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A few weeks ago I wrote a column in which I briefly referred to the concept of “cave syndrome.” The term was coined by a psychiatrist in Florida to describe people who are feeling scared or unwilling to reenter post-pandemic society even after being vaccinated because they have grown too accustomed to isolation.
I mentioned it only in passing, having heard something about it on a local news broadcast. But when the column appeared, I was surprised by how many people wrote or spoke to me about it, saying it was something they were experiencing themselves.
“Thanks for giving me a name for how I’m feeling,” wrote one woman. “I love it when something has a name.”