Boredom - a very real road to addiction

Wishbone

New Member
As the saying goes... "An idle mind is the devil's playground." Anyone with too much time on their hands may find themselves in hot, troubled waters. People who tend to be bored may also be weary or restless because of lack of any personal interests. They are bored with themselves, their jobs and life.

Boredom usually stems from one's own lack of motivation, endeavor or creativity. Everyone gets bored now and then, but it is the difference between changing that mood to healthy alternatives versus sitting around with friends "passing the pipe" for a few high flying hits. This kind of boredom can ultimately lead to an anti-social, destructive path toward addiction.



https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/heartache-hope/201304/boredom-very-real-road-addiction

A few threads here and there on the boards, along with articles I've come across about drug use made me think back a few decades.

My circle of friends is smaller, however we all seemed to have other things to do or spend money on, whether it was our cars, sports, guns, whatever. There was very little boredom. Can it be as simple, for a few now not everyone, just to keep them engaged and busy?
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out

A few threads here and there on the boards, along with articles I've come across about drug use made me think back a few decades.

My circle of friends is smaller, however we all seemed to have other things to do or spend money on, whether it was our cars, sports, guns, whatever. There was very little boredom. Can it be as simple, for a few now not everyone, just to keep them engaged and busy?



Yup


Iceland; https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-01-iceland-teen-substance-abuse-rest.html

"We didn't say to them, you're coming in for treatment. We said, we'll teach you anything you want to learn: music, dance, hip hop, art, martial arts." The idea was that these different classes could provide a variety of alterations in the kids' brain chemistry, and give them what they needed to cope better with life: some might crave an experience that could help reduce anxiety, others may be after a rush.

Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-01-iceland-teen-substance-abuse-rest.html#jCp
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
Are you aware of the rat/heroin test?

Some time ago, a test was done, rats in a cage, water or heroin. They chose heroin. Conclusion; heroin is really addictive.

Someone revisited that and thought the isolation and lack of choices may be the problem. Enter rat world. They re-did the test but with OTHER rats in the cage AND lots and lost of activities for the rats, things to play with, tunnels, all sorts of stuff. The rats tried the heroin but chose mostly water. Conclusion; having nothing to do is bad. Having fun, interesting and stimulating things to do is good.

You've come across the underlying issue; chemistry.
 

This_person

Well-Known Member
Are you aware of the rat/heroin test?

Some time ago, a test was done, rats in a cage, water or heroin. They chose heroin. Conclusion; heroin is really addictive.

Someone revisited that and thought the isolation and lack of choices may be the problem. Enter rat world. They re-did the test but with OTHER rats in the cage AND lots and lost of activities for the rats, things to play with, tunnels, all sorts of stuff. The rats tried the heroin but chose mostly water. Conclusion; having nothing to do is bad. Having fun, interesting and stimulating things to do is good.

You've come across the underlying issue; chemistry.

I would love to learn more about that. If you have any links or remember any of the researchers/dates - anything that might help me find it besides googling "rats and heroin" (not gonna do that), I'd really appreciate it.
 
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