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What to Do When Bored?

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Changing4Best

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I'm bored. Magazines and books don't help anymore. Calling friends is getting old. ( I don't own a TV). Eating, especially overeating, can be deadly. Visiting neighbors sometimes helps, but one is super depressed, maybe two. The other is visiting her sister. And I can't think of anything else to do right now. Oh, I don't drive, so I can't go to the park or anything like that. Have you got any ideas? Or are you out of ideas too?
 
Do you have any crafts or art you like to do or have been wanting to learn? YouTube has a wealth of ideas and instructions for almost anything you can dream of.

Some crafts can even be made to happen because you already have everything on hand. You just don't know that you do. Depends on what you might be interested in.

And if there is something you would like to do and don't drive anything can be ordered online. The wait is a little longer with the pandemic but it would still be something to look forward to.

Hope you find something that breaks the boredom.
 
I like taking classes. Udemy has a lot of cheap ones but there is an array of free classes out there, too.

Writing is also helpful.

Recently, I have been posting a lot in here because I have excessive time on my hands. You can always try to overdo that. ?

Maybe exercise? Or maybe that's just my brain reminding me of what I need to do.
 
I just played a game of solitaire, so that helped me a bit.

I am hungry and it's only two thirty in the afternoon. I ate a light lunch, maybe that is why.

Yes, I do arts and crafts, but I am bored with them also. Writing is a great idea though. I have been writing recently, and it still interests me. However, I need to be able to think of something to write about. My T told me to do some forgiveness exercises, which I have done some of, but I'd rather just write about life in general, I guess.

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming!
 
I'm a film buff - so whilst I don't have a TV either, I watch lots on Netflix and other online streaming. Lots of places are doing online film festivals.

I also love music and listen to lots. I play music too, but haven't in lockdown at all.

There are all sorts of online things happening at the moment. Like online poetry nights; online pub quizzes etc etc.

But I get the boredom. Felt that too a lot yesterday. The day seems to pass and I'm not sure what I've done, other than post on here!

Hope the boredom passes soon
 
I'm bored. Magazines and books don't help anymore. Calling friends is getting old. ( I don't own a TV). Eating, especially overeating, can be deadly. Visiting neighbors sometimes helps, but one is super depressed, maybe two. The other is visiting her sister. And I can't think of anything else to do right now. Oh, I don't drive, so I can't go to the park or anything like that. Have you got any ideas? Or are you out of ideas too?

I turned my house into activity stations.....puzzle station on marble table, exercise station-mini trampoline, wii, weights, mat on floor.....a really good idea....low impact exercise-jump to music (I got one with a bar)....started w 2 minutes, art table......stuff to do, freezing meals....cooking takes time and freezing meals that aren't high calorically; move around furniture and give the place a fresh look......clean out closets; plant stuff outside; take walks every day; feed the cats; feed the crabs.....and cook crabs.
 
When my son & the other kids were little I didn’t allow the word “bored” to be used in our house. It’s an ADHD thing, where the mind hyper focuses on the thing that’s disliked, rather than attempting to find the solution // a great big giant component in why punishing ADHD kids has virtually no effect except to make them mad. Carrots work, sticks not so much & have to be applied with extreme caution & focused intent.

Simple word sub - Uninspired.

Because it has the solution built right into it... if I’m uninspired? I need to find something that inspires me.

It’s also -quite frankly- HILARIOUS :hilarious: to have a 4yo turn a serious little face at you, and tell you that this music/performance/etc. is uninspiring.

***

Dealing with depression for the first time in my life (rage I was familiar with & have 10,000 tips/tricks/skills for, depression I’m pretty damn hopeless with)... BORED :banghead: has gotten its foot in the door for the first time in decades. But it’s mostly a good thing? Because staring at the wall/floor/horizon no longer encompasses all of my attention. I don’t have the mental/emotional/physical energy to actually DO anything ...yet... but the DESIRE to is beginning to return. It’s vexing in the extreme, which is also probably a good thing? Energy beginning to build, in any event.
- If I’m physically fit I’ve learned I need to seize that moment/energy & USE it. Get up, do something, do anything. And the spark will blow into a nice big flame of life to be lived. The more I do, the stronger the flame, the more energy I have, the more joïe de vivre.
- If I’m sick/injured/recovering, however, I have to be super careful & just ride the boredom & irritation out... because if I try to do too much, too soon, the spark goes out. Psst.

