Yang Guimin, Gu Jianwen, Yang Yuan, Gao Junfeng, Li Ke, Zhang Li, Duan Yuzhong, Gao Chuan, Strategic Support Force Characteristic Medical Center, Department of Psychology, Shenzhou Medical Team, Department of Aerospace Clinical Medicine, and Medical Research Department
As humanity's desire to explore space grows, long-term space missions become a reality. However, these missions pose unprecedented challenges to the mental health of astronauts. The impact of long-term space missions on astronauts' mental health and how to maintain astronauts' mental health through teamwork, psychological counselling and appropriate leisure activities.
1. Introduction Long-term space missions, such as missions to the International Space Station or possible future missions to Mars, require astronauts to live and work with small teams in closed, isolated environments for months or even years. This unique work environment puts a lot of stress on astronauts' mental health, including loneliness, isolation from family and friends, work stress, and the uncertainty of living in extreme environments.
2. Mental health challenges
2.1 Loneliness and isolation Long-term space missions can cause astronauts to feel lonely and isolated from the outside world. This constant feeling of loneliness and isolation can lead to depression and anxiety. Loneliness and isolation are important topics in psychological and sociological research, and they have a profound impact on the mental health and social behavior of individuals. Psychological theories explain the effects of loneliness and isolation from multiple perspectives, and here is an overview of some of the main theories: 1. Social Connectivity Theory: Social connectivity theory argues that humans are social animals and need to establish and maintain positive relationships with others in order to meet basic belonging needs. When this need is not met, individuals may feel lonely and isolated. The loss of social connection is seen as a psychological pain that can lead to a range of negative psychological states, such as depression, anxiety, and a decrease in self-worth. 2. Attachment Theory: Attachment theory emphasizes the importance of an early attachment relationship with a caregiver that lays the foundation for an individual's later social relationships and mental health. Individuals who are securely attached are more likely to use positive coping strategies, such as seeking social support, when faced with loneliness and isolation. Individuals who are insecurely attached may have more difficulty establishing and maintaining satisfying relationships, making them more likely to feel lonely and isolated. 3. Self-determination theory: Self-determination theory argues that people have three basic psychological needs: autonomy, a sense of ability, and a sense of belonging. When these needs are met, individuals feel happier and more satisfied. Loneliness and isolation can be a direct manifestation of an unmet need for belonging. Prolonged loneliness and isolation not only affect a sense of belonging, but can also impair an individual's sense of autonomy and competence, leading to mental health problems. 4. Social Identity Theory: Social identity theory proposes that an individual's self-concept comes in part from the social group to which they belong. Loneliness and isolation can weaken an individual's connection to social groups, affecting their social identity and sense of self-worth. This loss or ambiguity of identity can lead to psychological distress and social adjustment problems. 5. Interaction Choice Theory: Interaction choice theory suggests that people tend to choose those who can maximize reward and minimize punishment. Loneliness and isolation can be a consequence of social choices, or they can be the cause of limited social choices. Long-term loneliness can lead individuals to experience more uncertainty and risk in social situations, thus avoiding social activities and exacerbating feelings of loneliness and isolation.
2.2 Work pressure Astronauts need to complete complex tasks while also dealing with the uncertainty of the space environment. This high intensity of work stress can lead to mental fatigue and stress build-up. It can be explained by several psychological theories. These theories help us understand the source of stress and how it affects an individual's psychology and behavior. 1. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): Hans Selye's GAS theory describes three stages of an organism's response to stress: alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion. On a long-term space mission, an astronaut may go through three phases: initial alertness and anxiety about the stress of the mission, and then gradual adaptation and coping strategies, but if the stress persists for too long, it can eventually lead to mental and physical exhaustion. 2. Conservation of Resources (COR): Stevan Hobfoll's COR theory states that individuals work to conserve, build, and accumulate resources (e.g., personal energy, time, positive emotions, etc.) in order to cope with stress and recover losses. In the space environment, astronauts face resource constraints (e.g., limited social support, changes in daily routines, etc.) that can make it more difficult for them to cope with stress, leading to psychological fatigue. 3. Job Demands-Resources (JD-R): This model emphasizes the impact of the balance between job demands (such as workload and stress in the work environment) and work resources (such as support, feedback, and autonomy) on employee well-being. For astronauts, the high demands and uncertainties of space missions, combined with limited resources (e.g., limited communication with family, limitations of the space environment), can lead to stress accumulation and psychological fatigue. 4. Self-efficacy theory: Albert Bandura's theory of self-efficacy states that individuals are more likely to successfully face challenges and stress when they are confident in their ability to accomplish a particular task. Astronauts' self-efficacy may be affected by constant work stress, affecting their mission performance and mental health. 5. Emotion Regulation Theory: Emotion regulation theory focuses on how individuals manage and regulate their emotional state in order to adapt to environmental requirements and achieve goals. During long-term space missions, astronauts need to manage their emotions effectively to cope with the uncertainty of complex missions and environments. Poor emotion regulation strategies can lead to stress build-up and psychological fatigue. These theories provide a framework to help us understand and explain the work stress astronauts face during long-term space missions and its impact on mental health. By applying these theories, more effective supports and interventions can be developed to help astronauts better manage stress and maintain mental health
