Ennui: How to Overcome Chronic Boredom

A person can suffer from ennui but not depression. Similarly, this also means that it’s possible for someone to suffer from depression but not ennui.

Depression is well defined from a clinical perspective, and is therefore a commonly used medical term, whereas ennui isn’t, and shouldn’t be viewed as such.

• Boredom means being in a mental state that is short-tern and caused mainly by situational and environmental factors
• Ennui relates to a mental state that is chronic and caused mainly by personality-based factors (a person's disposition).

The two terms are often used interchangeably.

• Think about what you truly want to do, because this can help you understand why you experience ennui.
• Talk to someone to get a better perspective regarding why you experience ennui.
• Change your routine to break away the monotony that causes you to experience ennui.
• Make an effort to interact with people.
• Remove unnecessary things that can promote your ennui and make things that you have to do feel more exciting.
• Rest and recharge.

• Ennui is associated with various dangers: it can cause people to engage in dangerous, sensation-seeking behaviors, in an effort to alleviate their boredom.
• Ennui can lead to a bad, self-perpetuating downward cycle: it causes you to go lower and lower, by leading you to a place where it feeds itself.