Hello all,

First let me say someone may have asked this already I have not checked thoroughly so please excuse me if the question has already been asked. Now, for the question, in the environment of space those living or operating in it need to be as sharp as possible but living in space will be more dangerous than anything attempted on Earth and the psychological effect it would have on folks is sure to be nothing to sneeze at so, how will we deal with the psychological effects living in space will have on people?

Hi Brandon7,

That's a tough question. I'm not sure if you watched the 'Mars' season on Discovery channel??, but part of the doctors job they had on there was to occasionally talk to the team members and see how they were doing. I could see therapy being greatly needed from that role.

Now as to the medicine part...I take Tramadol for back pain I have to help me work through the day. I found as a side-benefit that it quiets my mood a bit from becoming angry, or setting me off as such has happened in the past. So, while I don't like to be dependent on a drug...I do see the possible benefits for it. Now the only downside would be carrying enough on a year mission so someone doesn't run out.

But great question.

This is a great question! A lot of people don't realize how difficult it is really going to be. While we will have light on the station, space is dark most all the time. Not like here where we have a period of sunshine and a period of darkness. Even here in some places those periods of time are not the same and can be extended for several months in some places. In those places of 6 months of darkness, it is known that people experience depression and other behavioral issues. The idea of living in space is exciting! But it really is not for everyone.

As useful as you may find such an aid, Leomarquie, an externally applied solution to an internal issue isn't an optimum solution. IMHO. Personally - although mind I am not "medically qualified" - I would suggest you consider less harmful alternates. I hear good things of "kratom", and advise that you look into this. The leaves to the kratom plant commonly boiled into a tea, It's still an opoid and from what I hear can still do something about your back pain but it's significantly less addictive. Significantly more difficult to hit "fatal" doses. There's also several strains the users of which report various "calming" effects. Pharmecutical corporations are currently(and have been for some time) trying to load the right pockets up with money in order to have this substance criminalised in many locations due to it's potential to impact profits.

You can't run out of your own mind, it's in constant supply. It's also the most powerful tool you'll likely weild. Like any other tool, it's all in how you use it. With regards to being angry, specifically, much of it is an active choice. It may be of consequence to external influences and inputs but the response is yours alone to control. Anger within itself doesn't have to be a bad thing. Weilded without care it can certainly cause damages but without it stagnation becomes viable as complacancy rises over the desire for change. One table leg shorter than the others(or an uneven floor) can create a wobble... If you're not bothered by that, you'll experience that wobble for some time. Once you get angry at that wobble, you will stop it from happening again. Anger should be attributed as the situation merits, with the least amount required to result in the required effect - most situations it tends to become applied to genuinely merit humor, not anger. If it helps, never attribute to maliciousness that which can be equally explained by stupidity.

Self control is something that certainly will play a major role in long-term space habitation, and is something tradititionally not associated with large groups of humans. No matter the extent of self control any individual can exhibit, the actions of another can more than easily undo. Especially if determined. I do not generally think this shall present much of a problem, however, should the general ethos of the overall society be genuinely that self improvement the few discrepencies that are exhibited should be counterable reasonably effectively by various rehabilitational initatives.

Much of the environment should be different "up there" because what we have "down here" is just too rediculous to function. It doesn't even particularly function on Earth, hence the original issue, and attempting to take that into space is just fatally stupid. I don't put forwards the impression it's going to start off as some utopian paradise - but it's going to have to be making some significant efforts towards that aim in order to eliminate potential excuses for errant behaviours. The rest should happen "naturally" over time. Things like "therapy" are likely to play a major role, as is social acceptability.

Things like "constant darkness" in deep space locations will be combated by artifical lighting of appropriate frequencies, I don't see much call for "real windows" - it's a weakness, structurally. Camera feeds and panels might work a little better. Generally that little will change I don't imagine most people will spend a lot of time looking out. Being panels, it could be "looking out" anywhere... feilds, oceans, deserts, cities...

Hi EyeR, thank you for the suggestions. Please be aware that you do not know my situation. I've had 2 back injuries, and surgery. While I understand that if I lose a little 'gut' weight, it will ease my back pain, it's been hard to exercise long enough to lose that weight through the pain. I take my Tramadol to help me work/exercise past 10 minutes to be able to be healthier. I ride my bike 14 miles to/from work when I can to help. My body is the way that it is.

That also goes for my mind. We each have life-stresses we've gone through that will change how we deal with life. I spent 4 years active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. I was trained right out of high school during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. I've lost friends and been put in difficult situations where my mind had no time to 'think' only respond. I have worked very hard coming out of the Marine Corps to understand and cope with many mentally challenging issues. I keep thinking about how I would feel and respond if given the chance to go into space. What stressors would I endure, and how would I cope.

I'm advance open-water scuba certified, and I imagine diving is as close to feeling in space as I may ever get. But the experience of not being able to 'open a door for air', can be very frightening to anyone. I've been in water where you couldn't see the bottom over 200' down, and the shore was a mile away. What happens when we get scared or angry with a situation? To each person that is a challenge that they will only encounter once they are there. The scary part is that they may be miles above this Earth when that situation happens, and they may not be able to cope with that fear.

