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I never get cabin fever. I grew up in Northern Ohio (massive snow), and North Carolina (massive rain), and now live in 7 months gloomy, dark and damp Portland, Oregon. Yeah, we had those weeks and months. My tips?

1. Just bundle up and CONQUER the weather! Seriously. Remember as a kid how many of us would just go outside and attack the snow, ice, mud, puddles, whatever? And it was FUN. Guess what? It is still fun. Go for a blustery long walk, a muddy hike, a rain drenched bike ride. Come home, take a hot bath, drink hot cocoa and warm up. You'll feel invigorated.

2. 15 minutes of bright light a day. Doesn't matter how you get it (light box, etc.) but just do it.

3. Relish this time to lounge around. Get cozy, read, go to bed at 9PM - who cares? There are so many times in our hectic lives when we wish we could just rest and not do anything. It's a gift man, a gift.

4. Wii-Fit baby.

5. If you have a wood fireplace, use it frequently and often and sit by it. Something about the light and radiant heat are very wonderful.

6. Dinner parties. Also, become an avid baker or try out new complicated recipes. I love to bake when the weather sucks.

7. Find friends to meet up at bars and play Scrabble or cards or something.

8. Tiki Bar night! Seriously, the rum, the tropical decor. Ah. It's like a tropical escape for an hour or so.

9. Mini weekend Vacation at a hotel with a heated pool and hot tub. Even 2 days at a hotel, can make for a nice change of scenery and feels like a getaway, even if it is a getaway across town. The pool is crucial to the experience.

10. Regular Saunas and Steams.

11. Plays, museums and other indoor cultural events. Now is the time.

Mostly, it is about breaking up the routine and staying engaged and active.

Those are all great ideas, Lizzy C. I went to college in Eugene, OR, and nearly lost my mind during the rainy season.

I think the best tip is to just go outside, no matter how cruddy the weather. The fresh air makes you feel more alive and awake. A 10-minute walk is enough to clear out the blahs.

As long as you don't all into the slump of sitting on your couch and watching tv I think just about anything beats cabin fever!!! Have a board game night, bake a cake, roast a chicken, read a book, go out to a bar and dance (!!!), take a walk with your dog (bundle up!), go to a coffee shop to surf the internet (instead of staying at home).

anything!

How do you get cabin fever when you go to work 5 days a week?

Can you get cabin fever if you work out of the house?
I am thinking no.

Can you get cabin fever if you work someplace other than your home?

Of course you can get cabin fever if you work out of the house. It's about not being outdoors, not gardening, cold, mess, salt all over everything, short days, grumpy pets who blame you for the snow all everything.

My antidote this year is a scented geranium that I have managed to keep alive indoors all winter. The secret is a southern exposure with lots of direct sun and not too much water. When I get antsy I walk over to it and rustle the leaves so I get a good whiff of scent.

But I still want the damn snow to go away and the daffs to show a little green....

JoanneM

Phoenix, baby. 70 degrees and sunny.

Don't hate too much. Cabin fever starts June with the 105 days, and gets even worse in late summer. Monsoon season, 105 degrees plus humidity.

When I was attended in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, gloomy weather would sit on us for days. So I'd cheer myself up by taking little trips to the campus greenhouse. Now, when February has me in its grip, I try to drop in on a local treasure, the Como Park Conservatory (when in St Paul, check it out--it's lovely). It's warm and humid, it smells like rich earth and green plants.

If you don't have a conservatory nearby, a commercial greenhouse will do in a pinch. Same air, same smells.

And I second Emily's idea about roasting a chicken.

Whoops. That first sentence should read: "When I attended college in the Pioneer Valley...." I blame February for the error.

I go to the Garfield Park Conservatory. The humidity feels good on my skin & the greenery feels good on my psyche.

--Also, I bought bunches of daffodils yesterday at the grocery store for $2.50 per bunch.
--The Art Institute.
--pre-Oscar movie binges with friends
--pop open the windows for 5 minutes (even when it's cold) and freshen the air in the house.
--make dates with friends, so that you have committed yourself to get out of the house.

Cabin fever is not being able to leave the house for a period of time. Hating winter is something else. Not being able to garden or being sick of what's outside when you go is not cabin fever.

I definitely do not get cabin fever. I can stay inside indefinitely. However, I think it sort of wimpy to make the winter blah equivalent to cabin fever, or if the intent of the OP, to use the wrong name for the winter blahs. I find being indoors during a cold winter very cozy and ideal. I find having to go outdoors during a cold winter very dispiriting. This is not the mountains. I have to go outside periodically because I don't have what I need in my apartment. Luckily, I have a parka and boots, as well as mittens and a hat and a scarf. I can take public transportation; I don't have the additional burden to mobility as digging my car out of a mountain of snow or getting it out of the impound lot.

The deal here is, cabin fever, staying inside because of inclement weather that prevents one from venturing outdoors for a period of time just doesn't affect most people. Winter is a minor inconvenience for the most part and only temporarily debilitating most areas. This drives some people batshit.

Gray skies and itchy layers of clothing, dorky boots, and such that is misery for long months at a time, is not cabin fever. If you have a job outside your home, and activities for yourself or your children that can mostly be attended on a regular schedule during winter months because they can clear the roads and not confine you to your home, that is not cabin fever. That is Winter Blahs. This can also drive some people batshit. But it's not cabin fever.

Sorry about the double post way up above. I meant the latter and just saw the first one pop up now.

Yeah, we don't have this problem in AZ until the summer.
Then it's 3 months of desert heat and all you want is a chaise lounge, iced tea and AC.

I don't have cabin fever but feeling an early spring fever because its the best time to travel almost anywhere and will be stuck here. At least I have the cutest 18 yr. old dog in the world.

But I am jonesing for Mexico, Equador and Spain.

I live north of 50º so its dark most of the day and the sun is up when I'm at work. I've been taking a vitamin D and it seems to help (It may be in my mind tho). But other than that I do a lot of indoor crafty projects to help out and go out of town on the weekends. Even if I go an hour away it feels nice to be somewhere else

dammit, we're getting snow.....

nearly 80 in ft worth today. worked on a habitat house and the weather was perfect for it.

migrate south, if only for a long weekend.

and enjoy the time spent indoors and relaxing - because when summer gets here, it's time to go outside and play!

purlgreyhound..i dream of the Smith greenhouse conservatory every daaaaaaaaaaaaaay....it was heaven...no longer live in noho...instead..i painted my bathroom tropic green w/hot pink towels..haha