STAYING SANE IN QUARANTINE

THOMAS B. KINSMAN, PH.D.

”Our job, as a society, it to make the best of this time alone, together.”-Thomas B. Kinsman, Ph.D.

The Situation:

So, you find yourself needing to stay away from college or work because of an epidemic. Like a child at summercamp, you are likely to get homesick. And, you are all going to need learn to handle being homesick in a sanemanner.

Be reassured that you are not the first one sent home because of an epidemic. In 1664 Isaac Newton was sent homefrom Cambridge for two years because of an epidemic. It was during this time that Newton discovered that gravitywas a force that caused falling objects to accelerate. Newton discovered the acceleration of gravity, not gravity.

During Newton’s quarantine, Newton went on to invent the field of Newtonian physics. What will you invent? Whatwill you learn?

You are not the first, and you will not be the last to experience this kind of unwanted solitary confinement.

Our job, as a society, it to make the best of this time alone, together. There will be a high cost, but society will goon. Do not start drinking heavily. The European survivors of The Plague in the 1300’s tried drinking, but drinkingthe alcohol did not help. The Europeans should have been using the alcohol to sanitize surfaces instead of drinkingit.

During our quarantine we want to stay both physically and mentally healthy. Staying healthy includes: gettingadequate sleep, eating healthy and enjoyable food, getting healthy exercise, doing meaningful work, having leisuretime, and having a healthy balance of privacy and meaningful social interactions [Inglis-Arkell(2012)].

Here are some questions you might be asking yourself: What problems will I face? What to do with your time toentertain yourself? How will you cope with the stress and anxiety? Do daily and weekly routines help, or do theyjust lead to monotony?

Who might know the answers to these questions? Who works in isolation for extended periods of time? Arcticfield scientists go on site for six months at a time, but they do not write many articles about it. Some submarinecrews are reported to work in tight spaces for a long time, but again they do not write much about their work-lifebalance [Tarantola(2019)].

Space for Answers:

Perhaps astronauts or cosmonauts? That’s the ticket! Looking to space, we find the issues and the answers.

The Russians were the first to study space psychology in their Salut6, Salut7, and MIR space station missions [Patel(2016),Tarantola(2014)]. These space missions went on for six to eight months, and longer. NASA is a public agency whichmust publish their findings about what issues they found and how to keep astronauts sane.

On some of the longer Mir Space station flights, the NASA astronauts reported adverse psychological impacts. Theyparticularly reported feelings of isolation and depression [Inglis-Arkell(2012)].

What could possibly go wrong? In extended quarantine you may experience claustrophobia, isolation, cabin fever,or ”Going Stir Crazy”. While you might think you have cabin fever, but imagine the problems if you were in thecabin of space craft. If you were in the International Space Station, you could not easily step outside and go for awalk. Fortunately, here on Earth you can go outside for a walk if appropriate.

Date: Draft of March 16, 2020, Copyright 2020 Thomas B. Kinsman.

1

2 THOMAS B. KINSMAN, PH.D.

What complications would you share with an astronaut? Being an astronaut is mentally, emotionally, and physicallydemanding [Inglis-Arkell(2012)]. At the very least, the human mind suffers from fatigue and lack of new stimulus.Some complications include difficulty sleeping, irritability, low morale, and frustration [HeartySoul(2017)].

Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques has lived in space, and underwater in Aquarius, the world’s only undersearesearch station [Douglas Vakoch(2019)]. Saint-Jacques reports that being far away from the people you love canmake you feel sad. He states that, ironically, at the same time they feel alone, astronauts never have any time aloneto themselves. You are stuck in the same place, with the people you are stuck with, and they are stuck with you.If a conflict arrives you must face it and resolve it. Saint-Jacques says that open communication and teamwork forlong-duration missions are the keys to success [Douglas Vakoch(2019)].

In the world of Science Fiction there is a concept of space madness, of a kind which does happen in the realworld [Inc.(2012)]. Studies report that the isolation of space does impact many basic mental abilities. Issues youmight expect to experience in quarantine include: maintaining attention, task switching, co-ordination, and problemsolving skills.

Unfortunately, unlike astronauts, you did not sign up for this, and you were never trained for it. You are going to haveto get along with your family, and your extended family. You may have to take care of children and simultaneouslywork remotely. You will have to keep yourself busy doing meaningful work.

