Is Boredom a Disease?

Weariness and boredom are treated as potentially dangerous in early Christian thought, alongside assurances that heaven will not be boring. Boredom is traced across Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and Romantic eras, showing that neither boredom pathologies nor distinctions between boredom forms are purely modern. Interpretations shift over time: boredom becomes secular by the end of the Middle Ages, Romanticism frames it as a hunger for meaning and sometimes a spur to creativity, and industrial critiques link it to repetitive work that traps people. In the 20th century, boredom is portrayed as widespread, with many seeking relief through constant stimulation from mass media and entertainment.

"Drawing on verses from Proverbs, St. Augustine warned Christians, including those “who had escaped the dangers of ignorance and concupiscence,” to “watch out, for weariness and boredom may kill you.” When asked how saints spend their time in heaven, however, Augustine declared that “none of us must imagine it's going to be so boring there.” Work will not be toilsome, nor rest slothful, and no one shall want. Joy and happiness will be fully realized, and “there shall be praise of God without surfeit and without stint.”"

"In The Disease of Boredom, Josefa Ros Velasco draws on an army of clergy, philosophers, and writers from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and Romantic eras to demonstrate that, contrary to popular belief, neither “pathologies” of boredom nor distinctions between different forms of it are modern creations. She then examines whether and when boredom should be labelled a disease, its dysfunctional and functional features, and how it has been and should be treated."

"Ros Velasco tracks shifts in interpretations of the causes and symptoms of boredom. By the end of the Middle Ages, she notes, boredom had been secularized. Proponents of Romanticism described boredom as a soulful hunger to experience meaning in a world characterized by rigidity and oppression, and for some, a spur to creativity. In the industrial age, critics claimed that repetitive tasks left many people feeling trapped and bored."

"In the 20th century, boredom appeared to be a universal experience. Millions of people sought relief in “the continuous shift of internal and external stimulation” offered by radio, television, movies, professional sports contests,"

Read at Psychology Today