Dr. Kevin Gary - Coping With Existential Boredom

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

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Existential boredom is a challenge for many that can lead to a pathological engagement with shallow amusements (which may only deepen the despair and lead to more boredom). Dr. Kevin Gary joins us for a discussion of some of the core themes covered in his book Why Boredom Matters: Education, Leisure, and the Quest for a Meaningful Life. In this discussion we cover:

• why Dr. Gary wanted to write this book
• situational vs. existential boredom
• comparing and contrasting existential boredom and depression
• the benefits of making our boredom explicit rather than pushing it away
• the relationship between boredom and despair
• the despair of possibility vs. despair of necessity and the impact on mood
• the unique challenges that aging might pose with respect to boredom
• identifying constructive & nonconstructive ways of coping crafting an effective leisure practice
• how to "fall back in love" with an activity or passion that used to drive us but we have become disenchanted with
• healthy boredom vs. unhealthy boredom (like something that might arise with ADHD)

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Bio: Kevin Gary is a professor at Valparaiso University, where he teaches theology, education, and in the Christ College Honors Program. Kevin's work addresses questions about meaning and purpose, focusing especially on human flourishing. His book Why Boredom Matters: Education, Leisure, and the Quest for a Meaningful Life was published by Cambridge University Press in 2022. Kevin examines the problem of boredom and related problems associated with boredom avoidance. Rather than avoid or resign ourselves to boredom, he charts a middle way that guides us to how to productively and wisely contend with this troubling mood state.