Seafarers, astronauts and hermits, who can rightly be called experts in matters of self-isolation, came to the aid of people sitting at home. Their recommendations on how to best survive a difficult time are in the material "Tapes.ru".

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Right now, half of the world's population is in isolation or quarantined in order to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. However, sitting in four walls was not so easy for many, but for extroverts it was a real challenge.

Astronauts, hermits and sailors talked about how to survive self-isolation in the era of the coronavirus and not go crazy.

Space isolation

Astronauts know firsthand what it means to be divorced from the outside world. The retired American astronaut Peggy Witson stayed on the ISS for 665 days. In 2017, she broke the record for the total number of days spent in space. Witson compared life on the space station to the current situation in the world.

“Many are now trying to combine work from home, parenting and caring for the family. This is a serious test. Something like life on the ISS. There, team members replace your family. You do not just work with them throughout the day - in the evening you cannot return home, that is, to remain alone or with relatives. Therefore, even after work, you have to look for common interests. ”

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NASA prepares astronauts in advance to have to be in the company of the same people for a long time. “The training program includes the training of teamwork skills in a shared living environment. It is very important that the cosmonauts of the space station find a common language. You cannot choose your team. The only thing you can do is try to competently get out of any situation on board. In space, your lives depend on each other. This must be remembered, ”said Witson.

Witson emphasized that the goal of the entire team at the space station is above the desires of individuals. In her opinion, pneumonia COVID-19 also posed an important task for the public - to save lives while in quarantine. The American noted that it would be easier to transfer self-isolation if you do not forget about the ultimate goal.

For those who do not know what to do, she gave advice from personal experience. At the space station, she came up with additional tasks for herself so as not to get bored. Witson encouraged others to remember what they wanted to do, show up with more free time: “Maybe read a book? Write a poem or draw? ”

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Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the ISS, also made some valuable recommendations for self-isolated. In space, he adhered to a strict daily routine that helped him stay fit, and advises everyone else.

“Your family will have an easier time adapting to their new home environment if you stick to a strict daily routine. When I returned to Earth, I found it difficult to live without a clear plan,” Scott Kelly, former astronaut.

Kelly advised people who work remotely to avoid getting bogged down with tasks and make time for relaxation and fun. “My team and I had movie nights. So we watched the entire Game of Thrones series twice.” To spend time in isolation usefully, the astronaut recommended remembering your hobbies: reading books, playing a musical instrument, starting or continuing to keep a diary.

Kelly advised taking an example from astronauts with the ISS and often calling up friends and relatives via video link. According to him, this helps to maintain a relationship at a distance.

Around the world

In 2016, Enda O'Coinen became the first Irish to take part in the Vendée Globe single-yacht round-the-world regatta. In the contest, which is held every four years, sailors single-handedly overcome a difficult route without stops and outside help. In order to more easily transfer loneliness on board, he developed for himself a specific daily routine: “You need to organize your day. "You wake up in the morning and pull yourself out of bed to the sound of the alarm clock, turn on the radio, have breakfast or take the children to school - this is the daily routine."

“If you're completely disoriented, routine will help. The first thing to do is develop a daily routine. Simply put, create a consistent task plan. Set yourself a small goal every day towards what you want to achieve. Even when I was alone on the ocean, I had a daily routine." - Enda O'Coinen, navigator

O'Koinen sincerely believes that isolation has a positive side. This is an opportunity to be alone with yourself and begin to value more the company of loved ones and relatives. The mariner emphasized that not everyone will be able to transfer isolation without problems. He advised to try to find their advantages of staying in four walls in order to maintain reason: “Of course, it is easier for those who stayed at work. People working remotely at least have what they can focus their attention on. I think the situation is more complicated for the unemployed. I believe that such people need to set daily goals and objectives. ”

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47-year-old Briton Di Caffary spent six months alone, traveling around the world on a yacht. She, like O'Coinen, participated in the Vendée Globe competition. “Of course, I chose loneliness myself, while the current situation in the world is caused by the coronavirus,” she said. The traveler decided to give advice to everyone who unwittingly turned out to be torn from the outside world.

“As sentient beings, we all understand that we must physically distance ourselves from others. But this does not mean that you need to isolate yourself from everyone on a psychological level. Communication and support are important parts of our lives, especially during times of stress or crisis. We need to support each other now more than ever." - Dee Caffari, Sailor

The seafarer added that it is necessary to communicate with friends and relatives, because even a five-minute telephone conversation can cheer up the participants.

