I felt this when I was struggling with depression. I recommend seeking help for that.
this post was submitted on 12 May 2026
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Go out and do something
Go somewhere you haven't been yet.
Go places where there are other humans.
Go find a hobby you like and join a club.
Talk to people
Start practicing kyokushin.karate. most modest and humble people you can find who train hard to find peace
Go to a bar, talk to a stranger. Do it again. And agait. You'll learn, it'll become easier
Just do something, anything. Go out, meet people.
That is your cure
Most days yeah, I'm 23 and struggling most of the time with how boring life is to me, I got hobbies that I never have the energy to do and new experiences just seem too much of an effort to try them out.
I have a deeply rooted romantization of death too so that definitely doesn't help
In my 20s? Drugs, alcohol, and live punk shows
Now in my 30s, 8 hours of sleep every night, staying physically active everyday, getting plenty of sun, always have something to look forward to(cooking on the weekend, taking a day trip just to explore, spending a whole day at home with my phone turned off messing around with blender, unity, or just writing code), enjoy the small things like reading a couple pages of a book I like every evening
Find hobbies to help get you excited about things and less bored. If nothing appeals to you, you might have clinical depression
I have ADHD so boredom is like death anyway
Yes, I have felt that way many times. For me personally, the worst ones were caused by other mental health issues.
When I started recovery from alcohol abuse about 15 years ago, I had already blown up my life as I knew it and sobering up meant that I had to deal with it and it was just so fucking tedious. I didn't see the point in struggling to get better if what was waiting for me was a start from zero. I had to get a shitty job, start exercising again, and find a new career path before I stopped wanting to just drink myself to death.
Then a little over two years ago, an antidepressant (Effexor) that had worked wonders for me for years started doing me dirty. Insomnia , night sweats, crippling anxiety, tachycardia, the works. I cross tapered onto Paxil and I was better for about 2 months then it got bad again in the same way. That's when shit got truly miserable, because coming off of Paxil is withdrawal hell. I had the same problems but even while I was in pain to the point of suicidal ideation, it was also boring. Like Groundhog Day in hell. I wish I had a remedy for that one, but it was just white knuckling the whole way. The one thing I can say is that if you go through anything like that, you either need a support structure of friends and family, or you need to get yourself into intensive outpatient or inpatient treatment.
I'm okayish now on a different medication regime with Cymbalta, but there are side effects. I'm actually stepping down on it starting today because I've been waking up in full panic attack every morning for the past 3 weeks. It sucks, but it's life and it's real.
For you, OP, my first suggestions are things you're not going to want to do because you don't want to do anything, but it's super fucking important to get out of this. Exercise. Sleep. Watch your diet. I know others have already mentioned it, but these are the real lynchpins of mental health. So far as the anhedonia is concerned, the thing I keep coming back to is if you think an activity was important to your previous sense of self, you just have to start doing it again. Not jumping back in with two feet, but dipping your toe, consistently, and with regularity. You'd be surprised what does come back with a nudge.
IANAD but you might look into alternative treatments like TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) or Spravato (low dose ketamine). Some people have had success with magic mushrooms and LSD, but besides being illegal and supply purity concerns, people react differently and there's a risk that it can make things worse.
Finally, you can ask your psychiatrist about GeneSight testing to find out what meds are likely to work for you. It's not perfect, but it beats the medication merry-go-round that most new patients end up on until they find something that works.
No. I have effectively defeated boredom.
Never in history has the average person (caveat: I live in a developed nation) had access to so many varied hobbies and forms of entertainment.
A more significant struggle is finding meaning. I have succeeded there too, but it is more of a challenge.
Care to share your wisdom?
Are you asking me what the meaning of life is?
There is no one true answer, I think you have to ask yourself what your most important values are. Volunteering and donating in service to my personal values has given me a sense of purpose.
That sounds like anhedonia which is a major symptom of depression. You should consider seeking help.
Regular sleep, exercise and reaching out to others who care about you can all help outside of professionals though.
"Talk Therapy" is a waste of time
I tried Lexapro and Welbutrin now... eh idk all I felt was the placebo effect of "OMG Is this gonna save me?"
But then the novelty dies off and idk if its even doing anything and it takes too long and I just drift off it and not really stick to schedule...
Unfortunately that is often how drugs for the brain work, or don't in your case. There is often a lot of trial and error to find something that works for you. They also take a good couple weeks to even start working properly which doesn't help.
Addressing underlying problems is the best cure for problems. You need to push yourself to explore the world more, maybe visit somewhere new, or take on new life projects like a job, volunteering or study.
why do you say talk is a waste of time, if communication were a waste...why bother even making this post at all?
I mean the clinical type.
Makes me feel worse than before....
“Talk Therapy” is a waste of time
Starts multiple threads per day to talk about his mental health issues.
I hate talk therapy so much. It's awkward and makes me stressed as hell. I always feel much worse afterwards.
My cure:
- Take a walk every day. No headphones or music, just take a walk through your neighborhood, nature if it's nearby or anything. Aim for an hour each day, at least 30 minutes.
- Look for non-screen hobbies, or at least non social media hobbies. Things like drawing, writing, making music, woodworking, 3d printing Warhammer, or even reading books. Don't beat yourself up if you don't work on your hobbies a lot though.
Besides this I hear people being positive about journaling, but I've never tried it.
Drugs and alcohol, and music.
That's just ADHD
The cure is doing something that benefits someone else. Hedonism is inherently boring.
