If you’re having a bad week in your job where most of what you do is sit and read or write whether it’s letters, emails, computer programs, anything, how do you stay motivated? Even if you’re a naturally energetic person, such passive activities will suck the energy right out of you like a black hole. You’re a social animal, just like the person sitting adjacent to you, why not take a break and chat for a few minutes every so often? Take a short break, walk around and get some snacks. Don’t go to a vending machine, go to a shop where you’ll interact with people, even if it’s just small talk. If you’re at a job where you can’t be social, then quit right away because it’s not worth it. That’s coming from an introvert! You’ll be depressed, it will ruin your night because you’ve lost the energy to live and do something interesting, your mental health will decay and your physical health will follow.
Socializing is energizing and you need energy to live, if you’re not living you’re rotting. I’m not talking about physical energy, and yes you also need that to live, but psychological energy–the energy that you feel you have. The fact that you feel energetic after being physically exaulsted means that you’ve had a good time. You eat to to replenish physical energy, and similarly you socialize to replenish psychological energy, it’s the food of the brain.
The term “food for thought” colloquially refers to challenging problems that are supposed to stimulate and energize your brain. That’s a misnomer. Challenging and interesting problems are exercise for the brain, not food. When was the last time you heard someone recommend ‘challenging puzzles’ as a remedy for depression? When you are depressed you need energy, and you need food, not exercise. Colloquial food for thought only becomes “food” for thought when you face an interesting problem and you begin a dialog with yourself. Everyone has a mental voice, and when you’re thinking, you are constantly challenging yourself. “What if things behave this way instead of that way?”, “what if I did this instead of that?” and you answer your own questions. Your brain is simulating two brains in a dialog. This is more evident when you’re thinking about social situations where you think about talking to your friends and predict their response based on your mental image of them. Sometimes you might even get ‘worked up’ by your thoughts of social situations, at least then you feel angry, happy or upset; not depressed and lonely. It’s still energy and you can convert happiness, anger or sadness to other emotions and be overwhelmed by them. You can’t do the same with loneliness.
So if you’re bored and lonely, take a break from your routines and get some real food for thought.
