Boredom or Depression?
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Anonymous
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Wondering how to know the difference and what the heck to do about it....
I'm 45, married with kids, work full time. My career is meh - some days I love it, some days (like today) I'm totally bored out of my mind and unmotivated. I often sit at work messing around planning personal projects (home projects or just stuff for myself) or reading blogs. I feel like I need to have some kind of non-work project going at all times to give myself something to be interested in - even if it's just doing some research for a future something or other. I'd say that I'm high functioning - I work quickly and can get a lot done in a short period of time. My coworkers would say that I am a high producer, clients are happy, work gets cranked out. But most days I'm bored out of my mind. Maybe I'm not challenged enough? Maybe I should come up with some kind of hobby or ongoing project to engage myself with? I'm definitely way too sedentary - going for walks and stuff sounds really good, but I rarely get up and actually go do it. Is this typical among other people? Am I being too hard on myself? Or, should I be concerned that I have an actual problem? |
Anonymous
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I highly doubt you are depressed OP, sounds more like you just aren't challenged enough like you stated.
Is there any way you can have more responsibility added to your job? |
Anonymous
| I think most of us have or will be there. Best of Luck |
Anonymous
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What do you do when you get home? When the kids are "done"? Are you feeling the same way there too, or is this just a work thing?
I think that would be key in figuring out if it's boredom or depression |
Anonymous
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The post year 2000 world is pretty boring.
Very boring in fact. |
Anonymous
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This sounds very normal for 45. I was surprised to learn that the mid-40's are actually the highest peak of unhappiness and depression. (not teenage years or old age, as one might suspect). They found this to be true regardless of country, socioeconomic status, gender (although it hits women a little earlier and men a little later).
google "mid-40s depression" and you'll find the study. Very interesting. It made me feel better when I was quite down; sort of like, okay this is just normal for awhile. |
Anonymous
| I'm 43 and feel the same. |
Anonymous
| ^ tell me about it. My life is a freaking gong show these days. I think I need an intervention. |
Anonymous
I second this. At my job, we work shortened days on Fridays and the office closes at 2 PM. My most productive day is Friday! An 8 hour work day just seems to drag on. If I was as productive each day as I am on Friday, I'd be finished with my daily work tasks in about 4-5 hours. That's why I have to add in the random internet surfing and DCUM posting. And it's a slippery slope to ask for more work/responsibility. I've had this backfire where SO much added work was given that I was swamped at never able to finish anything (and yes, without the unproductive internet surfing). At another job I saw someone who said they needed more to fill out their day, but instead of being given more, they were let go and their tasks were passed out. Management realized that if they didn't have enough to fill their day then it was more cost-effective to cut that salary and disperse the items around to 7 others. That may have just been a shitty company, though, because when a woman took her three week vacation all at once to care for a parent recovering from surgery, they realized that the people covering her tasks for those three weeks could easily do it along with their jobs, so when she came back from vacation, they let her work three days and let her go. I'm glad I got away from that place. I'd get a work hobby. I like to print and do crosswords. They're easy to shove under a stack of papers if I hear the boss coming and keep my mind stimulated. |
LoveLiveMusicDad
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| The good news -- appears like pure boredom, not depression. Definitely fixable. Pretty easy too. |
Anonymous
| What other things do you do to deal with the boredom? |
LoveLiveMusicDad
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| Happy to walk through it. PM me if you'd like. |
Anonymous
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As you said, getting more physical movement in your life would probably help.
Do you have a FitBit? Why not get one and see whether any of your friends have one (or want to get one), too. It's silly, but my BFF and I "challenge" each other every day. Not a serious competition, but it's fun knowing that someone else is seeing my step count, too. Sometimes it motivates me to get off my a$$ and take a walk. Or even to go to the gym. 
Seriously, it's the little things. Start with getting up and walking more. Maybe a Fitbit. Maybe just downloading podcasts to listen to on your phone. Better than surfing the internet. |
Anonymous
| Sounds like job burnout. You can only be interested in your job for so long before it becomes sooo boooooring. You're stuck there all day and you can't do what you want, which is to not be there. Try doing like spa things throughout the day, like comb your hair in the bathroom, go for a walk, close your eyes for 5 minutes, file your nails, drink something different than usual, but do little things all day long to break the monotony. You could also extend it to your commute by going a different way home or do something different on your lunch break, or listen to audio books in the car. |