ISS-35 Crew
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“It’s early in the game.”

We’re three-plus weeks into a shelter-in-place order, and with at least that many to go, Nick Kanas, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and Academy docent, says that as stir-crazy as we might be now, it’s only going to get worse.

For fifteen years, Dr. Kanas studied the effects of being isolated in space in 30 astronauts and cosmonauts living on the International Space Station (ISS) and its predecessor, the Russian space station Mir. As part of the study, the residents filled out weekly questionnaires about their mental health, often responding to questions about how they were getting along with their fellow crewmembers and ground control.

Anecdotal studies found that after about four-to-six weeks, it became harder for the astronauts and cosmonauts to live with their space station mates. The quirks that they initially found in each other to be interesting or amusing became annoying. “Jokes that might seem funny at first in one person became irritating after that period of time,” Dr. Kanas says.

His research team found that if the space dwellers kept their feelings bottled up, they would take it out on the staff at ground control. “Squabbles with ground control are safe,” Dr. Kanas says, “but the astronauts depend on the people they live with on the space station.” They have to get along with them. He likens it to how we react here on Earth. “We can’t yell at our boss, so we sometimes take it out on our husband or wife.”

Even though confronting the coronavirus may not be as stressful as the threat of meteors striking, several previous residents of the ISS such as Chris Hadfield, Peggy Whitson, and Scott Kelly have provided tips for our new reality. Dr. Kanas has a few for us, too.

Take a walk outside. That’s probably the biggest difference between us here on the ground and astronauts in space. We’re able to get outside. “It’s a bit of an escape valve,” Dr. Kanas explains. For those of us with roommates, it’s also a good time to take a break from each other. For those of us living alone, it can be a good time to connect—albeit from at least six feet apart—with other people and even animals. Astronauts always remarked how important it was to see the beauty of Earth from space, Dr. Kanas says, and although the view may not be as grand, we can do that when we walk outside our front door.

Call friends and family, connect via social media, and get on Zoom. Socializing is incredibly helpful to reduce the feelings of isolation. We find connection when we’re with other people, even virtually.

Structure your day. This was number one on former astronaut Scott Kelly’s list of advice. This helps relieve boredom, and is especially helpful for those with young children at home.

Respect privacy. Astronauts frequently mention that a key thing for their mental health is privacy. Unless you’re a Kardashian, no one likes being on display 24/7. Many people need enough time away from their cohabitants to take the pressure off and do something on their own, even if it’s simply reading or watching TV away from everyone else. Dr. Kanas and his colleagues found that for astronauts this often meant going to another module of the station and observing the Earth below through a window in a private setting. At home, that could mean closing the door to your room.

Do something you love. A hobby, exercise, whatever it might be.

Start having regular discussions with your roommates. We may only be halfway (or a quarter or third of the way) through shelter-in-place, but start talking to your partner, kids, friends who you live with now about the little things that bug you. Dr. Kanas recommends weekly meetings—when things aren’t tense—to chat about annoyances or grievances. A little can go a long way to preventing confrontations especially after the four-to-six week mark. It worked very well with the astronauts, the research team found.

It’s worth the effort because these are the people we depend on most during this time of stress, and other times, too. So make sure to take good care of yourselves, and your loved ones as well.

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