Are the Cabin Fever Pills Working?
Woman standing outside wooden shack with children, Tulare County, California, 1936, Dorothea Lange. The Library of Congress
People are wrestling with the multiple challenges generated by the Covid-19 lockdown. And the fear of cabin fever is one of them. There’s a lot of advice out there about the benefits of sticking to a routine, taking regular exercise and keeping to a healthy diet. Undoubtedly, all of these will help deal with the restlessness, irritability or demotivation that characterises long periods of isolation.
Some people cope with it better than others. But we’re social animals. And we evolved as a species precisely because of our ability to work together and connect with others.
Stories abound of lighthouse keepers, polar scientists and others driven to violent acts by the psychological pressures generated by lengthy periods of isolation.
One way to avoid cabin fever is to tackle the causes of boredom or low spirits. Robert Burton, 17th-century author of the magisterial study The Anatomy of Melancholy put it well, "I write of melancholy, by being busy to avoid melancholy. There is no greater cause of melancholy than idleness, no better cure than business."
There’s an ironic element to his comment. This was a popular sentiment at the time. But there’s a serious point here. Keep yourself occupied. Keep yourself productive. Keep yourself entertained.
You can lay in a stock of books. Or catch up on those unwatched movies. Though you might want to steer clear of Jack Nicholson losing his mind and threatening his family with an axe in The Shining.
And there’s always music…
But this is where help comes from an unanticipated consequence of the coronavirus crisis.
As our pubs close, gigs get cancelled and theatres go dark, a glimmer of light emerges from the shadows. Our arts and culture ecosystems are facing an existential crisis as they close their doors to the public and their income nosedives. Many are thinking creatively about how to connect with their audiences in these strange times.
Theatres are streaming live performances. Poets are doing readings on YouTube. Music festivals are going online. Independent bookstores are ramping up their online offers. And that’s on top of the existing resources already available online from many organisations.
Now, I wouldn’t presume to offer a definitive list of the resources available. But here’s a modest selection of the things that appeal to me.
Some pleasant diversions
Every Thursday at 7 pm BST, the National Theatre is streaming the National Theatre At Home initiative, making available free-of-charge a series of major productions through April and May.
A History of Ideas offers a lovely collection (48 in total) of 2-minute videos answering the Big Philosophical Questions. Taken from the Radio 4 series of the same name.
In their series, Meet Me at the Museum, the Art Fund podcast features well-known people taking someone they love to a favourite museum or gallery, having a chat about what they find and generally musing on life. They’re really good. To pick out a few: Jackie Kay and Hollie McNish visit the Glasgow Women's Library, comedian Tez Ilyas takes his Dad to the National Football Museum in Manchester and Miles Jupp visits Tredegar House in Newport, Wales.
The Poetry Foundation is a brilliant platform established to celebrate the best poetry and place it before the largest possible audience. It’s an amazing resource. With long, informative essays on individual poets as well as some of the poems published by the individual poets featured.
For those who like a radical bite to their music and poetry, the 12-hour online WSO Isolation Festival will be broadcast via a Facebook group on Saturday 11 April 2020. The stunning line-up includes Grace Petrie, Phil Odgers, Billy Bragg and Maddy Carty. The event will help raise funds for the homeless and those worst affected by austerity.
If you want to find out more about the significant contribution made by women to surrealism, including Leonora Carrington and Frida Kahlo, there’s a great online ‘digitorial’, Fantastic Women, provided by the Schirn Gallery in Frankfurt.
Maybe you’re a jazz fan. It’s widely acknowledged that the greatest jazz radio station in the known universe is WWOZ. Broadcasting out of New Orleans, and available online, it’s a listener-supported, non-commercial radio station that plays an astonishing range of jazz, blues, Latin, Cajun, funk and more. And has a range of linked resources on its website about the culture of the area.
Perhaps you prefer classical music. BBC Radio 3 has set out details of the wealth of music it’s offering as part of its Culture in Quarantine virtual festival. This is designed to support artists and commission new works from composers as a recognition of the power of experiencing music live. It will include a repeat on Easter Sunday of Max Richter’s 8-hour monumental work Sleep.
Fancy tuning-in to the world’s radio stations? Check out the interactive online website Radio.Garden and spin that globe! It’s a great opportunity to celebrate our common human identity across linguistic and geographical barriers.
Which brings me back to books. Many indie bookshops are struggling with their enforced closure but are encouraging customers to support them by placing orders online. Delivery services have been ramped up. And some shops are offering free deliveries in local areas. Do what you can to support them.
It’s possible, of course, that all this culture will make you thirsty. With pubs closed, breweries are fighting for survival. Many are finding innovative ways to weather the crisis, including offering ‘drive-through’ collection and free delivery to local customers. Have a look at the CAMRA website for information on their Pulling Together initiative and links to a brewery near you.
The arts are a positive force for community. They remind us of what it is that makes us human. As the whole world goes into isolation, the need for human connection is greater than ever. We will get through this. And maybe we’ll have experienced some new cultural adventures in the process.