Cave syndrome: why it increasingly affects young people and how to treat it

There are those who argue that the cave syndrome It is a phenomenon these days that affects mental health. Beyond the fact that this is not the case, it is true that in recent years this behavior has grown considerably in society and increasingly in young people.

The end of the quarantine due to the Covid pandemic has put many psychologists on alert, given that after the removal of some restrictions, people still presented resistance to leaving their homes.

It was there psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Bregma Who called therefore to this behavior, a non-medical term. In his practice in Coral Gables, Florida, United States, he found that many of his patients were nervous about leaving their homes and interacting with others.

“I have seen patients locked in their room at home” while making telemedicine calls “and wearing a mask,” Bregman said at the time.

But, as has been said, this phenomenon dates back to years ago, to the coronavirus effect, and even in the post-pandemic phase the increase has become a phenomenon danger sign.

What is cave syndrome and how to detect it

“Cave syndrome is a avoidant behavior “which occurs when people feel unable to cope with the demands of their environment,” they explain Psychepedia.

They add that “these demands can be both internal, such as stress and anxiety, and external, which can include work, family, friends, and other obligations.”

It is important to note that cave syndrome it does not describe a clinical condition which appears in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)but it outlines an often appreciated reality, e.g a lot in young people.

It is, no more and no less, the difficulty in resuming our life after an adverse event, something that eventually happened in other years too.

But in the debates there are those who even connect it to a certain fear of the frustration that the new generations seem to express.

There is no need to be afraid seek professional help when it comes to mental health. With the right support, you can overcome obstacles and live a fulfilling life.

A similar mental health syndrome

Long before the current situation, the so-called hikikomori syndrome, a Japanese term describing tendency towards isolation by many young people who choose at a given moment to abandon social life and close themselves in their homes.

It affects men more than women and, behind this phenomenon, social phobia, agoraphobia, shyness or even avoidant personality disorder usually hides.

Specialists say that this syndrome exists synonymous with suffering. The person is aware that he must resume his social life, however, the very idea of ​​doing so Crossing the threshold of your home generates great anxiety.

Cave syndrome shares many of these characteristics, but has one peculiarity: appears after a complex or traumatic event which leads the person to stay in a safe place like their own home, defines the place The mind is wonderful.

It is not for nothing that the fact that today it is appreciated more often has to do with people who have suffered workplace, sexual harassment, bullyingamong others.

Symptoms of cave syndrome

It is common for the following dimensions to appear in cave syndrome:

• High anxiety when completing a task outside the home: going to the doctor, an administrative procedure, attending important appointments. Anxiety and worry already appear in the previous days.

• Both in introverts and extroverts. Experts point out a similarity with Stockholm syndrome: excessive attachment and closeness to one’s captor (in this case the home).

• After a bad experience. Although there is a current trigger, it also appears after depression, due to a long-standing experience of abuse or harassment.

Therefore, systematically avoiding activities that take place outside the “safe cave” also generates physiological symptoms such as dizziness, numbness and tachycardia.