May 17, 2021
TORONTO — With warm weather approaching and the promise of a “one-dose summer” on the horizon, many Canadians are making plans for the summer and fall, eager for life to get back to pre-pandemic “normal.” But not all Canadians are happy to see the end of lockdown life brought about by COVID-19 restrictions.
The term ‘cave syndrome’ has been bandied about in news headlines and on social media, a term being used to describe people who may not be so willing to resume normal life when the COVID-19 pandemic sees its end. But while it may accurately describe people’s genuine struggle to return to normal lives as restrictions ease, psychologists say it’s a term that oversimplifies and pathologizes things.
“It’s not a syndrome because there could be any number of reasons why people are choosing to stay at home,” Steven Taylor, clinical psychologist at the University of British Columbia, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.