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2.3 Environmental factors Environmental factors such as weightlessness, radiation and living space constraints also pose challenges to astronauts' mental health. 1. Environmental Psychology Theory: Environmental psychology explores the interaction between people and their environment and their impact on mental states. According to this theory, environmental factors (such as space constraints, isolation, weightlessness, and radiation, etc.) can cause astronauts to experience high levels of stress and discomfort because these factors are contrary to the Earth's environmental conditions to which humans are accustomed. For example, space constraints can lead to a loss of privacy and reduced social interaction, which can affect the mental health of astronauts. 2. Stress Theory: Stress theories (such as the previously mentioned theory of stress adaptation syndrome and resource conservation theory) can be used to explain how astronauts respond to external environmental stresses. Environmental factors such as weightlessness, radiation, and limitations in living space are seen as external stressors that deplete the astronaut's mental and physiological resources, leading to stress responses. Facing these stressors for a long time, without adequate recovery time and resources, can lead to psychological exhaustion. 3. Interpersonal Relationship Theory: Interpersonal relationship theory emphasizes the importance of interpersonal interaction to an individual's mental health. In the space environment, living space constraints and mission requirements may limit social interaction between astronauts or lead to a decrease in the quality of social interaction. Lack of effective interpersonal support and positive social interactions can lead to increased feelings of loneliness, social isolation, and mental health. 4. Environmental Stress Model: The environmental stress model explores how specific environmental characteristics affect individuals as stressors. In the space environment, weightlessness, radiation, and limited living space can be considered as environmental stressors that affect astronauts' mental health by influencing their cognitive assessment and emotional responses. For example, discomfort with a weightless environment may cause anxiety and physical discomfort, which may be exacerbated by a negative assessment of the environment. 5. Adaptation Theory: Adaptation theory focuses on how individuals adapt to changes in their environment and stress. Astronauts need to adapt to environmental conditions unique to space, such as weightlessness and radiation. The success of the adaptation process will affect the mental health of astronauts. Astronauts who adapt successfully and are able to cope effectively with environmental stressors may show better mental health, while maladjustment can lead to mental fatigue and other negative psychological reactions. These psychological theories provide a framework to help us understand and explain how environmental factors affect astronauts' mental health through different mechanisms. Understanding these influencing mechanisms can help develop effective supports and interventions to help astronauts better adapt to the space environment and maintain good mental health.
3. Mental health management strategies
3.1 Teamwork Strengthening teamwork and communication skills is key to coping with psychological stress. Through team building activities and effective communication, team cohesion can be enhanced, conflicts can be reduced, and task efficiency can be improved.
3.2 Psychological Counselling Providing professional psychological counselling services to help astronauts identify and manage stress is an important means of maintaining mental health. Counselling can take the form of remote meetings, with regular communication between the astronauts by a psychiatrist on the ground. Psychological theories provide a framework for an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon, explaining why and how team building activities and effective communication can enhance team cohesion, reduce conflict, and improve task efficiency. 1. Social Support Theory: Social support theory emphasizes the importance of support in social relationships for individuals to cope with stress and challenges. In a team setting, support between members can provide emotional comfort, reduce stress, and enhance an individual's coping resources. Through team building activities and effective communication, mutual understanding and support between team members is strengthened, which in turn increases the resilience of the whole team. 2. Team Cohesion Theory: The team cohesion theory focuses on how the strong connections between team members affect the overall performance of the team and the personal well-being of the members. Cohesive teams tend to communicate more effectively, with higher levels of trust and mutual respect among members, which helps to reduce misunderstandings and conflicts and improve problem-solving efficiency. Team building activities enhance team cohesion by enhancing mutual understanding and a sense of common purpose among members. 3. Communication Theory: Communication theory explores how the transfer and understanding of information affects interpersonal relationships and team dynamics. Effective communication skills, including clear messaging, effective listening, and feedback, are essential to ensure proper understanding among team members and reduce misunderstandings. In a team environment, good communication promotes the effective flow of task-related information, which helps to improve the quality of decision-making and the efficiency of task completion. 4. Conflict Resolution Theory: Conflict resolution theory focuses on how to manage and resolve conflict through effective strategies and communication skills. In a team, conflict is inevitable, but the negative impact of conflict can be minimized by establishing effective communication channels and conflict resolution mechanisms. Team building activities can help members develop conflict resolution skills and promote a more harmonious team environment. 5. Self-Determination Theory (SDT): Self-determination theory emphasizes the importance of satisfying an individual's three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relevance—to stimulate intrinsic motivation and promote individual well-being. In a team environment, through team building and effective communication, a sense of belonging (relevance) and a shared commitment to the team's goals (competence) can be strengthened, while respecting each member's opinions and contributions (autonomy), which can improve the overall motivation and satisfaction of the team. By applying these psychological theories, the importance of teamwork and communication skills can be better understood and implemented, and how they can help teams cope with psychological stress, enhance cohesion, reduce conflict, and increase efficiency.