***

So... what I do when I’m bored is to look for the source of it.

Am I simply uninspired? Or am I coming out of a depression?
 
I usually just accept that I am bored and acknowledge the feeling in the body and mind and try to see what my body is telling me or is not telling me. From experience, when I allowed this where some of the most creative times of my life! I am not exaggerating. so rather than escaping, why not ask...why am I bored? What does it mean? Where is the boredom in my body? and see what the body or the mind says! at minimum, the minute you face it, boredom is gone, cause YOU are not boredom!
 
I did a little painting, about forgiveness which I am working on in therapy. It was a wish painting about forgiving all the folks in one fell swoop, rather than one by one.
 
I haven't read the other responses yet, so I hope I don't repeat a bunch of stuff. If so, my apologies. Nature is full of endless entertainment and awe for me. I try to capture what catches my eye or takes my breath away with the camera every chance I get.

Kitchen time soothes (and nourishes) my soul, too. It's hard to get bored prepping and preserving garden goodies, or growing sprouts and/or microgreens indoors. Most especially when you don't eat what most others do, can't just order take-out or grab the "convenient" stuff any longer - for the health of it, and the level of creativity has to be kicked up a few notches as you go along.

I hear the following words in my head whenever I feel as if I've nothing to do - which were planted there by my late mother/grandmothers, as well as numerous bosses through the years - "If ya' got time to lean, ya' got time to clean." Be it dishes, laundry, sweeping, pulling dead stems/leaves off of houseplants, or whatever I see needs attention. At times, when I really feel like putting it off some more, I like to make a game of it and set a timer, or put on a favorite song/album, to see how much I can get done within that time frame.

Getting crafty with things that haven't yet outlived their excitement in my brain, or find a new one that doesn't require purchasing more crap to take up even more space. Creating something functional vs. just foofy inspires me even more at this stage of my life, but sometimes I just want to create, period.

Propagate a houseplant, or one of my herbs, or find a new "weed" that has a purpose/is edible, or try a new recipe with what I already have on hand or has already been clearly identified as being safe.

Grab a hula hoop and crank up some music, or just dance, or bounce on the mini-trampoline, or get on the aerobic exercise machine thingy, or on the fitness ball, or throw the thick mat on the floor and do some stretches - or - take all of the above outside and soak up some sun while having fun. If I look at it as exercise, or call it that, I'll likely avoid it. I call it purposeful daily movement. I set it up to be readily accessible indoors, except for the aerobic machine on the front porch, and the rest of it can easily be moved outdoors.

Write gratitude notes/letters, or emails, or make phone calls to local businesses/services/providers, or online businesses from afar, that have provided good customer service on any level. Most especially nowadays with stress levels being incredibly higher than usual. Folks need to hear thank you much more than they need to hear endless f yous and such.

Purge stuff. Then purge some more. Everything within our space costs us in the energy arena somehow, someway. We have to work around it, maintain it, move it, clean it, etc. etc. and just the thought of all of that can drain us before we even get started. Take a picture of it and save it on a thumb drive if it's truly meaningful, print photos for a coffee table book/photo album, or save the pics however you wish for the sentimental value of being able to look back on it whenever you wish to feel the love again. But if it isn't being used or bringing joy (other than the overwhelming desire to never let it go, even though it's taking up lots of space and energy to keep), let it move along.

Self-care opportunity. Soak in a hot bath with epsom salts - or just soak your feet. Trim and file your toe and finger nails. Wash your hair and dry it/style it. Wash your face and brush your teeth an extra time just because. Use your favorite oil/lotion to treat yourself to a leg, feet, shoulders, hands, etc. massage.

Turn your body into various makeshift instruments and make music just to be silly - like percussion, a horn section, beat boxing, etc. Find things in your immediate areas to make music with.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. The most important thing is to try to make it pleasurable vs. feeling like you're creating a burden for yourself by engaging in the inner ass-kicking self-talk. My motto is to have fun whether "they" want me to or not. "They" is anyone who opposes my fun. lol
 
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