Coping with life in isolation and confinement - The Psychologist Magazine

At the start of the covid-19 lockdown in the UK, Nathan and Emma were asked to share their thoughts on how studies in extreme environments might tell us something about coping with life in isolation and confinement.

“In recent years, our research group has studied the strategies used by ICE populations to adapt to extreme stressors, and how those strategies allow individuals and groups to withstand stress and maintain their performance, health, and wellbeing in such settings (Sandal et al., 2018; Smith & Barrett, 2019; Smith et al., 2017, 2018, 2019). Here, we summarise some of our key findings, based on data from multiple projects, including several quantitative studies and more than 50 semi-structured interviews with people who have worked at Antarctic research stations, took part in space simulation experiments, commanded submarines, worked on the International Space Station and been on expeditions to the most isolated and remote regions on Earth.”

In the article, Nathan and Emma pinpoint a number of different strategies for coping with lockdown stress. Some of these are elaborated on the DRiFT site here using insights from our digital library, and you can read the full article in the Psychologist here: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/coping-life-isolation-and-confinement-during-covid-19-pandemic.