Before you fix a feeling, name it. “Bored” and “lonely” need totally different things.

A wrong label leads straight to a wrong remedy. Bored and lonely both feel like restlessness, so people scroll at both, which helps one and quietly worsens the other. Naming it properly is how you find out whether you need a person, a task, food or sleep. Most bad evenings are a real feeling met with the wrong fix.

When the restlessness shows up, stop for ten seconds and pick a word before you pick an action. If it is lonely, message somebody instead of opening an app; if it is bored, make something or get outside. Keep score for a week of which guesses were right.