Isolation advice from astronauts!
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In this moment when we’re all called upon to stay home, it can feel like the days are blurring together. You’re bored and restless and your cravings for the simple things in life – interaction with colleagues, a hug from a loved one, and even the morning commute – intensify as the days roll on. But imagine if when you looked out your window right now that all you could see was the vastness of space.
This was the isolation experience of Chris Hadfield, Canada’s first man to walk in space, and Andrew Thomas, Australia’s first NASA astronaut in space.
Even though their careers as astronauts spanned a combined four decades, during that time they each only spent around 140 days in space. For a lot of the rest of their careers, they were preparing their minds and bodies for those five months.
For example, Hadfield says he and his crew ran through multiple scenarios to test their physical and psychological responses. They underwent desert and mountain survival situations, and they even spent two weeks living at the bottom of the ocean.
To them, being told to quarantine at home must seem laughably easy. But they do have advice for those of us who haven’t had decades to mentally prepare ourselves...