The diagnosis was applied to me when I was a kid … usually in the dead of winter. Days when the biting windchill made it unwise to be outside. Days when I was done with being inside. My general kid-impression was that cabin fever was mild craziness caused by confinement.
The first time I thought about it seriously was in a Jr. High class focusing on Kansas history. We read several stories of people who were driven mad by the extreme isolation of the prairies. Some became so disoriented and distraught that they made irresponsible decisions leading to great harm or death. After white-out conditions that raged for weeks, one man calmly hitched his team to a wagon and headed to town. Completely unconscious of his family’s entreaties, he rode undissuaded to an icy demise.
Sorry for the bleak story, but at least the snow part won’t happen in Panama. History also gives a bit of perspective. What we’ve been facing can’t be compared to wintering in a 12-foot square cabin on a frozen prairie before any modern forms of communication. Things could be worse.
Now, I’m not saying our situation isn’t real … or hard … or real hard. There was a reason I looked up the symptoms of “Cabin Fever.” Turns out Sue and I have experienced several of the less serious indicators from this list I found online: lethargy; sadness or depression; trouble concentrating; lack of patience; food cravings; decreased motivation; difficulty waking; frequent napping; hopelessness. I guess it helped me to see that “Cabin Fever” is a real phenomenon … well documented and often observed. I also appreciated the article’s common sense suggestions for regulating the effects of isolation or confinement: get out of the house (whenever possible); maintain normal eating habits; set goals; use your brain (Facebook and Netflix don’t actually qualify); exercise. As I write, Sue is rapidly walking laps in the living room as a healthy break from her video editing.
We’ve also been blessed by the need to keep ministering. Thinking of you and thinking of families that need to be fed, gets us outside ourselves. Turns out that thinking of others is not only Biblical, but healthy. These commands to the church come to mind.
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Romans 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
