Parenting Teenagers on Managing Distress

Boredom is not about anything; It relates to discomfort resulting from a void of meaning, interest, purpose, or pleasure. These issues should be taken seriously as they can be uncomfortable.

Complaints of boredom during adolescence can sometimes seem contradictory.

• They can result from having there is little to do, like the experience becomes irrelevant: “I don’t know what to do with myself!” This free time complaint.
• They can result from having there is so much to do, such as when routine demands feel oppressive: “I don’t like having to keep doing this!” This mandatory time complaint.

So boredom usually appears in these two unhappy forms.

• There empty boredom when one cannot find a worthwhile pleasure or activity to enjoy, such as entertainment: “I hate having nothing to do!” Sometimes vacation can be boring.
• There boring boredom when one has to do something unrewarding, such as an unwanted task or routine: “I hate doing this!” Sometimes homework can be boring.

The Pain of Boredom

Although it may seem like a minor inconvenience, boredom can become a painful part of adolescence. There are many sides to this mild but serious suffering.

• Boredom can make a person feel helpless and miss out on something positive to do.
• Boredom causes a person to feel disconnected from meaningful companionship.
• Boredom makes one feel devoid of interest or motivation.
• Boredom makes you feel restless and unsatisfied.
• Boredom feels painfully unengaged.
• Boredom creates silent despair.
• Boredom is getting tired of doing nothing.
• Boredom is getting tired of sameness.
• Boredom can make one feel depressed.
• Boredom doesn’t like repetition.
• Boredom is left unfinished.
• Boredom has no purpose.
• Boredom creates a feeling of loneliness.

Any of these and more, boredom can be an uncomfortable part of teenage life.

Risks from Distress

The danger of adolescence’s long-term boredom is that it can be a staging ground for the urge to alleviate that deep discomfort—the unbearable loneliness that comes from missing companionship or something to do. When one feels painfully disconnected from people or purpose, sometimes a harmful alternative, whether experimental, social, or chemical, may be hastily chosen.

“Why did you agree to comply?” Asked parents after their teenager got into trouble by stalking his friend to a damaging effect. “Because I needed something to do!” was the answer. Boredom led to misguided relief.

Just as stress can result from having too much to do, boredom can result from a person wanting to do too little or having to do something they don’t enjoy doing. Therefore, some parents may view the boredom of idleness as the “devil’s playground” and strive to keep their teenager busy, interested, and busy “doing” things most of the time.

For example, keeping a frequently bored teenager active when he or she doesn’t know what to do on his or her own may prompt a response to help at home: “If you don’t feel like doing anything and don’t like it when nothing happens.” There’s something I need to do, here’s something you can help me finish.”

Functions of Boredom

But boredom isn’t just an exhausting feeling to endure. It can also be a functional driver of dissatisfaction that can motivate growth. “I’m tired of easy lessons; “I want a more challenging training.” And now the challenge of further education is desired.

Bipolar, while boredom can be incapacitating due to aimlessness and emptiness, it can also motivate a person to find new interest and challenge. Boredom can create readiness for change.

Cons and Pros

So, is boredom getting better or worse? The answer could be both.

On the negative sidePersistent boredom can be so painful that, at its worst, one seeks counterproductive relief by avoiding risky behavior, excessive electronic entertainment, substance abuse, or seeking excitement for its own sake to escape the dull pain of monotony: “Better to do anything than to do anything.” “It makes you feel.” Nothing!”

In a positive wayWhile nagging boredom may not be so satisfying that it pushes a young person back to their own resources, it can create new possibilities, activities, directions and relationships, all of which can renew the meaning of their life. Boredom can spark determination and curiosity: “I’m ready to try something different!”

Sometimes it can become complicated for parents with bored teenagers; For example, a teenager who excelled in a particular sport throughout middle school now finds it boring and sees high school as a chance to try another athletic activity. They are surprised: “Do you want to stop improving the skills you have learned and acquired?” It still concerns them, but it no longer concerns him. Unfortunately, they enjoyed watching his display of perfection. As the first-grade girls explain: “The same old is the same old; I’m ready to play something new!”

Boredom in Perspective

Prolonged boredom in adolescence can be a risk factor and trigger the urge to escape the emptiness that results from the loss of meaning and purpose in one’s life. So take it seriously. Just don’t let it go.

And the next time your teenager complains of boredom: “There’s nothing to do!” “It’s so boring to do this!”—consider offering perspective: “Boredom doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you or your life. It happens to everyone when they run out of motivation for a moment. Although it may feel exhausting to have nothing you want to do right now, dissatisfaction can free you to consider other possibilities. You may welcome boredom as a call to find a new purpose, or simply treat it as a challenge to perform a boring activity well. Either way, you’re likely to feel happier when you do this. And while excitement in general never feels like the only alternative to painful boredom, remember that finding an interest is often a safer route.