![]() ![]() While most of us will not develop mental health disorders from cabin fever, it may cause us to feel more anxious, irritable and sad. “The increased distress experienced may trigger other mental health disorders like generalised anxiety, paranoia, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and some may entertain suicidal thoughts,” said Ms Sng. These people should seek the help they need if they feel their moods deteriorating. Of greater concern are those who already have mental health issues. While extroverts can adapt to being alone with time, Ms Sng added, “As isolation prolongs, both extroverts and introverts may similarly find themselves feeling distressed at the situation.” This depends on their personality, temperament and current coping abilities,” said Ms Sng.įor instance, extroverts may feel worse at first because they enjoy being with other people. “Different people may experience a combination of symptoms, and to a varying extent. Some of the symptoms of cabin fever include stress, restlessness, impatience, being easily agitated or highly irritable, lethargy, decreased motivation, persistent sadness, low moods, having a sense of hopelessness, mistrust of people, poor concentration, poor sleep hygiene, food cravings and even weight changes. However, people all over the world – including in sunny Singapore – may now be experiencing the phenomenon as they stay at home for long periods of time during COVID-19. The term cabin fever is often used in countries to describe the feelings experienced by those trapped at home because of extreme weather. ![]() While we are not astronauts, who are by nature highly resilient and undergo rigorous isolation training to cope with the conditions in space, many of us are starting to feel the effects of being confined to our homes, without much human interaction, during this circuit breaker.įeeling alone and sad, and not being able to cope with these feelings can lead to “cabin fever”.Īdrienne Sng, a National CARE Hotline volunteer who is the Director of Clinical Services at Boys’ Town, explains, “Cabin fever refers to the cycle of negative and distressing emotions experienced by individuals as a result of being isolated or feeling ‘cut off’ from society at large.” But we must all sense the answer, and it’s out there.Astronauts have been known to spend up to a year, mostly alone in confined quarters, floating above the Earth. I cannot explain why we must have this in our lives, or why we feel mournfully deprived as we suffer without it. We need places where there are crayfish and herons and we need to hear coyotes and cicadas and spend time in muddy places where we touch the humidity. We need to do that essential thing all people have been doing forever, which is to be a part of nature. The fact is we all require some nature in our lives, even as we choose to stay indoors during a brutal heat wave. But eventually cabin fever sets in and those haters of winter who choose to not go outdoors now wish they were outdoors in the sunshine-but on a warm day. Those haters of winter busy themselves by interacting with computers and speaking on the phone with people who might commiserate. Nobody wants to be the weather statistic.įor those people who find all cold weather unpleasant under all circumstances, even on perfectly sunny days, sitting indoors for weeks during late winter is the self-inflicted penance. It’s perfectly sensible that one should decide to stay indoors during a lightning storm, for example, or when a barrage of hail is denting mailboxes. We are wise to stay indoors whenever we find the weather severely inclement. We all sit indoors in an overheated mood and listen to the air conditioner.īut we still wish we were out in the sunshine. But when the temperature rises above 106 degrees and it hasn’t rained in weeks and even the swimming holes down by the creek are disagreeably tepid, nobody has a choice. We hike and glide on skis and drill holes in ice and hang buckets on maple trees and we feel invigorated. The frozen landscape is now clearly visible and the intricacies of nature that cannot be seen in summer come forward. There’s still plenty to enjoy outdoors during a cold snap. When it’s cold outside anyone can still bundle up and enjoy the crisp air. We all sit indoors, day after day, and soon develop cabin fever.īut this cabin fever we get during summer is the worst kind. ![]() ![]() There’s not much difference in our behavior when it’s 106 degrees in the shade and it was 105 degrees yesterday and it’s expected to be 107 degrees tomorrow, and absolutely nobody can go outdoors and enjoy time spent in nature. A recent heat wave reminded me of the dead of winter. ![]()
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