Experiencing a bit of cabin fever? Government restrictions related to the coronavirus bugging you? Looking for a quick cure for cabin fever? Keep reading!
Today we bring an expert to the blog to share tips for coping with cabin fever. Our expert has four years or more under her belt of being confined. Chronic pain has been her nemesis, but her tips will apply as well to cabin fever patients.
Here’s a list of helpful tips and hints for coping with the frustrating symptoms associated with cabin fever:
- Grab a good book and start reading. Need help finding a book? Check out book descriptions and reviews on Goodreads.
- Do a jigsaw puzzle. It may seem a bit old-school, but they can be lots of good fun unless you have cats who want to help!
- Schedule a movie and popcorn night. Especially popular if you have children around.
- Call a friend or two you haven’t touched base with in a while.
- Get out some board games or a deck of cards.
- Sort through old photos.
- Try a new hobby, like knitting, crocheting, stained glass, writing poetry, or Sudoku.
- Pour through cookbooks looking for a new recipe to try out.
- Start pre-spring cleaning. That way you won’t have so much to do when the good weather arrives.
- That home improvement project you’ve been postponing is something you could work on.
- How about adult coloring? Check out these sites for good resources to get you started: Johanna Basford, Colorit, Art Is Fun!, and The Spruce Crafts.
- If you’re a TV watcher, catch the newest season of your favorite show on Netflix.
- Begin researching family history and start a family tree.
- Plan a weekend getaway for after the restrictions are lifted.
- Enjoy reading aloud rather than alone and silently? Maybe this is a good family activity if you have young readers.
- Get some form of exercise. If you can get outside and continue social distancing, take a short walk, say 15 minutes. Or perhaps you have some slightly never used exercise equipment you could put to good use.
- Continue to engage your faith or spiritual life through reading and/or prayer, or both.
- Think about that spring garden. Perhaps it’s time to draw up a plan for what you want to plant and how.
- Give in to that power nap. It’s amazing how much that few minutes improves your attitude.
- Try meditation.
- Plan and treat your family to a picnic. Cook up hamburgers and hot dogs and all the fixings. Then spread a cheerful tablecloth or blanket on the floor and get out the paper goods and plastic forks and knives. Add some chips and condiments and have fun!
- If you’re a writer, try writing in a different genre than usual.
And lastly, remember to practice kindness even if you are self-quarantined with your family–may be just you and your partner or spouse, and maybe a few kids, or some other configuration of family. Spread kindness even in these different and difficult times.
Image attributions:
Featured image: David Mark from Pixabay
Quotation: Random Acts of Kindness
Selfishly, #1 reflects my personal favorite pastime.
Sound advice! Especially # 1.
Hi Sherrey, impressive list. I would add that finding a way to accept this disruption and uncertainty will be the first step in engaging in creative projects. As writers I do appreciate having time to read and write. I also am trying to get into the one day at a time mode. Our lives have changed drastically and it’s only just begun. Thank you sir sharing these valuable tips, I do believe there will be many silver linings that will emerge from all this craziiness.
Kathy, my friend, you’ve come up with the idea that finding a way to accept this disruption and uncertainty is certainly a precursor to engaging in creativity! Yes, Wayne and you have surely gone through some drastic changes and could well do with this pandemic. I’m praying that many silver linings do emerge from all this distress we’re going through. Look for a message from me on Facebook.
This is uplifting, Sherrey. I won’t go through old photos again because I did that before and during writing memoir. Other items are worth considering.
Of course, I can read and write and walk in the preserve, but I’m really missing my Pilates classes, largely because of the friends I meet there. Still, I will catch yoga, pilates, maybe even “dance” online. I didn’t realize until now how important my exercise schedule is in my elder years until I’m denied.
Thanks a heap, Sherrey, and stay well, my dear. 😀
Oh, Marian, I wouldn’t require you to go through photos yet again. And many are missing their activities which bring them in contact with friends. I want a video of you catching “dance” online. It’s amazing how our aging bodies let us not forget the importance of daily exercise.
You and Cliff stay well in the preserve, and Bob and I will hold down the other end of the country. 😀
A great reminder that we have a lot of things we can do!
Barbara, hope you’re doing well these days. You are one busy woman and doubtless have plenty to keep you busy. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Hi Sherrey – well we are all re-thinking how we can spend our time home and coming up with things we can do. I hope you are well 🙂
Well put Sherrey, though it may be difficult at this point to get supplies to try a new craft, especially one like stained glass. This confinement is different for me from “just staying at home.” The sense that I HAVE to stay home and away from friends and family is totally different from making the decision to take a few days off to catch up or not feeling up to going out as I recover from some affliction.
I can stay generally distracted, though my attention span is pretty much shot. However, there’s no way around the underlying anxiety over the possibility of catching this bug. Due to my tendency to get pneumonia with nearly anything, I’m extremely vulnerable to this one. Then there’s the global impact of this pandemic. Our lives will not be the same when the germs clear, at least not our collective lives.
We’ve always lived in historic times, but some will be remembered for centuries. This is one of those times. Let’s chronicle personal experience, both outer and inner.
Sharon, sorry that I may have hit a sensitive nerve. No, it isn’t pleasant to be told we have to do anything. I suppose I was writing from the perspective of my introverted self. And no, it wouldn’t be easy to get supplies for some of the crafts unless you ordered them online. But I guessed that most everybody wouldn’t be trying those. Just random thoughts I had. As I too am “quarantined,” I just let my thoughts fly loose with this post. And I do realize that some of my readers, like you, are in similar situations to Bob and me–in the age bracket encouraged to stay home or encumbered with age-related health issues or chronic health problems. As my dad told me when I talked with him about writing nonfiction or for a newspaper, “Sweetheart, remember you will always have someone who doesn’t agree or doesn’t like your writing. So toughen up your skin while you’re still young.” And so I did. Hope we’re soon cut loose so we can all be happy and free again.
Wow, what a helpful list! And kindness does change everything. Thank you for posting and many blessings to you 🙂
Mindy, thanks for stopping by. Glad you found the list helpful. Enjoyed a visit to your site yesterday afternoon.
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