If you’re like me, then winter seems to be the most difficult time of year to focus on the good things in life. Daylight is shorter, the weather is freezing cold, and staying inside seems like the best decision. Actually, the temperature has been below freezing every day here for the past three months. Finally, this last week we had a break from freezing temperatures, and it lessened the cabin fever I have been experiencing as of late.
Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist with a PhD at the school of public health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says that cabin fever is your mind’s way of telling you that the environment you are in is less than optimal for normal functioning; It’s when you’re in a space of restricted freedom for a period of time that you can no longer tolerate.
Cabin fever isn’t just a figment of your imagination; it’s a very real thing. And for some reason this winter has been one of the worst in recent memory. The good news is that I’ve found a few ways to fight cabin fever, and here they are: