Boredom and depression: top 5 interventions

Boredom is that frustrated sense of having nothing interesting to do. It is the companion to loneliness and depression for when we are bored we no longer feel good about our self.

Here are six steps to get your energy revved up and to recapture a lively sense of yourself.

1. Go dancing--you do not have to know how. Depression feeds on a lack of movement. It has less chance to take hold when we dance. Dance activities abound. Click on your local internet and check out the many choices, most of which offer free lessons and partners with whom to practice who are also there to learn and are grateful for a partner who has the same adventurous spirit.

2. Join a singles' social club--depression and boredom are isolating experiences. Social interaction is an effective antidote Google your city. Search for singles events and see a whole host of opportunities appear to meet and greet singles over dinner, bicycling, backpacking, white water rafting, and parachute gliding, to name a few.

3. Take a course--engage your mind and boredom releases. Local community colleges offer a large variety of courses for those interested in a particular subject rather than studying for a degree. Other venues offering free or low cost courses include neighborhood recreational councils, business retirement clubs, art supply stores, and workshops by experts who advertise in local newsletters.

4. Become a docent--gaining and imparting knowledge to others powerfully dispels boredom and will increase your sense of competence, further fortifying you against tendrils of depression. Museums often look for volunteers to take training in order to lead groups on informative tours of exhibits. You can learn about art history, meet like-minded folks, and have opportunities to develop friends.

5. Volunteer your service--giving back to your community offers the reward of feeling kind, generous, and doing meaningful work, all countering feelings of depression. Many organizations would be deeply grateful for your help. You could volunteer at a soup kitchen, your local historic society or railroad museum, or as a baby minder in your local children's hospital. Also, look around in your town for tourist venues. Choose one that interests you and then call to offer your services.

In any of these ways you can learn and grow doing what you enjoy. And you will have many opportunities to make new friends with similar interests. At the very least you are up and moving and exercising your mind, body, and spirit. And when that happens folks, you have no room for boredom and depression.

Of course, if you are struggling daily just to get out of bed or regularly have a marked diminished interest in things you might be suffering from clinical depression. In that case consulting with a psychiatrist and an experienced therapist who specializes in depression can help. Depression is treatable and you do not have to suffer from it.

For more information please visit: www.singular-pathways.com