Kaffari recommended that the self-isolating ones stop worrying about what they could not control, and read less disturbing news: “The media is overwhelming us with information, but don't take any news to heart. On the contrary, if you feel that reading or listening to the news is causing you panic, do it less often. ”

Dee is sure that the coronavirus pandemic will seriously affect many: people will face financial losses due to the lack or reduction of workloads. “You are not alone in a crisis, millions of people are in the same situation,” she recalled. “Think about a possible plan of action or ask for help from others.”

Lonely islander

81-year-old hermit Mauro Morandi knows a lot about self-isolation. It is not surprising, because he lived for 31 years alone on the Italian island of Budelli in Sardinia. In 1989, a former physical education teacher happily agreed to work as an island ranger. Despite the fact that in 2006, employers stopped paying him money because of financial difficulties, the Italian continues to look after Budelli for free. Over the years, he has earned a reputation as the Italian Robinson Crusoe.

Morandi claims that the coronavirus pandemic had virtually no effect on his life, and that he feels completely safe on Budelli Island. The only thing - they stopped delivering food to him, and rare meetings with tourists completely disappeared. He is convinced that nothing threatens his health at all, since he has no contacts with the outside world.

The hermit proudly notes that he lives in the safest place on the planet, but is worried about the well-being of family and friends living in the Italian city of Modena. He is also concerned that his country is in second place in the world in the number of infected people.

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The Italian believes that quarantine and self-isolation are a great opportunity to know yourself: “I spend every winter at home. For months, I hardly go outside, only from time to time I sit on the porch of my hut. Can't people sit at home for two weeks? This is ridiculous. ” In his spare time, the keeper of the island reads a lot and thinks about life.

In his opinion, the bulk of people are afraid to be alone with themselves: “When you analyze your life and look at what is happening from different angles, you may come to the conclusion that you are wasting your life for nothing, or you may suddenly realize that you did bad things and were bad by man. ”

Morandi believes that self-knowledge can be extremely useful. He emphasized that through introspection, he had turned from an avid traveler wandering around Europe into a lonely islander.

“I have lost all interest in travel,” he admits. - I realized that the most beautiful, adventurous, exciting and enjoyable journeys take place inside a person. And it doesn’t matter whether you are sitting in a hotel or here, on the porch of a hut on the island of Budelli. ”

Homesteads

Some Russians refused contact with the outside world and began to lead a secluded life long before the outbreak of the coronavirus infection. In a conversation with Ershov, recluses told how to transfer self-isolation.

Homegirl Christina claims that coronavirus has not changed her daily routine. She continues to live for pleasure, work from home and buy products in online stores. To stay in good physical shape, the girl trains with a boxing dummy and dances in the game Just Dance 2020 for the Playstation. Christina admits that she does not have a clear daily routine. Sometimes she wakes up very early, turns on peppy music and gets down to business, and on other days she can be too lazy to even get out of bed.

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Recluse admits that he works according to his own creative regime. He wakes up, as a rule, in the evening, and works until he pulls him to sleep. “Comfortable sleep patterns and active work help to create,” he said. Mikhail buys all the essentials online, and his relatives or friends bring him goods that are difficult to order at home. Mikhail also noted that it would be difficult for hyperactive people to survive a period of self-isolation.

Former homebody Anatoly believes that being a recluse is very easy: “Food, clothing and medicine will be delivered to your home. You can learn anything online from programming to woodcarving. They say that now many educational platforms have made free content during the pandemic - it's very cool. " Now Anatoly works as a courier, but really wants to return to freelance and lead a secluded lifestyle.

Solitary confinement

44-year-old American journalist Jason Rezayan, who headed the Washington Post newspaper’s Tehran bureau, shared his experiences in isolation. In November 2015, he was convicted of espionage. Rezayan spent 544 days in an Iranian prison, spent some time in solitary confinement. “Although self-isolation is different from imprisonment, a long stay away from the outside world has taught me some valuable lessons,” he said.

The journalist advised not to stay too long on social networks and on entertainment platforms: “Of course, we must be realistic: we cannot completely abandon the Internet. But I highly recommend spending as much time as possible without the Internet and TV, especially after work. ”

Rezayan urged people in quarantine or in isolation to read more. He recalled how, after 49 days in solitary confinement, he was given access to books: “Reading magically helped me escape from dark reality. In addition, thanks to books, I began to feel closer to the outside world. They showed me that I can endure any, even the most difficult test. "

“Put your phone aside, close your laptop and come up with an activity that doesn’t require a gadget. For example, spend time with your loved ones." - Jason Rezaian, American journalist

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Royal quarantine: virtual tours of the most famous castles of Europe
• Features of national quarantine: how different societies behave in a pandemic
• How to physically and psychologically adapt to self-isolation: lifehacks of astronauts
• Cinema, education, creativity and sports: free resources for boring self-isolation

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