Avoiding Cabin Fever With Chronic Pain
Dealing with chronic pain can make everyday life difficult. Many people with chronic pain end up leaving the house less due to their condition and before they know it, they're spending all of their free time at home in order to avoid the complications that can occur outside of the house. The issue with this is that cabin fever can easily occur, which could lead to a host of additional problems without the right approach. By learning more about why cabin fever occurs and how to avoid it, you can help prevent this problem from taking a negative toll on you.
Why Cabin Fever Occurs
Spending too much time inside of the house may not feel like a huge deal, but it can take a very negative emotional toll on you if done too often. When people experience cabin fever, they’ve spent long periods of time indoors, which often leads to depression, and then additional emotional symptoms that can quickly spiral out of control. What may feel like the blues can quickly turn into deep depression, and finding your way out of the cycle can be more difficult than you may realize.
The human body isn’t designed to stay inside the house too long. Staying inside for long periods of time often leads to boredom, agitation, anxiety, and similar mental feelings. While getting out of cabin fever mode can be difficult, with just a little work it is possible. The best thing you can do is avoid cabin fever, which will help prevent the negative effects in the first place.
Preventing Cabin Fever
As mentioned, prevention is key. While it may be tempting to spend all of your time indoors while dealing with chronic pain, there are steps you can take both in and outdoors to stop this problem from occurring. The first thing you should do is get outside for at least a little bit of time each day. Even if you simply go outside in your yard to sit for a few minutes each day, you’re providing your body with the vitamin D from the sun and the fresh air it needs to help prevent cabin fever.
While spending time indoors, it’s best to keep yourself busy to prevent cabin fever. Rather than watching TV day after day, take up a hobby that stimulates your mind with new activity. The hobby you choose can range from knitting to puzzle making and everything in between. Any activity that you enjoy and keeps your mind active is great for preventing cabin fever.
Social interaction is also essential for preventing cabin fever. As humans, we crave interaction with others, and when we go without interaction, we often become even more isolated and depressed. Getting the right amount of social interaction is also crucial for preventing cabin fever. Even though you’re in chronic pain, inviting friends or family over to the home is a great way to get the social interaction you need. Having company over just once a week can make a huge difference. If this isn’t possible, you can talk on the phone, which is another way to interact with others that’s simple yet effective.
Conclusion
You don’t want to end up with cabin fever in addition to chronic pain. By using the steps outlined, you’ll be able to prevent this condition from occurring all while adding to the quality of your life.