The Nuance
The Science of Stir Crazy
Why spending time alone drives people nuts
People who have been pent-up indoors with a flu or stranded in a deserted place have an inkling of the restlessness and unease known as “cabin fever,” or “going stir crazy.” Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining had a particularly nasty case — to put it mildly.
While the idea of going truly stir crazy may seem a little dated — like something arctic explorers and wilderness pioneers once grappled with — psychologists who study confinement and social isolation say it may be more relevant today than ever before.
“As a psychiatrist, I’m dealing with the effects of isolation all the time at my practice,” says Dr. Terry Kupers, a faculty member at the Wright Institute in Berkeley who has studied the harms of social isolation and confinement. America’s population is aging. And a lot of older adults, especially retired men who have lost a spouse or partner, find themselves spending most of their time at home alone, Kupers says.
The rise of the freelance economy and telecommuting also means more young people are working on their own, rather than in an office alongside colleagues. “Because of technology, an awful lot of people are working from home, and their connection to society is through a computer,” he says.
