Abyss Anxiety

"Best not to stare out the window too long, mate. Messes with the head if you get to thinking too hard about it, and trust me, there's not much else to do out here other than think."


Though the endless skies above us were among the earliest things we dubbed divine, humans are a species ill-suited to life in space, and the challenges of it hardly end with physical danger or logistics. Though its frequency has decreased since the early days of space colonization, many people still suffer from an affliction dubbed abyss anxiety. More than simple stress about the dangers of space travel, abyss anxiety seems to have more in common with the cognitive effects of understimulation, and occurs most often in those whose work involves spending a great deal of time out in open space.

Symptoms

-Intense feelings of dread or hopelessness when out in open space
-Hallucinations when looking out at open space--particularly during spacewalks and other Extra-Vehiclar Activities
-Lingering anxiety and paranoia
-Mild to moderate depression

Prognosis

Abyss anxiety can be either acute or chronic, though the former is significantly more common. For most people, the symptoms will taper off after a month or two, and likely faster if the affected person is able to avoid the emptiness of space. For a small selection of people however, abyss anxiety can last for many years or even an entire lifetime. Chronic abyss anxiety often worsens rather than improves, and generally forces a retirement from any and all spacefaring. It may also predispose one to other issues, such as agoraphobia, anxiety disorders, depression and phobic reactions to things like fog, deep water, and the sky.

Affected Groups

Due to its link with spending time looking out at the sheer vastness of the cosmos, the people most affected are those who spend the most time in open space, such as spacers, workers on remote space stations, and especially extra-planetary industrial workers in professions like scrapping, EVA operations and long-range piloting, who often face extreme overwork and long hours in open space. It also tends to affect people most strongly on their first venture into outer space, and Terrans are believed to be at particularly high risk--though sailors, interestingly, seem to be mostly immune.


A few other mental conditions also seem to dramatically increase one's odds of developing abyss anxiety, including anxiety disorders, ADHD and obsessive compulsive disorders.

Prevention

Though the only preventive technique with serious psychological support is the minimization of time spent in open space, many folk remedies and practices believed to hold abyss anxiety at bay have appeared over the years. Many vultures and EVA technicians in particular swear by listening to music or audiobooks while on EVA missions. Working with others and maintaining strong social bonds is also believed to majorly decrease one's risk of developing abyss anxiety. It has also been said that low dose stimulants, like those used to treat ADHD, can help alleviate symptoms, though even in the realm of folk remedies, that method is viewed with skepticism.

Cultural Reception

Perception of those afflicted with abyss anxiety varies wildly from person to person, population to population, but there is a fairly widespread stigma against it, and those suffering from it--especially those for whom it becomes chronic--are often seen as being mentally fragile wusses. This view is somewhat less common among the populations most affected, as many people have personally witnessed an otherwise perfectly stable and reasonable person develop it, and it is generally understood to be something that can happen to anyone if the proper precautions aren't taken.

Type

Mental

Origin

Natural

Rarity

Rare