{"id":7309,"date":"2020-03-26T09:29:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T13:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=7309"},"modified":"2020-03-27T12:00:06","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T16:00:06","slug":"cabin-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/cabin-fever\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabin Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image by robert1029 from Pixabay, CCO<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you have cabin fever<\/strong> yet? It\u2019s an English language phrase of American origin, expressing a feeling of restless anxiety and boredom from being indoors for a prolonged period of time. It is also something that you may soon be experiencing.<\/p>\n

Literally billions of people all over the world are finding themselves in self-isolation, or self-quarantine. For some, it\u2019s an involuntary situation. The population of India, about 1.3 billion people, is currently ordered to stay inside. The same is true of millions of people in states and countries everywhere. Others have been ordered to remain in their homes by their doctors. Still, others are self-isolating because they feel that it\u2019s their civic duty. They are doing it because they may have been exposed to COVID-19<\/strong>, and they don\u2019t wish to infect anyone else. And, for many, if you aren\u2019t in isolation now, you soon will be. Voluntary or not, for many it\u2019s like being imprisoned.<\/p>\n

What is Cabin Fever?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Historically, cabin fever was actually typhus<\/strong>, a disease caused by flea or tick bites, which has afflicted prisoners and people under siege during wartime for centuries. People confined together for long periods of time can suffer terribly. What begins as a rash can turn into fever and delirium. Untreated, typhus is fatal.<\/p>\n

Americans in the 1800s who settled in the Great Plains, a large area west of the Mississippi and east of the Rocky Mountains, were often living in crude cabins, isolated from other human contacts for months. They could be totally alone, or with one or several family members. Neighbors could be miles away and, during winter, it was common to never see or hear from anyone. They were the first to describe the mental stress of those months as cabin fever. It\u2019s a form of claustrophobia<\/strong>. The effects often drove these settlers insane.<\/p>\n

Some link cabin fever with Seasonal Affected Disorder <\/strong>(note the three capital letters), which afflicts those who feel confined and depressed by winter with its poorer weather and shorter daylight hours. People who have it exhibit boredom, restlessness, irritability, depression, and an inability to concentrate. A familiar phrase associated with cabin fever is climbing the walls<\/em><\/strong>, a feeling that the confinement will make you claw at the walls to get out.<\/p>\n

Other expressions for this affliction include:<\/p>\n