6 differences between boredom and apathy: What is the difference? Chronic boredom: What is the danger?

Boredom, apathy, monotony, emptiness, meaninglessness - if you are familiar with these concepts, read the article.

Content

Sometimes we experience emotions or sensations that have a certain resemblance to others and can lead to confusion. For example - boredom and apathy. It seems that this is one and the same, but this is not so. In this case, it is worth finding the main differences between these concepts.

Read on our website an article on is it useful to cry with stress and depression. You will learn how tears can improve the psychological state.

First, it is worthwhile to understand what characterizes each of these definitions in order to learn how to easily distinguish, focusing on those details that distinguish both of these sensations. Let's look at them in this article.

Boredom, apathy, monotonium: what is it?

Although at certain moments a person can doubt what exactly he feels, it is worth understanding that there are differences between boredom and apathy. Knowledge of this helps us to distinguish these concepts and be able to correctly outline our condition. There is another term of feelings similar to the previous ones - this is a monotonium.

The first thing to understand is what is each of these feelings that a person feels. Therefore, we will begin by determining these concepts in order to have at least some idea, and to move on. Read more:

Boredom - This is a feeling of discomfort that a person experiences when he lives in a certain situation that does not cause interest or motivation. This usually happens with repeated stimuli or with rapid fatigue.
Apathy associated with indifference to something. A person suffering from this disease shows a lack of emotionality and enthusiasm. He loses the motivation to engage in any activity, whatever it may be. This will not be a reaction to a specific stimulus, but rather the general condition of this particular person.
Monotonium - This is a state of low performance that occurs in situations of monotonous work with a frequent repetition of the same actions in the everyday external environment.

So, we figured out concepts. Now you can consider in more detail what is the difference between boredom and apathy in order to correctly distinguish between these two phenomena. Monotony rarely arises and everything is clear about this concept, so we will not consider it. Below are the main differences in boredom and apathy. Read further.

Desire: The main difference between boredom and apathy

The first and main difference boredom from apathy - This is a desire to perform certain actions. When we are talking about boredom, a person wants to perform an action that is different from what he does (if he does something). But with apathy, the situation is different. A person experiencing this feeling does not want to engage in one or another activity.

Motivation: a clear difference between boredom and apathy

Another difference between boredom and apathy consists in motivation. A person who is bored wants to do some kind of business. It’s just that he does not like the situation in which he is at the moment, either because of the lack of activity, or due to the fact that the activity he does is tiring.

However, in a state apathy There is no such motivation for any activity. A person is in a state of complete loss of interest in the implementation of a particular exercise, whatever it may be.

Purpose: The biggest difference between boredom and apathy?

If you focus on some purpose or usefulness boredom and apathy, You can notice that the first state acts as an alarm for a person. It pushes a person to find a different type of action that will satisfy him. This would be an incentive that encourages a person to direct all his resources towards his positive actions.

Against, apathy It does not encourage a person to act, just the opposite. This would plunge him into a kind of lethargy, because of which he would not want to take any action. Therefore, we note that this is one of the big differences between boredom and apathy.

Reason: pathology or just the difference between boredom and apathy?

As for the reason, then boredom It can be caused simply by the lack of motivation for a specific task (or its absence) and the desire to do another, as was already described above. But apathy In some cases, a pathological component may have. In fact, it is believed that at the clinical level the constant state of apathy can be an indicator of the risk of depression.

In other cases, if depression does not develop, then a dissociative personality disorder may appear, which is more serious in terms of mental health. In addition, it must be borne in mind that sometimes apathy It can also be chemical. For example, as a side effect when taking certain drugs.

Symptoms - boredom, apathy or other illness: how to distinguish?

Continuing to distinguish boredom and apathy, it is clearly seen that apathy can be a symptom of a number of diseases, for example, depression. But this condition can be observed in patients suffering from other pathologies - schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson, Wernick or schizoid personality disorder (splitting of the psyche into several states with schizophrenia).

It is worth noting: Depression rarely passes on its own. Often this condition must be treated precisely drugs - antidepressants.

As for boredom, it does not have a clinical value in itself, since it is a temporary state that usually disappears. This usually happens when a person finds some goal and sets himself a task that motivates him more or for some reason is more pleasant.

A means of protecting against boredom and apathy: when do you need the help of a psychologist?

When with boredom, the decision to get out of this state is to find a target during which it will be pleasant to spend time. Activity in this sense more enrich the state from the inside in terms of emotionality. Passive entertainment acts as a kind of temporary patch.

In this way:

Boredom You can get rid of a fairly simple way - find yourself instead of one unpleasant lesson, somewhat interesting.
Sometimes all that a person needs at the moment is to start work to eliminate the unpleasant sensation in which he is immersed.
This can be done independently, simply rethinking what you do and what leads to boredom.

But apathy It has more complex reasons and therefore requires more important solutions. Especially when we are talking about clinical apathy, as described in previous points. In this case, the help of a professional psychologist will be required, since apathy in this case is a symptom of a serious pathology requiring treatment. If you do not pass it, then the condition will only worsen, and a person himself will not be able to help himself out of this state.

Chronic boredom: What is the danger?

Above we examined a number of differences between boredom and apathy. It is clear that these are very different states, and it is obvious that apathy entails more difficulties with health and risks for the human psyche. However, there is a form of boredom, which can also carry some dangers - this is its chronic state.

There is a type of people who, faced with a sense of constant boredom, can experience an unpleasant uncomfortable state for themselves.
It is this that can lead to the manifestation of risky behavior for the psyche, which will compensate for this feeling.
Among such types of behavior is the appearance of dependencies, such as alcoholism or drug addiction.
Others may try to reduce the alarm caused by boredom due to a disorder of food behavior - large portions or frequent meals. Such people may develop food disorder, such as bulimia.

Obviously, these are extreme cases, and they are extremely complex. It is worth analyzing them in detail. After all, it is likely that the problem, which ultimately led to the emergence of this situation in a person, was involved in other alarming states of the psyche.

Conclusion: apathy is more serious than boredom

Delving into difference between boredom and apathy, Above we paid more attention to some characteristics of apathy. The above was said:

This affective state leads a person to emotional exhaustion, in which he does not experience either positive or negative feelings.
This is a psychopathological state in which a person loses its desire to perform any activity, and also feels that he does not even have enough strength and energy for this.
Therefore, he cannot get out of such an emotional state and he does not have the strength or desire to participate in any activity.

Not in all cases, people with apathy manifest such serious symptoms. But when this happens, human health can be serious and complex mental pathologies can develop. Therefore, a person must receive the necessary psychological assistance in order to overcome and restore the adequate state of his psyche. If this is not done, then the probability that apathy can develop into depression. This condition is much more difficult to treat and its consequences are much more serious than just boredom or monotony. This can lead to addictions, suicide and other similar actions.

Did you or your loved ones have such that they lost interest in work or life? As you yourself got out or helped others get rid of such states. Tell us in the comments.