My cure is to try new hobbies/activities. Especially ones that require your complete focus. Like Motorsports. Personally I have a lot of anxiety when it comes to singing in front of people, resulting in everything else disappearing during the vocal lessons I for some reason signed up for.
It used to make me sad that I couldn't hold a single hobby, but I guess I'm just not built for it. Trying different ones as often as needed is more up my alley
You need hobbies
What do you do when you feel bored?
On Friday I sat by a lake and ate a hotdog. On Sunday I walked up a hill and looked at a ruin of some sort.
Neither was very stimulating but I was not in a hurry to get home and be more bored. I also got some exercise and sunlight.
It could be so many things, so hard to give advice. For me, a big part of it was sleep related, and I could only fix it with medication; if you have adhd it may be similar. The medical issues gave me the feeling of I'm painfully bored but my body refuses to do/enjoy anything, and I just want the sweet release of ~~death~~ deep sleep.
On the other hand, I was also so used to delaying gratification for school/work that I literally didn't know how to enjoy myself. I think finding the little things that bring you joy and incorporating it into your daily/ weekly/ monthly routine helps a lot. Something like: on Sundays I get to eat pizza or if I reach my short-term goal/milestone, I'll take myself to the cool place I never get to go to. I started doing this after getting a dog. So literally train yourself to love life like a dog.
I know it's time to find a new hobby that truly interests me.
Or, reflect on your life and see what's draining your energy. It's best to talk to a trusted friend.
I have literally felt that way since I was 17, every single day.
As a kid I felt so frustrated with how bored I got that I had tantrums, on one or two occasions.
But nowadays I don't get bored at all - phone, video games and work/study mean there's always something to do, and not enough time in the day.
Boredom can be useful. Use it for self reflection, exercise, et cetera. I would credit how bored I was as a kid with how smart i was as a kid.
Esketamine did a lot to help with the overwhelming anhedonia. For around a year I was more able to enjoy doing things. Not perfect of course, but it definitely helped. ECT helped too, but it didn't last as long so I don't recommend it as a first plan. TMS helps some people, just not me.
Meds can help take the edge off too, but they aren't going to fix it. And in this hellscape of a world, I don't think there's any complete cure likely.
It might be worth looking into pursuing a hobby you care about more seriously, if you have one you do or are interested in trying. Having something regular to work on you can enjoy even sometimes gives you something to look forward to and feel kinda good about. For me that's mostly music, but it could be writing, board games, fencing, whatever.
You're worth keeping alive. I hope you can find something that helps.
that isnt normal , you can be bored to "tear"s but people still find random things to do.
Finding purpose.
Do something you believe in. Or that you can make yourself believe in. If you are bored, that means you have spare time and energy. Go out, do something with people, preferably with nice ones
Spare time... maybe
Spare energy? Zero.
I know. Man, tell me about it. Some days you just can't get up, and then you keep sitting on the couch, doomscrolling or something like that, and hating yourself for it.
The thing is, it's not going to be better unless you do something about it.
I remember that one time I felt like absolute shit. Burned out, tired, dreading human contact. I forced myself to go to some political meetup, as an experiment. I argued with some wannabe college communists, didn't change a single thing in the grand scheme of things, and went home much happier.
Another day, I forced myself to go to some emergency response exercise. Half the people are pensioners twice my age. The other half are the kind of people I could never honestly argue politics with, because one of us would be dead. And they own way more guns. You know the type. I biked back, cursing them personally for all that is wrong with this country. But you know what? That evening, I felt better.
You get the idea. Then of course there are days that I am just tired, and, to quote, take my comfort from this hole I'm sinking in.
Bottom line: force yourself. At least sometimes. Even if the people there are morons. Even if the voice in your head says you should stay, and that you don't need to.
Turns out there's a clinical condition that can make you not care about anything, and there is a treatment.
anhedonia, first learned about this from a ds9 episode, where dukat claims weyoun is anhedonic due to his over concern for dominion day to day operations.
Is there a treatment for having no energy, though. I mean really having no energy. ME, MS, Post Covid, CFS...
I mean... You need a doctor, buddy, that's beyond internet folk medicine.
Everyone has at some point. Philosophy has answers but it can have the exact opposite effect. Something that helped me is this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv79l1b-eoI And others from him
omg its depression turtle 🫠
Yes, his videos are pretty good, there's also Sisyphus55 but his narrating style is a bit hard too monotone.
On another note I hope this video helped you even if a little and please don't follow people advice to drink alcohol and do drugs, you'll feel even more miserable than you do now.
"Personally, I won't be taking any kind of life advice from someone who dresses as a chess piece." 🤣
Thank you for putting this channel out there.
He has a second one called exurb2a where he does more personal videos or videos that don't really have to do with philosophy.
There is no cure, the treatment is distractions. Reducing the symptoms may cause the issue to resolve temporarily.
If you already tried therapy, going out oft your comfort zone, acting against what your boredom suggests you, try mushrooms or acid. If you dont feel ready to let go of control you can try MDMA first. Its not a solution but it can be an experience to show you there are possible other feelings to feel.
This is very risky so try everything else first!
Do something or if your comfort zone. Maybe something where you have concentrate fully on what you're doing on the moment, like climbing or downhill mountain biking or something like that but stay safe (instructor, safety equipment etc)
No.
Wtf even is the cure?
It isn't cringe posting on lemmy, or you'd be cured by now.
Death by Big Sad.