Being Human - The Anatomy of Boredom

Firstly, Boredom is adaptive as a transient state, but dangerous as a chronic condition.

To tell the difference between the two, psychologists designed this test, known as the Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS) and devised in 1986, as a way of distinguishing between a) those who suffer transient boredom and b) from those who suffer chronic boredom.

The following statements should be answered using a 7-point scale — from ’1′ (highly disagree), to ’4′ (neutral), to ’7 ‘(highly agree).

1. It is easy for me to concentrate on my activities.
2. Frequently when I am working I find myself worrying about other things.
3. Time always seems to be passing slowly.
4. I often find myself at “loose ends”, not knowing what to do.
5. I am often trapped in situations where I have to do meaningless things.
6. Having to look at someone’s home movies or travel slides bores me tremendously.
7. I have projects in mind all the time, things to do.
8. I find it easy to entertain myself.
9. Many things I have to do are repetitive and monotonous.
10. It takes more stimulation to get me going than most people.
11. I get a kick out of most things I do.
12. I am seldom excited about my work.
13. In any situation I can usually find something to do or see to keep me interested.
14. Much of the time I just sit around doing nothing.
15. I am good at waiting patiently.
16. I often find myself with nothing to do, time on my hands.
17. In situations where I have to wait, such as a line I get very restless.
18. I often wake up with a new idea.
19. It would be very hard for me to find a job that is exciting enough.
20. I would like more challenging things to do in life.
21. I feel that I am working below my abilities most of the time.
22. Many people would say that I am a creative or imaginative person.
23. I have so many interests, I don’t have time to do everything.
24. Among my friends, I am the one who keeps doing something the longest.
25. Unless I am doing something exciting, even dangerous, I feel half-dead and dull.
26. It takes a lot of change and variety to keep me really happy.
27. It seems that the same things are on television or the movies all the time; it’s getting old.
28. When I was young, I was often in monotonous and tiresome situations.

To find out your own proneness to boredom, add up the total of the scores you gave each question.

The average score is 99, and the average range 81-117. If you scored above 117, you become bored easily, and if you scored below 81, your boredom threshold is very high.

Researchers have found that some people have a metabolic proneness to chronic boredom, correlated with neurotransmitter imbalances and higher risks for depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, gambling, hostility, low academic performance, and more.

NB: Be cautious in assuming causality; chronic boredom can be just a symptom of these chemical imbalances, along with risk-taking and sensation-seeking, rather than a causative agent.

Meanwhile, those who suffer only transient boredom have been found to perform better in various aspects of life, including work, education, and personal autonomy.

More information
By looking at everything from body language in classical paintings to studies from some of the world’s best neuroscience labs, a book written by Peter Toohey: Boredom: A Lively History, examines boredom as an adaptive mechanism.

It goes on to paint a portrait of boredom that is at once a sweeping cultural observation across time and space and a deeply relatable, personal lens on this most unglamorous yet most universal aspect of what it means to be human.

Sleep Infographic: What If You Don't Sleep Enough?

To see the full Infographic chart click on the sample image.

How many times have you told yourself "... it's just sleep." but what happens to your health when you're not sleeping enough?

This infographic designed by FFunction for Zeo, a company that makes an electronic "sleep coach," is less of a real data visualization than a set of illustrated facts but those facts are pretty impressive.

For example, we seem pretty tired all the time and only 7% of people get the necessary eight hours of sleep at night but the effects of this might be more than inconvenient. They may be disasterous.

Getting less sleep is now associated with a 200% rise in cancer, a 100% rise in heart disease, and a 20% rise in the likelihood you'll be dead in 20 years.

UnfortunatelY, not only will you be less healthy, you'll also be fatter. People who sleep an hour more each day lose 14.3 pounds per year and 1 in 3 women find themselves too sleepy for sex!

Studies have shown that sleeping too little effectively puts the body on "high alert," creating increased stress hormones and chemicals associated with inflammation.