I ask you to be careful when making suggestions to people without knowing their life experiences. While I do understand they are your own opinions, they are also only just that. I am able to remain calm as I write this only from experience, but others sometimes do not allow themselves to pause before typing when they are responding while they are angry. We don't always like to hear solutions to our own problems. Or alternative ideas that others think may be better for us. I've found I will ask for help, or ideas when I'm open to them and feel ready to receive them. I imagine a lot of other people may feel the same way.

My intent was not to ruffle your feathers but offer you something for consideration that I genuinely believe may be in your better interest. I've occured many folks with many tales of physical trauma and a consistent result of improvements via kratom. You are ofc free to ignore such, but drawing your attention to it's existence cannot be a bad thing IMHO. And that's all I intend on doing, drawing your attention to it's existence and some of it's properties that may be of benefit. If you are interested you will find out more under your own steam and if not discarding such information shouldn't be difficult or overly encumbersome. I was very careful with this suggestion.

I was not attempting to suggest you, or your mind, to be unhealthy. We all have room for improvement. Certainly, it is a lot easier to say such things regarding anger than it is to actually practise them but with practise comes proficiency. And having time to think does certainly assist the matter. If one is mindful of the self then it is possible to intercept yourself earlier with more accuracy, and eventually you shouldn't require additional time as the response becomes autonomous.

With regards to fear, panic, and frustration within various situations it's commonly something incredibly unproductive and leads to unsuitable responses frequently - as you should already be aware from various trainings, least of all diving - As a result the first in our number stepping off this planet will by rights of already proven themselves unsucceptable to such and by the time we're thinking mass residence then there should be no physical provision for such feelings leaving physcological counciling etc in a position it should be possible to deal with things like the "fear of falling" or the aprehensions of collisions, explosive decompression etc - Commonly such should be able to rest at ease by understanding the mechanisms set in place to prevent. Fear and panic should be trivial to displace. Anger may take more effort - but as previously mentioned it actually serves a purpose so is possibly not best eliminated but instead utilised in a controlled and measured fashion.

I am glad to see that you Leo and Zahira think this is a good question. I too think most people are not aware of how hard adapting to life in space will be. The perpetual darkness, inability to go outside for a breath of fresh air, the constantly being in close proximity to others due to space constraints, the constant fear of the unknown, and quite possibly the mass sightings of ufos and the paranoia that could cause. Will not be as easy to deal with or accept as some people seem to think. Everyone is so focused on what is and what they think is needed to make Asgardia a reality, that few people have taken into consideration the less immediate problems. The project will eventually have the main ones being psychological in nature as they pose the greatest risk.

@EyeR,

I think the point Leo was trying to make is not everything works for everyone or works as well for everyone. For example oxycodone works well for pain treatment for others but literally had no effect when I was given it. I could be wrong anyway, I am going to stop now

Being originally from Alaska, I can say that people will respond to the differences in lighting quite significantly. I know people who moved up there that couldn't survive the winters because the sun would only come up an hour or two and then go back below the horizon. In the case of a space habitat, I expect the lack of a blue sky, or any sky, would be psychologically unsettling to many, just as they get sad on days when it is overcast.

This would not be entirely difficult to replicate.

Frequencies of light as much as intensity can matter, too, and it's all potentially adjustable to suit... What I'd expect to be "psychologically unsettling" to most is the lack of horizon, the sheer distances. But, again, easily adjustable. There's not really much sense in physical windows in most locations, panels and camera feeds making much more sense - and you can display whatever you'd like in the "windows" then.

@EyeR,

It may not prove difficult to replicate but, a replication is not the same as the real thing and does not always have the same effects. Everything will not be as easily addressed as you make it seem. Many people will simply not be able to adjust to life in space regardless of what is done to alleviate their fears. There will be a problem with your panel idea, the views will be fake and people will tire of them

There will be a problem with your panel idea, the views will be fake and people will tire of them

Actually, that's easily remedied by simply showing a live feed from somewhere on Earth.

Or generate them fractally. As the view is tired of, you can change it easily enough too.

And if the results of the replication differ, you haven't replicated it well enough.

@Brandon7 & @Phicksur, I feel a combination of both ideas would be a possible better solution. Currently, Boeing is experimenting with creating window-less aircraft cabins and generating a display that encompasses the inside skin to show the outside of the aircraft as it's flying. Using this technology, one could get a visual of the outside view displayed all the time, or change it up to a forest, ocean beach, or snowy mountains...or even a cityscape view to help.

Another more down-to-Earth example would be the Mitzubishi MMR25 - although there's no intention on releasing that any time soon - which doesn't feature a windscreen, and instead has a wrap-around display so you've a HUD whilst you're driving and builtin-night vision etc.

@Leo,

That idea does sound like it could very well work

Considering the ISS has winows smalls ones admittedly but windows all the same. I personally do not see any reason why having windows would not be possible. Also, no matter what is done a replicated view will never be guaranteed to have the same effects. As being able to look out a window and see the real deal. On everyone in every situation, because once the brain realizes the view is not authentic, it ceases to be tricked by the replicated view. The replication technology would have to constantly improve to become more realistic to keep having that effect