Dealing With Cabin Fever

Cabin fever is a condition that produces restlessness and irritability caused from being in a confined space. The actual word is a slang term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a party is isolated and/or shut in together for an extended period of time.

Having grown up in Alaska I can attest to the fact that cabin fever is a real ailment which strikes many people. I have suffered with it several times myself. The best that I can do to explain how it feels to have cabin fever is to describe it as an intense longing to get outside and walk, run, garden, or whatever. But you can’t get outside and haven’t been outside for any length of time because of the cold, long winter. It isn’t an ailment along the lines of depression or SAD, it’s more like homesickness. It is very intense for a week or so and then you work your way through it and it goes away. The University of Minnesota has written a good article explaining ways in which to cope with cabin fever. The best remedy for cabin fever is Spring, which gives you the ability to go outside and blow off some steam. I just think that Spring needs to get here and stick around long enough to do some good. The Northeastern and the Northwestern U.S. can’t seem to shrug off winter for good. The foul weather that keeps blowing through is enough to give the most winter hardy souls a bit of cabin fever. Even down here in the South we had a late Spring freeze which did extensive damage to our plants and trees that had begun leafing out and blossoming. Anyways, if you suffer from cabin fever, keep in mind that it is only temporary and iw will resolve in a week or so. Hang in there!