Cabin fever is the distressing irritability or restlessness experienced when a person, or group, is stuck at an isolated location or in confined quarters for an extended time.[1] A person may be referred to as stir-crazy, derived from the use of stir meaning "prison".[2]
A person may experience cabin fever in a situation such as being isolated within a vacation cottage out in the countryside, spending long periods underwater in a submarine, or being otherwise isolated from civilization, for instance during a stay-at-home order or under martial law. During cabin fever, a person may experience sleepiness or sleeplessness, have a distrust of anyone they are with, or have an urge to go outside even in adverse conditions such as poor weather or limited visibility. The concept is also invoked humorously to indicate simple boredom from being home alone for an extended period of time.[3]
Cabin fever is not itself a disease and there is no diagnosis. However, related symptoms can lead the sufferer to make irrational decisions that could potentially threaten their life or the life of the group with whom they are confined. Some examples would be suicide or paranoia, or leaving the safety of a cabin during a significant snowstorm that one may be stuck in.[4]
- ^ "Cabin fever". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ^ "Definition of stir-crazy | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- ^ Ron Alexander (2004-02-03). "Reports From the Bunkers, by Some Survivors; Homebound and Happy". New York Times.
- ^ Kehoe, J. P.; Abbott, A. P. (1975-02-01). "Suicide and Attempted Suicide in the Yukon Territory". Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal. 20 (1): 15–23. doi:10.1177/070674377502000104. ISSN 0008-4824. PMID 1122468. S2CID 31274187.