Trauma Therapist in Los Angeles Answers: 6 Reasons Adults Get Bored

Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC

Holistic Anxiety, Trauma, and Attachment Therapist in Los Angeles

Feeling Bored, Stuck, or Just… Over It? Somatic Therapy in Los Angeles Can Help

You ever feel like you’re just going through the motions? Wake up, work, eat, scroll, sleep, repeat. You’re not miserable, but you’re not excited either. Life feels predictable, dull, and maybe even a little pointless.

Boredom isn’t just about “not having enough to do.” You could have a full schedule, a social life, and a million responsibilities and still feel stuck. When life starts to feel like a loop, it’s usually a sign that something deeper is going on.

For many people, boredom is actually a sign of nervous system dysregulation—a fancy way of saying your body is in shutdown mode. It’s the same reason burnout, anxiety, and emotional numbness all kind of blend together. When your brain and body aren’t fully engaged, nothing feels interesting. That’s where somatic therapy in Los Angeles comes in.

Somatic therapy helps you get out of autopilot mode and back into a place where you actually feel things again. Whether you’re dealing with stress, burnout, trauma, or just a general sense of “blah,” working with a somatic therapist in Los Angeles can help you reconnect with yourself, your emotions, and your life.

Therapist in Los Angeles Answers:

Why You Feel Bored & Disconnected—And How Somatic Therapy Helps

1. Boredom Might Be a Sign of Something Deeper

Boredom isn’t always just boredom. Sometimes, it’s a warning sign that your nervous system is completely fried. If you’ve been through burnout, chronic stress, or unresolved trauma, your body might have shut down as a way to protect itself.

This can look like:

Feeling disconnected from everything—even the stuff you used to care about
Constantly distracting yourself—scrolling, binge-watching, staying busy just to avoid feeling anything
Swinging between exhaustion and restlessness—too drained to do anything, but too wired to relax

Your nervous system isn’t just being difficult—it’s in survival mode. When you’ve been overwhelmed for too long, your body learns to shut down to keep you safe. It numbs things out. It keeps you running on autopilot. It makes everything feel… flat.

And this is why talk therapy alone isn’t always enough. You can’t just “think” your way out of this. Your body has to actually feel safe enough to re-engage with life. Somatic therapy works with your nervous system to help you shift out of survival mode, so you can start actually feeling again.

2. The Mindless Scroll & Numb-Out Cycle

You open Instagram for one second and suddenly 45 minutes have disappeared. And what do you have to show for it? A mild headache and the soul-crushing realization that you’ve been staring at strangers dancing in their kitchens.

Or maybe it’s Netflix—you tell yourself you’re just watching one episode, but suddenly it’s 2 AM and you’ve finished an entire season.

Social media and binge-watching give your brain just enough stimulation to keep you hooked, but not enough to actually feel fulfilled. It’s like eating junk food—instant hit, no real nourishment.

When your brain gets used to passive stimulation, it can make real-world engagement feel harder. Therapy can help retrain your system to seek out real, meaningful experiences instead of just distractions.

3. You’ve Lost Touch With What Actually Feels Good

At some point, life became all about what needs to get done—and less about what actually feels good. We trade playfulness for productivity, and after a while, we stop knowing how to have fun at all.

When you’ve been stuck in survival mode for too long, you start to lose connection with what you actually want and need. That feeling of being restless but also unmotivated? That’s a sign you’re out of sync with yourself.

The thing is, your nervous system thrives on novelty, play, and movement. If life starts feeling too predictable, your body adapts by tuning things out. That’s why the things that should be enjoyable often just feel like meh.

Reconnecting with yourself isn’t about forcing hobbies or “finding a passion.” It’s about helping your body feel safe enough to experience emotions, pleasure, and excitement again—without judgment.

4. The Never-Ending Cycle of Adulting

Wake up. Work. Emails. Dishes. Run to Target for one thing, leave with 20. Scroll on your phone. Sleep. Repeat. Adulting is just a series of responsibilities that never f*cking end.

The human brain wasn’t built for this kind of routine-driven exhaustion. When everything starts feeling predictable, your nervous system shifts into autopilot mode—a low-energy survival state where things feel dull and repetitive.

If life feels like an endless to-do list, your nervous system might be stuck in a state of disconnection. Therapy can help retrain your body to engage with the present moment again—without forcing it.

Bored? Or Stuck? Let’s Get You Unstuck.

Boredom isn’t about “not having enough to do.” It’s about your nervous system being disconnected from real engagement.

If you’re ready to stop feeling numb, restless, or like life is just happening to you, somatic therapy in Los Angeles can help.

What to Do For Boredom

How Somatic Therapy in Los Angeles Helps You Break Out of Freeze Mode

So if boredom isn’t just about having nothing to do, how do you actually get unstuck?

This is where somatic therapy in LA comes in. Unlike traditional talk therapy—which focuses mostly on your thoughts—somatic therapy works with your body and nervous system to help you feel present, engaged, and alive again.

When your nervous system is in shutdown mode, no amount of “thinking positive” or forcing yourself to care is going to work. You need to wake your body up again in a way that feels safe and natural.

