Boredom

I may have had problems with boredom as a child but I really haven't been to afflicted by it for awhile.  I know many people still do, even as adults.  I have been occasionally asked if I was bored due to staring off into space and usually I was just thinking or trying to visualize something in my head.

My children have already had bouts of boredom and I understand that any advice I give them may not sink in.  I mentioned this article before but I feel a need to bring it up again with a post about boredom.

First, the ultimate boredom inducing experience, cabin fever.  To quote wikipedia:

"Cabin fever is an idiomatic term, first recorded in 1918, for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in a small space, with nothing to do for an extended period. Cabin fever describes the extreme irritability and restlessness a person may feel in these situations.

The phrase is also used humorously to indicate simple boredom from being home alone."

So what is the solution?  Be creative and do something.  The problem I see my kids and many people have is that the things that are available to do are usually activities we don't want to do.  I loved this statement by Deborah Shapiro in the BBC article mentioned above,

"People sometimes joke that long-distance sailors must have a high boredom threshold, but my response is that one can only be as bored as one is boring.

Doing things is the antidote. We always have a creative project in progress - the documentation of the voyage itself.

There are hours of repairs to accomplish every day, just to keep things operational. In the evenings, we often play games. Or we read aloud for each other, pausing to discuss our reactions and thoughts.

We also developed thoughts during the winter as a team, mostly along the lines of our favoured subject... All winter we discussed and honed the idea. "

This husband and wife team spent a great deal of time on a boat isolated from the rest of the world.  Cabin fever could have drove them nuts (ala The Shining) but they found the solution that I hope my kids can learn.