REPORTAGE
Four days after the confinement was put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the first confined weekend is approaching and with it, questions about how to handle it. Without telework, without going out, without friends ... One of the keys may be found in the experience of astronauts. Like Romain Charles, an engineer for the European Space Agency, remained confined with five people for 520 days (a year and a half) to simulate a return trip to the planet Mars.
Keep busy
"You always have to have something to do," says Romain Charles, whose experience of containment dates back nine years ago. "Whether watching a film, reading a book, not to sit down and start moping, otherwise it becomes difficult." Indeed, according to the astronaut, after discovering the confinement and energy of the first days, a routine will inevitably set in. A routine that should not turn into monotony. This is why you always have to keep busy.
"Defuse tensions"
Being busy if you are alone, but also having a dialogue if there is more than one confinement in the same space. "For Mars500, we all had ups and downs," says Romain Charles. "It's normal to have tensions, to be a little tense ... But immediately we talked about it to defuse these tensions, understand why the other was embarrassed by what we were doing, and find compromises . "
Also, the astronaut considers it important, to live this period well, to understand that this confinement will indeed have an end, and that it is only a temporary situation.
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