Job Losses, Unemployment and Depression

Job loss and unemployment are all too common in tehse troubled times and each can hit their victims hard.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
When people lose their jobs, they also lose a significant components of their identity, confidence and self-esteem. Along with this, comes a sudden disruption to their well-established daily routines and financial security.

Job loss and unemployment seriously undermines a person's feelings of self-worth, comfort, security and personal control. The first step on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Traumatic loss
In the current economic environment, job loss is a traumatic experience. People say they are terrified that they are not going to get a new job, what they mean is that their basic sense of what they are worth and who they are, has been seriously compromised.

The emotional impact of an individual experiencing a traumatic job loss, is akin to the death of a close family member, a divorce or a car accident: They feel defeated, demoralised, a sense of loss, disoriented, worthless, rejected and scared. Depression can, and does, easily follow.

Handling Rejection
Today's merciless job searches compound people's feelings of fear and worthlessness. There is little or no feedback and therefore no payback for all your efforts. Clearly, it is not a deliberate action, but this lack of feedback from recruiters and employers, leads job seekers to further doubt their value.

Depression
The emotional roller-coaster that job seekers experience, when looking for work is normal, but it can so easily trigger a paralysing depression. Mental health experts say negative, self-defeating thoughts can so easily take over the minds of job seekers and govern their behaviour.

People will indulge in coping mechanisms and in self-depricating behavour; over-eating or under-eating, sleeping too much or too little. When depression sets in, conducting a job search and crawling out of unemployment becomes even harder.

Conclusion
If looking for a new job is really getting you down, seek help from the experts. If you need help to find a new job then don't be afraid or too proud to accept it, from wherever you can.

Join a job club or seek advice from a professional agency. They will provide you with resources and good hard-won practical advice as well as keeping your morale and motivation high.

If your mood sinks into a depression, them you may be the last one to admit it but be honest with yourself. If you are becoming less active and have stopped enjoying other people's company or have stopped enjoying your favourite activities, seek professional help from your doctor.

You are not mad, crazy, useless or any of the other things that your 'head' tells you, you are simply in a period of unemployment during a global economic recession. Keep pitching and trying. Things will change and you will win through.

Workplace suicides in the US surges 28% in 2009

Workplace suicides in the US rose dramatically by 28% this year, according to the US Labor Department.

Circumstances have certainly not improved in the working environment, as anxious workers watched colleagues depart in a rash of layoffs and were left alone to manage their survivor's guilt.

At the same time, the agency's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said the total number of workers who died on the job from any cause fell 12%.

The 5,071 workplace fatalities recorded in 2008 was the lowest number since the agency began tracking the data in 1992. That number includes 251 suicides, the highest number since official reporting began.

Labor officials did not seek to explain the sudden rise in workplace suicides. A BLS spokesman said the agency plans to research it more extensively, and will anounce their findings at a later date.

The agency said that it is very likely that current economic factors could be responsible for the overall decline in fatalities. Workers on average worked 1% fewer hours last year and the construction industry, which usually accounts for a major share of serious accidents or accidental workplace deaths, posted even larger than normal declines in employment and hours worked.

Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University, said the numbers show that the struggling economy is taking a direct toll and negative impact on worker morale.

"Those who are still working at companies where there have been substantial layoffs, are trying to cope with survivor's guilt, and the anxiety that they may be next." Chaison said. "I also think there's tremendous anxiety for the future, in the American workplace. It's not just being anxious, its gone beyond that it is now a true depression."

Chaison added a note of caution, saying that the numbers may be 'temporary extremes' that will drift back toward normal, historical levels once employment rises and economic conditions improve.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called the decline in workplace fatalities a "change in the right direction," but said it does not lessen the need for stronger safety enforcement to prevent accidental injuries.

"Today's report prompts us to step up our vigilance, particularly as the economy regains momentum," Solis said.

Here are some details on other findings:
• Fatal work injuries in the construction sector plummeted 20%.
• Workplace homicides dropped 18%.
• Fatal workplace falls declined 20% in 2008, after rising to a historic high in 2007.
• The number of fatal work injuries declined for all age categories except among the 'risk prone' 16 and 17-year-old workers.