Cabin Fever • Hacker News Board

Re: Cabin Fever

#11

Post by DyslexicAtheist » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 1:43 PM UTC

new2628 wrote: post #9

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

speaking only from my personal experience it can trigger depression, loss of motivation, and a feeling of an "empty head". e.g. place me in front of a window I'd stare out of it for several hours and if you would ask me what I'm thinking about I wouldn't know. Also increased anxiety when the quarantine is over.

You mention smoking weed in another comment. Do you think there may be a connection?

The times I had this experience with depression and feeling empty headed etc was when I was working off-shore. We were isolated at sea for 8-10 months per year and it was 2-3 months stretches in one go (with only 1-2 days in between). I wasn't able to smoke weed back then and there was no Internet out there. I didn't know about cabin fever back then but only learned later that this must have been what it was.

But I strongly agree that smoking for many weeks/months every day could sure trigger a lot of side effects.

Isolation/quarantine right now is very different (I got Internet, and the problem is there is actually too much choice of what I could read, watch or study).

edit: N.N. Taleb talks about his concept of "balancing extremes", I'm very much a believer of this life style.

Re: Cabin Fever

#12

Post by DyslexicAtheist » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 1:54 PM UTC

posterboy wrote: post #10

Business as usual for shut-ins, hikikomori, cellar-dwellers, 24/7 gamers etc

some re-energize themselves by going out and sharing with others what their day was like, others need isolation in order to recover from a busy day. Most aren't on either extreme of that spectrum but somewhere in between.

I think you don't need to be a shut-in or 24/7 gamer for this to not have much of an effect on you. I used to be on the far end of this spectrum of needing to share and have others around me in my first 30-40 years and as I got older I changed within a time-span of 5 years that I'd rather stay home. I can still wear my party-hat when I need to and do enjoy it but if given the choice now I rather spend time with my own thoughts.

Re: Cabin Fever

#13

Post by scotty79 » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:00 PM UTC

How does it differ from excruciating boredom?

Re: Cabin Fever

#14

Post by marsrover » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:02 PM UTC

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #8

dwiel wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you not concerned about smoking making covid19 symptoms more extreme?

maybe I should be. but having stopped cigarettes 25 years ago, and my weed consumption not being regular (often have breaks of several months) I'm not too worried. Maybe baking cookies in these times would be better but it's not the same :-/

I read something on Reddit that said marijuana is an ACE2-inhibitor, but I can't find any research on it or anything about it. No idea where the guy got his information but I keep looking around. Does anyone else know if this is just completely false information?

Re: Cabin Fever

#15

Post by awinter-py » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:06 PM UTC

As always, the inuit word for this is best

I would use a product called 'Piblokto' almost no matter what it did

Re: Cabin Fever

#16

Post by jdxcode » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:08 PM UTC

That article links to another called "Piblokto"—a cultural-specific hysterical reaction.

I'm suspicious it's a real thing and the article mentions there is heavy skepticism around it, but it's a strange article to read nonetheless.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piblokto

Re: Cabin Fever

#17

Post by the8472 » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:19 PM UTC

posterboy wrote: post #10

Business as usual for shut-ins, hikikomori, cellar-dwellers, 24/7 gamers etc

https://xkcd.com/2276/

Re: Cabin Fever

#18

Post by coldcode » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:21 PM UTC

tyingq wrote: post #4

I imagine under a tight lockdown, this is way more pronounced for apartment dwellers. Being able to just sit in your backyard seems like a big difference.

I have a house and our neighborhood has nice walking areas including a pond. Going outside and looking at nature helps a lot.

Re: Cabin Fever

#19

Post by chewz » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:23 PM UTC

Blaise Pascal said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

https://thecatholicspirit.com/commentary/wordonfire/the-coro...

Re: Cabin Fever

#20

Post by circlefavshape » Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 2:34 PM UTC

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #5

dijit wrote: post #2

So, aside from irritability and perhaps paranoia, are there any more symptoms? It’s fun that you can’t be diagnosed with it as it’s not a defined medical definition but how can you know if you’re on the slope to experiencing something like this?

speaking only from my personal experience it can trigger depression, loss of motivation, and a feeling of an "empty head". e.g. place me in front of a window I'd stare out of it for several hours and if you would ask me what I'm thinking about I wouldn't know. Also increased anxiety when the quarantine is over.

> place me in front of a window I'd stare out of it for several hours and if you would ask me what I'm thinking about I wouldn't know

Isn't that called meditation?