Seven Strategies for Avoiding Cabin Fever This Season
Welcome to the strange stretch of time between Christmas and New Year’s, a notoriously nebulous zone when days run together, traditional responsibilities are moot, and cheese and cookies are perfectly reasonable breakfast foods. It can be hard not to feel a little out of sorts during this season, and when you add COVID-19 parameters, precautions, and anxiety, it certainly doesn’t boost the mood. Check out our tips for avoiding cabin fever over the coming weeks, and feel free to apply these strategies all winter long—
Bundle Up & Get Outside
We know it’s freezing but if you can bundle up and get moving, you might be able to warm up just enough for some endorphins. Going outside increases the chances that you’ll see something exciting—a cat, a new restaurant in your neighborhood, beautiful holiday decorations. If you’re feeling bored or stir crazy, getting outside and finding ways to enjoy the winter weather—i.e., sledding, tubing, building snow-people—can be revitalizing and life affirming.
Create Boundaries for Yourself and Others
If you’re sheltering in place with others, be that family or roommates, boundaries can be helpful tools for setting limits and standards for those around you. If you want a shut door to mean, “I’m busy and I don’t want visitors right now” be sure to establish that with those you share a space with. If you want certain hours to read, watch shows, or work on personal hobbies, let those you live with know and ask that they respect that. Establishing boundaries can do wonders for helping you feel like you’re taking care of yourself and your needs.
Fake it till You Make it
Some days you just don’t feel great and that’s okay. Part of maintaining both physical and mental balance is acknowledging the ebbs and flows of our emotions and energy levels. Sometimes what you need is a little extra rest and patience with yourself, but other times doing the things you do when you feel great—exercising, working on a creative practice, cleaning, cooking, or spending time with loved ones—can trick the brain into feeling better. And on the days when you can’t muster the energy to do your feel better activities, give yourself a break and take it easy.
Buoy Yourself with Cozy Comforts
If there is ever a time to lean into your inner hermit, it’s now. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and uninspired, try out some hobbies that are specifically geared towards comfort and enjoyment. Knitting, reading, baking, board games, coloring, and cooking all come to mind. Feeling chilled to the bone? Try this top-tier vegetarian chili recipe from Cookie + Kate. Looking for more greenery in your home? Try improving your green thumb by caring for some of these indoor winter plants from the Strategist.
Practice Mindfulness
When there is not much to do, nowhere to go, and a million ways to distract ourselves via the internet, it can be easy to feel like you’re running on autopilot: moving from screen to screen and not making many conscious choices. Though our screens can feel like an escape from reality, they can also dampen the way we experience the world around us. Take time every day to unplug and interact with your surroundings in the moment—exercise, take a walk, talk to someone you care about, write a letter, or just spend some time looking out the window and writing down what you see. Whatever you can do to get into your body and out of a detrimental loop can work wonders on your wellbeing.
Find Creative Opportunities for Socializing
Sometimes the easiest way to get out of your own head is human interaction. Though that can be difficult to facilitate these days, we encourage you to find safe and creative ways to connect to those who help you feel like your best self. Take a socially distant walk with a friend or make time to FaceTime someone you’ve been missing. Even if you don’t have anything all that exciting to say, check in with the people you care about often. A simple, “How are you today? I miss you,” can really boost someone’s day.
Take Your Needs Seriously
Check in with yourself often and prioritize taking care of your own needs. Don’t downplay or dismiss the effect this time period has had on your wellbeing. If you’re interested in trying therapy, make that a goal for 2021. If you need some extra support from your loved ones right now, let them know that you’re having a hard time. Explore creative ways to feel centered, including things you may not have tried before like meditating, ASMR, regular exercise, or any of these holistic therapies and practices.
Stay healthy and safe this winter break, ChathamU — we look forward to seeing you in 2021!
