# Boredom

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 10, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055 "2012-08-10T05:04:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/1 "2012-08-10T05:04:44Z")

</div>

Is boredom a physical state, a mental state, or both?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/2 "2012-08-10T05:10:28Z")

</div>

I’d consider it a mental state. But there are analogous physical conditions.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/3 "2012-08-10T05:31:57Z")

</div>

Mental, but can manifest in a ton of physical ways, of course. Agitation, restlessness, drowsiness, fidgeting, cabin fever, etc…

Mainly a lack of stimulation.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/4 "2012-08-10T14:25:54Z")

</div>

There’s a fine line between boredom and loneliness\*. And loneliness registers itself in the same receptor cells in the brain as physical pain. ([Cite](http://www.amazon.com/Loneliness-Human-Nature-Social-Connection/dp/0393335283/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344608314&sr=1-1&keywords=loneliness)).

\*from dating experiences where I encountered, or was myself, a person who was there to be either entertained or validated: not always a clear line of demarkation

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/5 "2012-08-10T15:16:35Z")

</div>

It is the absence of Zen.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/6 "2012-08-10T15:42:41Z")

</div>

> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#):
>
> It is the absence of Zen.

Is it also the presence of not Zen?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boredom/631055/7 "2012-08-10T15:50:13Z")

</div>

Familiar as I am with boredom, I will say that for me it starts as a mental state and if left untended, soon becomes a physical state. “I’m bored, I don’t have anything to do” will, in a matter of hours, become “I don’t feel like doing anything.” It’s a downward spiral for me. And I like the idea that it is related to loneliness, which never occurred to me, but I agree. If I even had someone entertaining to call on the phone, the boredom would be relieved.