Fighting cabin fever

Matt Unrau

It’s the middle of January and the dead of winter and I am feeling the full effects of cabin fever. I’ve always found that cabin fever is an odd phenomenon. It starts off simply enough, around October and November when it starts to get cold outside and you suddenly feel like not moving away from couch and maybe hibernating in that spot for the next few months.This sensation can keep me pretty satisfied for awhile; I don’t even seem to remember my previous adventurous ways and can stay pretty content looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas and the next episode of CSI Miami. However, the holidays are over and now I’m getting a little bit antsy. I didn’t quite realize what I was missing until this past weekend when I went snowboarding with a group of friends and had a great day on the mountain. It was so great in fact that I felt quite a bit downheartened to come back down to the valley and crawl back inside my warm bear cave. It was then that I realized that I have been spending way too much time inside my house and I needed to bust through my door, spread my wings and fly out into the world.

Through the oppressive and stuffy atmosphere of my one-bedroom apartment I’ve realized that it’s important to get outside even if it’s just for a simple walk.

Humans weren’t meant to stay inside otherwise God would have created television sets before he created feet and shoes.

At this time of the year it might take some creativity as well. Snowboarding is an awesome activity to learn or master, or you could take a drive along the Clark Fork or even if you just run outside for 10 minutes to make snow angels, it is well worth it.

There are many advantages to going outside, not only is it one way to escape the dreariness that comes with watching television 24 hours a day, but it’s a good way to get some exercise and see what is going on outside. We live in an area where everywhere you look can be a picture, why not take the time to get out and enjoy the view.

If you have any outdoor activity ideas please email them to me at editor@VP-MI.com.