Some of the challenges to staying in flow include states of apathy, boredom, and anxiety. Being in a state of apathy is characterized by having little to no challenges in a situation. A person’s skill level is also characterized as apathy when the person has a general lack of interest in the task at hand. Boredom is a slightly different state in that it occurs when challenges are low, but one's skill level exceeds those challenges causing one to seek higher challenges. A state of anxiety occurs when challenges are so high that they exceed one's perceived skill level causing one great distress and uneasiness.