you are bored, lonely or don´t feel needed. No impulses, no communication, too much time for thinking about my problems...
But in my case it´s weird that I have to sit here 8 hours a day to get paid while I could spend my time much better doing things at home, at my church or in the garden.

If it wasn´t for the money, I would better do something that makes sense like voluntary work at my church or the local animal shelter (Which would be much more pleasure because I would be meet other people)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:46 am

Thanks John, for your kind reply to my reply! I found a great org. called CASA to volunteer for. It is being a court appointed spokesman for abused children. They give many hours of training before certifiying and then one is sworn in by a judge. The work is often heart breaking but always rewarding. Gardenfairy what a great idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, Lord knows there is a need. The thing I found was even after retiring I still have a spark and lordy all the great organizations that offer help. I hope John your new life of excitement and fullfilment is just around the corner. Gardenfairy I hope you too find the thing that will fullfill you emotionally and spiritually. My mother was from Germany and I sure admire you folks for many things. Good luck to you too Gardenfairy and watch out,,that feller may be already on his way into your life,,lol,,Bruce