Have you noticed this habit of taking out your phone as soon as three seconds of silence sets in? Untimely scrolling or frantic search for activities, we now flee the slightest break. However, on the social network TikTok and in the podcast El Consultori, a Catalan psychologist is sounding the alarm: this constant emptiness exhausts our brain.
Dopamine: when too much pleasure destroys our sensations
In a society accustomed to everything, immediately, the absence of breaks ends up spoiling our feelings. This phenomenon is explained by the functioning of our dopaminergic system. The psychologist Joan Soler, whose reflections relayed by the Spanish daily La Vanguardia, explains this very clearly.
“What we need are points of pain, I would even go so far as to say boredom.” Indeed, this analysis of the hedonic adaptation mechanism. Because our brain very quickly gets used to repeated pleasure, to the point of no longer feeling it.
To understand better, the expert takes the example of a concert. “There are no absolutes. There are comparisons. If you go to a concert, the strongest moment is because there was a quieter part before. If everything was at maximum all the time, it would no longer be stimulating“.
And our brain chemistry works on the same model. “With dopamine, it’s the same. If I always stay at the top, this summit no longer does anything to me. I then need a new high, and this is how the behaviors intensify until they reach unpredictable excesses, as in any addiction.”
Social networks and hyperstimulation: learning to unplug again
Ubiquitous screens, uninterrupted news feeds, entertainment just a click away… Any downtime immediately disappears from our days. Faced with this emotional overload, the psychologist’s reaction is clear: “We need to be bored to feel.”
To rediscover real sensations, the expert recommends reintroducing calm breaks, such as a trip without a phone or an evening without a screen. “Without contrast, there is no meaning. We must begin to experience the calm, the boredom and the small discomforts of daily life again.”
Daily discomforts: an essential step in growing up
These little annoyances have a real psychological use. The speaker specifies: “Uncomfortable conversations or shame also teach you things. You are there, you feel, and thanks to that you learn and you become human.” Boredom, temporary embarrassment or disagreement then become learning opportunities.
Be careful, however, to differentiate between temporary frustration and deeper suffering. These moments must remain punctual and linked to specific situations. If this void becomes permanent, the desire completely disappears or boredom transforms your daily life into distress, consulting a mental health professional remains essential.