Frustrated With Lockdown? Here Are 10 Tips From Experts To Help You Deal With Isolation Anxiety

The whole world is in lockdown and billions or people are staying indoors. No one can be sure how long we have to endure this social isolation and hardship but at least, we can make it more tolerable.

Long before us, astronauts and scientists have been living all by themselves in remote areas or in space for several months at a time. So you will be hard-pressed to find anyone with more experience than them when it comes to coping with isolation.

On Dealing With The Lack Of Motivation And Inspiration

Have A Schedule

Most scientists agree on one thing. People under lockdown should have a schedule to keep themselves motivated and avoid monotony.

This Austrian physician, Carmen Possnig, stayed for a whole year at an Antarctica-based center called Concordia Research Station. She and 12 other scientists studied the effect of isolation to prepare for space travel.

If you think living under lockdown is hard, try spending a year surrounded by icy and barren moonscape like her. Not to mention the freezing temperature of Antarctica.

What she did to cope with the environment is to spend the evening before planning for the next day. Possnig divided the day into 30-minute segments and assign a task to each. For example, she made sure that she did not spend hours checking the news by limit the time to only half an hour after lunch only.

Sheyna Gifford, an American physician, got to experience what life on Mars would be like along with her five crewmates at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation.

What she got to eat is frozen astronaut food and all of the communication to the outside world suffers from a 20-minute delay.

Gifford said if you were not the type of people who could follow a strict schedule, there was nothing wrong with that. She advised people under lockdown to try running their days like a game.

What you should ask yourself often is what phase of the day you are in. Another piece of advice is to squeeze in a few hours of doing nothing, along with helping others, work, and self-improvement.

Take It One Day At A Time

According to Possnig, moments of having no hope and no motivation at all are part of an isolated life. What she does is to break up the situation into small chunks and deal with one thing at a time. Ask yourself what you can do now, in the next few hours or the next few days. This is one way you can regain your confidence.

Albertsen suggests giving compliments, and keep in mind that, this one, too, shall pass.

Find A Hobby

Possnig said that she spent time improving her piano skills, learn Italian, French, write a book, and build Roman armor out of plaster while staying in Antarctica.

Gifford and other scientists often play music, do art, play games, or even cut each other hair after they are done with the habitat maintenance and science experiment tasks.

James Bevington, also spent time at Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, said that the crew had mic night and they also cooked for each other.

Care For Something Besides Yourself

Keeping a pet or growing a plant are good ways to keep yourself motivated as you get the feeling of having something that relies on you. While you might be just a small individual in this grand world, in your own world, you are needed.

Keep In Touch

Coleman had to spend a whole year on the ISS when her son was 10. She could not be there at his birthday or Christmas. So she made up for lost time with him by reading to him over the phone and helping him with homework.

Gifford suggests keeping in touch with at least six people a day. They can be the people you know, someone you share an interest with, or someone with works you care about. She encourages meaningful interactions like teaching someone something or learning something from them.

Albertsen agrees on this method. She said to use whatever means necessary, WhatsApp or Skype.

On Coping With Stress

Get Moving

Possnig said since she did not have much time outside, just like people under lockdown now, she tried to make up for it by doing exercises like Zumba, Pilates, Yoga, which are easily done at home. Exercising improves not only her physical well-being but also her mood.

Nadja Albertsen, a physician, also stayed at the Concordia station and she swore on the effect of yoga on reducing stress.

Find The Good Where You Can

Albertsen, while in Antarctica, maintained a habit of noting five things she was grateful about. They can be as simple as someone cracking a very good joke or the food was good.

She acknowledged the difference between people under lockdown worrying that their jobs might be gone by the time they are allowed to get out and scientists on a career-boosting mission.

She suggests focusing on the fact that everyone is in this together and even if you are now alone in your apartment, you are not lonely.

On Dealing With Quarrel

Be Tolerant

Cady Coleman, an astronaut and chemist, has been to space three times. And the last time she left Earth was to do a year-long mission on the International Space Station.

Her insight is valuable for anyone who feels that they cannot stand the people they are living with under lockdown.

Coleman said you could not pick your teammates so there was no use wishing you have someone better.

Possnig also has experience dealing with people you spend time with in isolation. Her advice is to have an open talk about what irritates you, in a friendly manner, of course.

On Dealing With Loss

Let Go

Letting go of something you have no control over is arguably one of the hardest things anyone must face while staying in isolation.

Gifford’s grandmother passed away while she was still on the mission so she had no choice but to bid farewell to her via a video message.

A French astrobiologist, one of Gifford’s crewmembers had to watch terrorists attacking his hometown Paris, killing 130 people. He had to wait for hours before being able to call to check if his family was safe.

Their advice for those who have to face horrible things while in lockdown with not much they can do to change things is to let go and focus on something they can actually control.

Focus On The Mission

The lockdown rules are to protect people from the pandemic so the best people can do right now is to focus on the mission they have at hand. Not being able to see your loved ones are hard to bear, but keep in mind that this is to make sure that everyone is safe from the disease.

Coleman had to go through the process of seeing her family with a glass panel between them because of the pre-departure quarantine.

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