THE EXPERIENCE OF BOREDOM: IMPLICATIONS FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Antonietta Corvinelli, Ph.D. OTR 212boring.com April 10, 2008 Department of Occupational Therapy

THE BOREDOM EXPERIENCE Gustave Courbet, Portrait of Jo Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy THE BOREDOM EXPERIENCE TRY ASSESSMENTS DISCUSSION ENIGMATIC PROBLEM BACKGROUND METHODS INTERVIEW ACTIVITY RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS FOR OT ASK DR. TONI – THE BOREDOM EDITION Edgar Degas, Self Portrait Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy GOALS Introduce boredom Conversation Edgar Degas, Self-Portrait Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy ENIGMATIC PROBLEM Gerbrand van den Eeckhout Young Man in a Broad-rimmed Hat Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy BACKGROUND INFORMATION 11 Million in US (SAMHSA, 2006) % Relapse (NIDA, 2007) Sensation – Seeking (Zuckerman, 2005) Boredom in Treatment

Department of Occupational Therapy BACKGROUND contd Boredom & Substance Use (Johnson & OMalley, 1986) Boredom Proneness Scale (Farmer & Sundberg, 1986) OT & Flow (Sabari, 2004) Theoretical Underpinning

Department of Occupational Therapy THEORETICAL INFORMATION OPTIMAL AROUSAL SENSATION- SEEKING NORMAL & DISORDERED BOREDOM

Department of Occupational Therapy OPTIMAL AROUSAL (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) Dynamic Elements Static Definitions Anxiety Flow Boredom

Department of Occupational Therapy SENSATION - SEEKING THEORY (Zuckerman, 2005) High Sensation- Seeking Low Sensation- Seeking Emile Bernard, Breton Landscape Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy FENICHEL Normal Boredom Pathological Boredom Vincnet van Gogh, LArlesienne: Madame Joseph- Michel Ginoux Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy RESEARCH QUESTIONS What is boredom? How is boredom experienced?

Department of Occupational Therapy METHODS GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH PARTICIPANTS TWO INTERVIEWS CONSTANT COMPARATIVE METHOD TRUSTWORTHINESS

Department of Occupational Therapy Interview Protocol Describe how you started using drugs or alcohol. Describe a typical day beginning when you wake up. Please take a moment and imagine yourself in a situation that you found to be boring (or a situation in which you were bored). When you say youre bored, what do you mean? Tell me about an activity that you find boring. What do you do when you feel bored? Please tell me about a situation in the past week when you felt bored. Please tell me about situations of boredom before you started using substances. Please tell me about situations of boredom while you were actively using. Describe how becoming infected with HIV has changed your life. Please tell me about when you feel depressed. Please tell me about a time when you were not bored.

Department of Occupational Therapy PARTICIPANTS 6 Males; 2 Females 1-10 rehabilitation attempts Intravenous speed-balling 50% denied boredom Alphonse Mucha, Study for a Decorative Panel Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy FINDINGS Stillness Battling Boredom Keeping Busy & HIV Napoleon Sarony, Oscar Wilde Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy STILLNESS Yeah, thats what I mean by when I shut off, when Im ready to lay down and relax, its mostly like after ten [oclock]. See, cause normally I watch the news. Boredom means, when I shut everything off. Silence to me is boredom. Cause Im used to talking or, reacting, doing something, writing, but when its quiet time, its boredom to me.

Department of Occupational Therapy STILLNESS Im never bored, because Im not boring. Theres always something I need, or ought to, or could be doing. Maybe thats why I have clutter…. Boredom is actually not having anything I want or need to be doing, to keep busy …. Its [marijuana] my crutch. I see it as taking the edge off of my anger. Maybe thats where the boredom comes in for me. Sometimes when things, jobs, are tedious or mindless, or, painful, if I have a joint [marijuana cigarette], I can go ahead and do this. Or I can handle it if I smoke up a joint. I can clean up for example. Or declutter.

Department of Occupational Therapy STILLNESS No [Im not bored lately]. Im too tired to be bored….Boredom as far as boredom running around or, things to do, Im not bored, that way….Im kind of overwhelmed with different things Im trying to do and, things I need to do and, try to put things into place. This appointment, that appointment, seeing family and my nephews going in the army so Im trying to make some time somewhere to see him within the next few days. And Mothers Days coming up. Spend some time with my moms. Mars, my boyfriend. I have to make time for him too ….I mean physically or mentally bored? I can always sit down and plan something or put focus on what Im going to do for the next week. And put my paperwork together or, arrange how Im going to do things….

