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Boredom could be killing you very slooooowly

10/17/2012

If you're reading this and feeling bored (sorry), please do something about your ennui for the sake of your health. A new study, "The Unengaged Mind," highlights boredom's association with "increased drug and alcohol abuse, overeating, depression and anxiety, and an increased risk of making mistakes." Psychologist Dr. John Eastwood of York University, Canada, who co-authored the study, says "we've become passive recipients of stimulation" and in order to haul ourselves out of our yawn-inducing state of mind, we have to take more action than just grabbing the remote. "We say, 'I'm bored, so I'll put on the TV or go to a loud movie,'" he explained. "But boredom is like quicksand: the more we thrash around, the quicker we'll sink." [Source]

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