If you are at college, stuck far from home, there are other issues – especially if you are an international student.These may include personality conflicts, cultural conflicts, communication issues among yourselves and with friendsand family afar, communication with people who speak different languages, monotony, and keeping up with routinemaintenance around the living space, and the monotony of keeping up with routines. [Tarantola(2019)].”

SKILLS:

Gary Beven, is NASA’s Chief of Aerospace Psychiatry at the NASA Johnson Space Center [Patel(2016)]. Beven saythere are nine different skills that help astronauts do well in space: the ability to perform under stressful situations,group living skills, teamwork skills, self-regulation of one’s emotions and mood (i.e. impulse control), motivation,judgement and decision making, conscientiousness, communication, and leadership.

Beven also reports that once selected, astronauts are prepared for extended isolation two years ahead of time,a luxury you do not have. You can become fatigued from both over-work (or burnout), and you can becomefatigued due to under-work. A healthy mixture is required. Beven says that astronauts must have good, healthy,and meaningful hobbies and leisure activities. Beven emphasized that the downtime must be rejuvenating to behelpful [Patel(2016)].

Plan what you are going to do to rejuvenate yourself. Use that as a reward to motivate yourself to get other tasksdone, and to avoid procrastination.

Use caution with computer games as relaxation. Computer games can become addictive, and most computergames are recreation, not relaxation. Furthermore, the continuous use of the internet is associated with depres-sion [Kardaras(2016)].

SOLUTIONS

Solutions include learning from history, setting up routines, setting up time away from routines, and assuring physicalsecurity. Take control of some things you need to feel a sense of control over, and give up control over things youdo not need a sense of control over. Emphasize taking care of your physical health, and it will help your mentalhealth.

In the movie, ”Oh God”, God says ”Sometimes when you don’t feel normal, doing the normal thing helps you feelnormal.” So, keep shaving, keep showering, keep changing your clothes, do not forget to brush your teeth and floss,and have regular conversations in your family units – which might be a dorm.

The routines will be ”new normal” for us, going forward. Develop a regiment and schedule. Routines help youdeveloping new habits to help with consistency and a sense of daily comfort. Routines help you have a sense ofcontrol [Brewer(2020)]. You need to establish a ”new normal” so that you feel in control.

Schedule your day, including creative time and unstructured time. Having a regular routine helps. However, youwant to be sure to have time that is down time so that you can unwind. I am planning on taking regular naps, at aregular time.

STAYING SANE IN QUARANTINE 3

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested that you avoid watching, reading, or listening to news that couldtrigger an anxiety attack or depression [Bryan(2020)]. The WHO also recommend focusing on practical information– what to do, not what to worry about.

The WHO points out that with the sudden constant stream of information coming out about COVID-19, you cannotkeep up with all of it [Bryan(2020)]. Instead, dedicate specific times to check for updated information, and ”time-box”it to by limiting it to only those times.

Wash your hands, but not obsessively. Be physically separated from people, but stay socially connected with people.Use social networking applications to stay connected. You might send an email directly to people you care about.Use interactive phone conversations to talk interactively and stay connected with others [Brewer(2020)].

Historical Solutions

Our fore-bearers had solutions to entertain themselves. We can go back before the time of the internet, beforetelevision, before jet airplanes, before radio communications, and before the time of modern medicine. Ask yourgrandfather and grandmother what they did to keep themselves from going crazy when they did not have an internet,a radio, or a telephone.

Quarantine used to be the norm for farmers and people who lived outside the cities and in the country.

Growing up my father had books on his bookshelves with titles such as: ”The Boy Engineer” by Edward LouisThrom, et. al (1959). Dad’s father (my Grandfather) kept books around on the topics of things to do when you arebored. There are books and books of lists of things to do: how to use tools, how to whittle, how to make birdhouses,how to build tree forts, how to do landscaping, how to identify different types of trees by their bark alone, and soforth. In my office at work, there is a gas engine which my Grandfather made from scratch, on a treadle lathe – alathe that he powered by pumping it with his feet.

