Julie Beck interviews Mary Mann, author of Yawn: Adventures in Boredom on the different facets of boredom. A long read, but worth the time especially if you’re facing or have faced boredom in life.

Here’s an excerpt:

Julie Beck: What do people even mean when they say they’re bored? You mention that we use that as an umbrella for a lot of different emotions. Is it a glossing over of deeper issues that people just don’t want to deal with?

 

Mary Mann: It can be a lot of different things. The way that researchers study it is as this feeling of irritated restlessness. You’re cranky, you’re sort of like, “Ugh, I gotta get out, I gotta do stuff.” It’s a very motivating force, which is what differentiates it from depression.