When the end of confinement was declared due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many people experienced what is known as cabin syndrome. After a period of being confined at home, alone or in the company of our relatives, where we felt safe, it was time to go out and face the fear of the new normal and the risk of contagion.
Although there was a lot of talk about this syndrome at that time, it was not something new or exclusively linked to confinement. The truth is that other people in situations of confinement or seclusion may present cabin syndrome. This is the case, for example, of prisoners who will soon be released, or of people who have spent a long time locked up at home or admitted to a hospital due to an illness.
From the blog of the Official College of Psychology of Madrid, they define cabin syndrome as fear and unpleasant experiences that are activated in relation to real or mental exposure to everything that involves leaving the context and family situation for the person, thus opting for seclusion as a desired way of life given the perception of security that it entails.
That is, it manifests itself as a fear of facing an unknown situation outside the walls of security provided by the home or the environment in which we have stayed for a long time. It should be noted that it is not a mental illness as such, but rather a syndrome when a person experiences a series of symptoms and reactions, both emotional, cognitive and motor, after a certain life experience and to which they are closely linked.
Cabin syndrome can bring about avoidance, escape, and isolation behaviors. For example, not wanting to return to the work routine, avoiding social contact, restructuring daily obligations so that they do not involve going out, and canceling plans.
People who experience cabin syndrome tend to withdraw, isolate themselves, and not leave the house. Therefore, this makes social relationships difficult, since they do not want to go out and make plans. Furthermore, it is common for them not to want to receive visitors at their home, fearing this “invasion” of their safe environment. Consequently, personal relationships are noticeably harmed by this condition.
