Featured on his 1998 album Ghetto Fabulous, rapper Mystikal released a song entitled “I Smell Smoke.” Personally, I prefer the chopped-not-slopped version of the track. Rapping about the consumption of marijuana (“weed”), the rapper states:
Break it up, chop it up, cut it up, tuck the end
Take the filler out and roll it up
Light it, hit it, hold it, pass it
Puff, puff, blow it up
Seem some of y’all niggas be talkin’ about blowin’ [smoking]
But can’t handle the doja [weed]
Getting sleepy an’ shit, quittin’ all early
Bitch, you ain’t no smoker
Y’all must be used to hittin’ that dirt [cheap weed]
The sticks with the brown buds
Me, I ain’t got shit else to do
Nigga, I’m ‘bout to get fucked up
Two cases of green Optimos [cigar brand] burned away
a.m. done turned to p.m.
And nighttime done turned back to day
I’m, still smokin’
Mystikal adequately describes his use of weed as a coping strategy to deal with boredom—the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest. In this case, weed facilitates escapism—diversion of the mind to imaginative activity, entertainment, or substance use as an escape from reality or routine.
In particular, Mystikal outright declares, “Me, I ain’t got shit else to do. Nigga, I’m ‘bout to get fucked up.” Although there’s nothing inherently bad or wrong with some forms of escapism in relation to boredom, I think about what underlies one’s weary and restless state – other than having nothing else to do.
Noteworthy, “coping” refers to the act of dealing with or an attempt to overcome problems, difficulties, or boredom. According to one source:
Coping is generally categorized into four major categories which are:
1. Problem-focused, which addresses the problem causing the distress: Examples of this style include active coping, planning, restraint coping, and suppression of competing activities.
2. Emotion-focused, which aims to reduce the negative emotions associated with the problem: Examples of this style include positive reframing, acceptance, turning to religion, and humor.
3. Meaning-focused, in which an individual uses cognitive strategies to derive and manage the meaning of the situation
4. Social coping (support-seeking) in which an individual reduces stress by seeking emotional or instrumental support from their community.
In the case of “I Smell Smoke,” problem-focused coping occurs with use of weed to suppress undesired emotions. However, I posit that it isn’t boredom that leads to such unwanted feelings.
Examining the matter through the lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I think of the ABC model and unconditional acceptance (UA) as techniques which may be used in place of unhelpful problem-focused coping strategies that act as a form of escapism. Allow me to explain.
Consider the four major irrational beliefs: demandingness, awfulizing, frustration tolerance (particularly of the low variety), and global evaluations. To illustrate each of these unhelpful assumptions, consider the following:
Demandingness – “I must never be bored!”
Awfulizing – “Being bored is awful!”
Low frustration tolerance (LFT) – “I can’t stand being bored!”
Global evaluations (GEs) – “Fuck my life, because I’m bored and have nothing to do!”
When people are bored (Action) and they tell themselves something like, “I can’t stand being bored” (Belief), it’s the unproductive assumption and not boredom itself that leads to escapism in the form of weed use (Consequence). Herein, I’m not merely speculating about the ABC connection.
Consider that in one study, researchers concluded, “We found a positive significant association between boredom proneness and the negative dysfunctional emotions investigated.” In particular, LFT and GEs were said to contribute to boredom.
Albert Ellis, who developed REBT, stated of this contributory components of boredom:
According to the theory of [REBT], people who are bored and depressed particularly tend to have both discomfort-disturbance or [LFT] and irrationally believe that they absolutely need immediate gratification and that they utterly can’t stand frustration and working for long-range gains. They also usually have, interacting with their LFT, severe feelings of inadequacy that lead them to adopt a boring, safe life; and, as they do so, they frequently berate themselves unmercifully as worthless humans for being so bored and boring.
Regarding his statement, Ellis addressed LFT (discomfort-disturbance), demandingness (demanding immediate gratification), and GE (feelings of inadequacy as worthless humans). As such, beliefs about boredom are what cause undesirable outcomes.
Without disputing these unproductive assumptions, one may conclude, “I’m ‘bout to get fucked up” to escape unpleasant consequences of the unhelpful beliefs. Additionally, one could practice UA rather than smoking weed in order to cope in a healthier manner.
Here, “healthier” refers to the subjective value of building high frustration tolerance in place of seeking to escape the process of self-disturbance. However, I’m not broadly classifying all marijuana use as unhealthy, bad, wrong, or otherwise.
Addressing a solution-focused approach to boredom, one source suggests:
It is unpleasant to experience boredom, but this is not unbearable. I can bear boredom and use my healthy feelings of displeasure to experiment to alleviate my boredom. Get out of your comfort zone and do something. If that does not work, try something else. You do not have to panic yourself or depress yourself about boredom but see that it is worth it to take action to alleviate this experience. Because it robs you of pleasure, it is in your best interest to be willing to experiment to find new ways of enjoying your moment-to-moment experience.
Although boredom is a natural occurrence in life, our beliefs about it don’t need to lead to unpleasant outcomes. Never having used it myself, I’m lead to understand that smoking weed is an enjoyable process for many people.
Also, as an REBT practitioner, it’s not my aim to tell people that they shouldn’t, mustn’t, or oughtn’t to “break it up, chop it up, cut it up, tuck the end; take the filler out and roll it up. Light it, hit it, hold it, pass it; puff, puff, blow it up.”
If you light it up, it’s on you. Nevertheless, I try to assist people with the exploration of other avenues which may lead to more productive outcomes. For instance, suppose you can’t get access to weed, because of low funds, incarceration, or due to other circumstances.
You’ve habitually used weed to cope with being bored, and now what? With the practice of more productive coping mechanisms, such as REBT techniques, you may be less likely to self-disturb by use of unfavorable beliefs.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost old school hip hop REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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