Somatic therapy helps by:
✔ Reconnecting your mind and body so you stop feeling emotionally numb
✔ Helping you regulate stress and anxiety so you’re not constantly in burnout mode
✔ Using movement, breathwork, and mindfulness to bring you out of “freeze mode” and back into the present
✔ Processing stuck emotions so they don’t keep weighing you down

You don’t have to live in autopilot mode forever. Somatic therapy in Los Angeles can help you feel like yourself again—engaged, excited, and actually living your life instead of just getting through it.

Book a free consultation today and let’s start breaking out of that stuck feeling.

What is Boredom?

Boredom is a signal that is sent to our mind and body that we are stagnant. Being stagnant isn’t just, “Oh, I’m feeling lazy and blah” or becoming one with the couch. Stagnancy is a direct threat to our health – and a direct threat to our evolution as a species. When we are stagnant, energy gets trapped in our bodies. This causes a multitude of health issues such as chronic fatigue, inflammation, and autoimmune disorders. Plus, stagnancy can lead to depression and/or anxiety, which can further impact physical and mental symptoms.

With depression, it can become very difficult to get outside of the house to go on a walk; the idea of working out can seem impossible. If we don’t exercise and move, it’s “bad news bears” for our bodies. When we look at the huge domino effect that stagnancy could have on 1 single person, it can make it easier to see the purpose and function of boredom.

We better thank our lucky stars that boredom exists because without it…we might not have lasted very long as a species.

The Purpose of Boredom

Boredom (like all our emotions) helps our survival as a species. Boredom is an indication that something in your routine isn’t working. This can help boost creativity, give us time to focus on ourselves, and even help us learn new ways of coping aka surviving.

From an evolutionary perspective, boredom gave us opportunities to look for someone to mate with. In the 21st century, we can see this manifested with the hours of scrolling through dating sites likes Tinder or Instagram. The only issue is that mindlessly scrolling doesn’t help our brains. It’s just making us more bored.

Trauma Therapist Los Angeles breaks down:

3 Ways to Deal with Your Boredom

1) Recognize and honor it.

If you notice yourself feeling bored, first identify it. Ask yourself, “How do I know that I’m bored?” “Where do I feel the boredom in my body?” “What is my boredom trying to tell me?” If we identify and honor the feeling, we can learn a lot about ourselves and our needs.

2) Don’t Shame It – Reframe It!

Boredom can be an unpleasant experience. But unlike the Harvey Danger song, being bored does NOT mean that you’re boring. Shaming our boredom can just push it down deeper and deeper, becoming an “exiled” part of our internal system. Shaming = Self sabotage because pushing it deeper and deeper will just make it last longer.

Instead, reframe your boredom! Remember, our emotions are always trying to help us survive. So invite your boredom in and explore it.

3) Seek Therapy

If you notice that your boredom may be depression in disguise, it may be time to seek therapy. Perhaps you started working from home in 2020 due to Covid, and find yourself bored with the same 4 walls that you see every single day. Or maybe you’re finding it difficult to find the motivation to go on a walk or see your friends. Therapy can help you process your experience during the pandemic, and help you understand what you are experiencing today.

Connect with a Therapist in Los Angeles

Meet Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC

Hi! I’m Cheryl Groskopf, a therapist based in Los Angeles specializing in anxiety, trauma, and attachment therapy. Understanding the reasons you get bored can unlock paths to deeper fulfillment and engagement in our daily lives. If you find these insights resonate with you and you’re seeking ways to navigate through these feelings, I’d love to help. I’m here to help guide you through this exploration and towards a more engaged and meaningful life. Ready to break free from boredom and rediscover joy? Let’s get started on this journey together.

A Trauma Therapist in Los Angeles Answers: Can Trauma Cause Boredom?

It’s unlikely that trauma itself enhances boredom, as trauma can have a significant impact on overall mental health and well-being.

Trauma can cause and/or enhance many mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These conditions are often associated with feelings of intense emotion rather than boredom, but they also can lead to feeling detached or dissociated. This feeling of “not being present” can look like feeling bored because of lack of interest or pleasure in doing things that used to be enjoyable – leading to a sense of apathy.

Individuals with PTSD or other trauma-related disorders (like CPTSD) may struggle with emotional regulation and disconnection from their experiences.

While trauma may not directly enhance cause, it can certainly impact how we see and relate with ourselves and the world around you.

Cure Boredom With a Trauma Therapist in Los Angeles

Set Up A consultation for trauma therapy

If you’re seeking a trauma therapist in Los Angeles to help with your boredom, feel free to reach out. My name is Cheryl Groskopf, and I specialize in the treatment of anxiety, low self-esteem from insecure attachment style, and complex PTSD. We can explore the purpose of your boredom, and assess if your symptoms are actually depression or anxiety in disguise. If you feel stuck in autopilot mode, it may be time to explore and change up your subconscious routines.

Contact Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC and Take Charge of Your Anxiety

Online Therapy California: Holistic Therapist Los Angeles

Cheryl Groskopf is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), and has helped many individuals navigate through their challenges and find meaningful solutions.Her expertise includes working with individuals dealing with anxiety, trauma, depression, grief, and attachment issues. Cheryl’s approach to therapy is compassion based, collaborative, and tailored to the unique needs of each individual she works with. Her goal is to create a warm and supportive space where clients feel heard, understood, and empowered to make positive changes in their lives.