The Close Season Zander Quest Pt.*** - Church Work and Carvel's Rings

A steaming pile of poo this cabin fever, now cabin fever is often associated with being cooped up on a rainy weekend or stuck inside during a heavy dumping of snow.

In reality, though, it can actually occur anytime you feel isolated or disconnected from the outside world. Indeed, cabin fever is a series of emotions or symptoms people experience when they’re confined to their homes for extended periods of time.

This may be due to a variety of circumstances, such as a natural disaster, lack of transportation, or even social distancing for pandemics like this COVID-19. Recognising the symptoms of cabin fever and finding ways to cope may help make the isolation easier to deal with.

Now in popular expressions, cabin fever is used to explain feeling bored or listless because you’ve been stuck inside for a few hours or days. But that’s not the reality of the symptoms. Instead, cabin fever is a series of negative emotions and distressing sensations people may face if they’re isolated or feeling cut off from the world.

These feelings of isolation and loneliness are more likely in times of social distancing, self-quarantining during a pandemic, or sheltering in place because of severe weather.

Cabin fever isn’t a recognised psychological disorder, there’s no standard “treatment.” , but that doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t real. The distress is very real. It can make fulfilling the requirements of everyday life difficult.

The coping mechanism that works best for you will have a lot to do with your personal situation and the reason you’re secluded in the first place. Finding meaningful ways to engage your brain and occupy your time can help alleviate the distress and irritability that cabin fever brings.

For me electronic dance music does to me that many get from reading a good book.

Also carve out some ‘me time’

If you live with others that can be difficult, but feelings of cabin fever may be intensified by the nearness of other individuals. Parents have responsibilities to children; partners have responsibilities to one another. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any time on your own.

Give yourself time “away” from others to relax. Find a quiet place to read that book, take a bath or pop in some earbuds for an engaging podcast.

Cabin fever is often a fleeting feeling. You may feel irritable or frustrated for a few hours, but having a virtual chat with a friend or finding a task to distract your mind may help erase the frustrations you felt earlier. Sometimes, however, the feelings may grow stronger, and no coping mechanisms may be able to successfully help you eliminate your feelings of isolation, sadness, or depression.

Fishing is off limits sadly, I love my canal Zander.

What’s more, if your time indoors is prolonged by outside forces, like weather or extended shelter-in-place orders from your local government, feelings of anxiety and fear are valid.

In fact, anxiety may be at the root of some cabin fever symptoms. This may make symptoms worse. 

So just do what you have to do in this difficult time. 

You need to keep your mind on track because if you're like me it can go wayward quite easily. So nearly 6 miles on my mountain bike this morning to see if it has avoided the butchery that others stretches I fish have sadly succumbed to because of the overactive CRT contractors.

What a lovely day though, the mercury reaching 19 degrees later in the day. Now usually this area is devoid of people, the odd dog walker and jogger but that's about it, but for this trip I saw more people than ever.

Ok not quite the 3000 that 'apparently' descended on Brockwell Park in London but they seem to do as they please, I'm taking maybe 7 or 8 people on the towpath, and as usual countless fair weather cyclists on the road, so nothing new there.

There are a few carp spots along this stretch but I didn't hang around to see if they were showing themselves, I have this to myself usually, sadly not today.

Still it was nice to be out and yes sadly more cover has been removed in large quantities here. A proper No.1 with the clippers.

I certainly won't rush back to fish, I will give one particular swim a go though, one where a recently fallen tree has created a nice canopy over the water for a predator to hide out.

In-fact any swim where a tangled mass of branches extend out and in to the water is well worth a deadbait, well worth dropping in a lure. It seems to be where the big ladies hang out.

The canal is shallow on the most part and anywhere that provides a vantage point for this top dog is likely to be a holding spot. It's not rocket science I suppose, but then neither is fishing for big canal Zeds, you just need to find out where they are, and that takes effort and dedication. It's that big hurdle the most difficult to navigate.