3.3 Leisure activities Arranging appropriate leisure activities, such as watching movies, reading, painting, etc., can help astronauts relax and reduce psychological stress. In addition, physical activity is also an effective way to relieve psychological stress. The psychological benefits of these activities can be explained by several psychological theories: 1. Flow Theory: The flow theory proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi emphasizes that in the process of fully engaging and enjoying an activity, an individual experiences a state known as "flow," in which the individual feels the passage of time quickens and becomes less self-conscious, while feeling great satisfaction and happiness. Leisure activities such as watching movies, reading and painting can encourage astronauts to enter a state of flow, which allows them to temporarily forget about the stress of work, and achieve relaxation and recovery. 2. Self-Determination Theory (SDT): Self-determination theory argues that meeting an individual's three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relevance—is essential to promoting an individual's intrinsic motivation and psychological well-being. Leisure activities and physical activity provide astronauts with the opportunity to choose their own activities (autonomy), gain a sense of accomplishment in the activities (competence), and potentially share the joy of these activities with colleagues (relevance), thereby improving their psychological well-being. 3. Stress Buffering Theory: Stress Buffering Theory states that positive social support and leisure activities can act as a buffer mechanism to reduce the negative impact of stress on individuals. By participating in leisure activities and physical activity, astronauts are able to temporarily take a break from the stress of their work, and through these positive experiences, they can reduce the accumulated stress and anxiety. 4. Biopsychosocial Model: The biopsychosocial model proposes that human health is the result of a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Physical activity is not only good for physical health, but also promotes mental health, such as boosting mood by releasing "happiness hormones" such as endorphins, while leisure activities meet social and psychological needs, such as enhancing social connections and providing psychological satisfaction. 5. Resilience Theory: Resilience theory emphasizes that individuals are able to recover to their original or better state through internal and external resources in the face of stress and adversity. Leisure activities and physical activity can be seen as an extrinsic resource to enhance astronauts' resilience and help them maintain or restore their mental health while facing the challenges of space missions. In conclusion, by engaging in leisure activities and physical exercise, astronauts are not only able to relax and recover physically and mentally, but also to improve their psychological resilience and overall well-being, allowing them to better cope with psychological stress in the space environment.
4. Case Study Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) successfully managed mental health issues during long-term missions through regular team meetings, individual counselling and leisure activities. These experiences provide a valuable reference for future long-term space missions. Astronauts on the International Space Station face unique mental health challenges during long-term missions, such as prolonged confinement, isolation from family and Earth, high-stress work, and more. Successfully manage mental health through regular team meetings, individual counselling and leisure activities:
- Regular team meetings: Facilitate communication and collaboration among astronauts. They can share experiences, problems, and solutions, strengthen team cohesion, and provide emotional support.
- Individual psychological counselling: Dedicated psychological support is provided to astronauts. Psychologists can help them cope with stress, anxiety, and emotional issues, providing coping strategies and techniques.
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Leisure activities: help astronauts relax and decompress, and relieve work stress. It provides interest and entertainment, enriches the life of astronauts, helps to maintain a good psychological state.
These experiences provide the following valuable references for future long-term space missions:
- The importance of mental health in long-term space missions was emphasized.
- Hints of the need for an integrated psychological support system for astronauts, including team communication and individual coaching.
- Shows that leisure activities are essential to maintain the mental health of astronauts.
- It provides important implications for future space mission planners to consider mental health needs when designing missions.
In conclusion, the experience of the International Space Station has shown that effectively managing the mental health of astronauts is one of the key factors in the success of long-term space missions.
5. Conclusion Long-term space missions pose a great challenge to the mental health of astronauts. Through effective teamwork, professional psychological counseling, and appropriate leisure activities, the mental health of astronauts can be effectively maintained and the successful completion of the mission can be ensured. Future research needs to further explore the best ways to implement these strategies in the space environment to support long-term human habitation and exploration in space.