In a world where folks could not easily get into a car and visit others, our parents and grandparents stayed saneby: hiking, growing plants, flying kites, building toy boats, building real boats, building model planes, doing woodworking projects, making jigsaw puzzles, solving jigsaw puzzles, playing solitaire (with real cards), play card anddice games, sketching nature, and writing their own stories and poetry. The list of things to do in isolation is as longas a list of hobbies and avocations.

You probably have projects or books you have been wanting to get to. Make a list of all the things you wish youhad time alone to work on, because now you do. Plant those seeds, and watch them grow.

Mind Games, Mental Judo, and Mental Self Defense

One of the secret to successfully motivating yourself is the stories we tell yourself. Use mind games, or what I termmental judo to flip unpleasant tasks on their heads. Look at life from a different perspective. Instead of thinkingabout the isolation as a curse, convince yourself that it is a blessing.

For example, I liked changing diapers as a parent. You could convince yourself that changing diapers is a smellydirty task, and demoralize yourself. Or, you could convince yourself that this is an important task to take care ofyour baby, it helps you check on the health of your child, look for diaper rash and irritations, and take some of theworkload off of your spouse.

How you look at a task greatly changes how you feel about it. Since you can control how you consider a task, youcan control how you react to a situation.

So, instead of thinking that I am stuck at home, I am joyful that I do not need to drive back and forth to work. Iam thankful that I can be in the same house with my kids for a while. I am teaching my family kids how to do thingthe school forgot to teach them: like how to cook, and how to sand.

4 THOMAS B. KINSMAN, PH.D.

Figure 1. Teaching one of the kids how to mix pancake batter without lumps. (Answer: add the eggs last.)

I am learning things that my own father forgot to teach me, such as when to throw sandpaper away and start usinga new piece. Dad lived through the depression of the 1930’s, and never wanted to waste anything. Dad used to usea piece of sandpaper until it totally stopped working. Dad kept old sandpaper until there was only a few grains ofthe sand left on it, but it took him forever to get a project finally sanded. Sometimes you get things done faster andbetter when you throw out the old things, and get on with the new ones – like new routines.

Erma Bombeck was an American humorist, columnist, and book author. Erma once wrote that her idea of a perfectvacation was when everyone else in the house went away, and she had the house to herself.

Enjoy this precious time away from the cacophony of society.

References

[Inglis-Arkell(2012)] Esther Inglis-Arkell. What does space travel do to your mind?, Dec 2012. URL io9.gizmodo.com/5967408/

what-does-space-travel-do-to-your-mind-nasas-resident-psychiatrist-reveals-all.[Tarantola(2019)] Andrew Tarantola. How nasa keeps its astronauts safe and sane in space, July 2019. URL https://www.engadget.com/

2019/07/19/nasa-astronaut-health-deep-space-missions.[Patel(2016)] Neel V. Patel. Space psychology 101: how nasa keeps its astronauts sane, Aug 2016. URL www.inverse.com/article/

19326-space-psychology-nasa-astronauts-mental-health-mars.

[Tarantola(2014)] Andrew Tarantola. Salyut 7: The last and longest-running soviet space station (until mir), Oct 2014. URL gizmodo.

com/salyut-7-the-last-and-longest-running-soviet-space-sta-1640462206.[HeartySoul(2017)] HeartySoul. How nasa keeps their astronauts sane for months in outer space, Sep 2017. URL theheartysoul.com/

astronaut-mental-health.[Douglas Vakoch(2019)] Ph.D. Douglas Vakoch. Astronauts open up about depression and isolation in space. web interface, Feb 2019. URL

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/home-in-the-cosmos/201902/astronauts-open-about-depression-and-isolation-in-space.

[Inc.(2012)] Group Nine Media Inc. Why ’space madness’ fears haunted nasa’s past, Apr 2012. URL www.seeker.com/

why-space-madness-fears-haunted-nasas-past-1765739692.html.[Kardaras(2016)] Nicholas Kardaras. Glow Kids, How Screen Addiction is Hijacking our kids – and how to break the trance. St. Martins

Press, NY, 2016. ISBN 9781250097996.[Brewer(2020)] Kirstie Brewer. Coronavirus: How to protect your mental health, Mar 2020. URL https://www.bbc.com/news/

health-51873799.

[Bryan(2020)] Scott Bryan. World health organization on protecting your mental health during the outbreak, Mar 2020. URL https:

//twitter.com/scottygb/status/1237436877508161537/photo/1.