Department of Occupational Therapy STILLNESS I mean, I think were all livin. I mean were breathin, were functioning. Were walking around. Were alive. We have souls, but to me if youre stayin in your box, the role, whatever your social position is in life, to me thats not living. To me living is going beyond yourself. And maybe living somewhat on the edge, but not in a destructive way, but always challenging yourself to push yourself beyond who you are. Struggling, doing things that you dont know how to do. To me thats living. And doing things that you know how to do, to me that could get very boring. Its not satisfying. Its not gratifying. Its just like if you worked in a machine shop and anytime the machine came by you said Boom! Thats boring (silence). Its an unfulfilling way of living life. Thats dead to me. Being bored is being dead. Living, the other part of living, is, as I said, growing and developing. To me thats living.

Department of Occupational Therapy NEW FLOW? A gradual growth in learning Theoretical FlowStruggle Quick new learning in succession

Department of Occupational Therapy BATTLING BOREDOM I didnt think about boredom because I was too busy chasing money to do drugs. That was basically how I spent my days. Werent bored. Every day was different. But basically the same, being that I had to, the end result had to be that. Make money for the drugs.

Department of Occupational Therapy BATTLING BOREDOM At the beginning [coming back out [of jail]! Coming home [from the detoxification unit, and the four month incarceration from violating parole by using drugs], I was bored, I wasnt doing anything. I wasnt making any money….It [boredom] felt like I was dead and so like, I wanted me a drinks and I get maybe about this much of E & J, a brandy. And I thought Id be alright, but after I drink that little bit, it tasted nasty. It didnt taste good. And I dont like the way I feel and I throw it away. And I said I really dont know why I wanted it…. It [drinking] was something to do. And then I was hanging around with a few of my peers that wasnt get[ting] high at all. All they do is selling drugs getting money.

Department of Occupational Therapy BATTLING BOREDOM No, Im not bored. (silence). I like to keep my mind busy always …. When I feel bored, [You know enjoying different things]. I call my friend, I call my mother. Speak with somebody. You know (silence). I try to keep my mind [in a] positive way. No[t] in [a] negative way. This [is] the way I am. I do my volunteer job or I do my [political] meeting. I enjoy every day of my life. Like before I used drugs. Im coming back to my roots.

Department of Occupational Therapy BATTLING BOREDOM Sometimes my tape [memories] plays when Im bored. I like to keep busy. I maybe, to keep from being bored! I keep busy to keep from being bored! Because sometime boredom brings back memories of things that I did, and where I did, and what I did and, what was happening [getting raped, losing my apartment, losing the respect of my family]…. It [Watching TV] takes my mind off being bored. Its a different focus spot. Focusing on the TV. [Instead of] Focusing on, my shoulda, woulda, couldas, my tapes [memories] (chuckling). But basically Ive learned that I cant keep distracting myself either. I have to go through it. And know that I can go through it, without going back out there [to cocaine]. You have to practice there too…. Boredom can be good because it teaches you how to deal with things. Because if I react on it [boredom], I might be drugging again. Its [boredom is] an easy way for me to go back.

Department of Occupational Therapy BATTLING BOREDOM Johannes Vermeer, Woman with a Lute Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy BATTLING BOREDOM ….I mean I just ran for office. Something that I never thought Id ever do. Particularly when I was out there shooting drugs…. Thats very exciting. I mean that could be, get boring too. Now if you did it, for six months, a year and thats all you did, that could get pretty boring. But I didnt have to keep doing that. I could do something else…. Theres always kind of something to do.

Department of Occupational Therapy KEEPING BUSY & HIV [Being active] [Being politically active] Its challenging and, at times, very stressful. But different elements of it are just very gratifying too. And sometimes it feels overwhelming too. Resting, thats the biggest thing about it [being active]. Not trying to do too much in one day. Try to, balance your week or, few days that you have. That's basically it. Making sure I eat and take my medication properly. Which sometime can be an issue. And that's another thing that [I] have to fit into to all of this, which, because I'm on the go a lot. I don't cook. Hardly. Actually, I probably get my best meals here. Even though we complain all the time about the food, but its, the most balanced that I think I would get, because if Im going to a store, or if I'm whipping stuff up at home, it'll be a sandwich or, something not as nutritional as could be.

Department of Occupational Therapy KEEPING BUSY & HIV And sometimes I get more bored, when Im sick [fatigue, pain]. Cause then I dont feel like, getting up and doing nothing. Im kind of sick so I dont feel like doing excessive [house] work or excessive running to keep myself busy. So Im just sitting there. My tapes [memories] are just running [through my head].

Department of Occupational Therapy IMPLICATIONS Struggle vs. Flow Novel skills Exploration of wants Practice Framework

Department of Occupational Therapy CONCLUSION Keeping Busy Keeping Meaning Jean-Baptiste Carpeaus, Bust of a Bacchante Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Jim Hinojosa Dr. Ruth Segal Dr. Perry Halkitis Participants Mom & Dad & Aunt THANK YOU! Carpeaus, Self Portrait Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Occupational Therapy Ask Dr. Toni THE BOREDOM EDITION