I totally get that, and at the point where one of the astronauts (I don't remember exactly now) is somehow possessed by the phenomenon (where his eyes go all wonky), I can see a shift in personality with the phenomenon as the cause.
Before that though, these are supposed trained professionals. This is the exact type of issues they're supposed to deal with. This is their training, their purpose. This is exactly why they would've been chosen. Before they would've been let anywhere near enough to even see the rocket that brought them up, they would've gone through EXTENSIVE physiological training and testing.
We have astronauts that are going through that as we speak, and they're not even planning on going anywhere.
Or, well. I don't know if there's an active program at this very moment, but there are certainly such programs.
Listening to people that have gone through those programs, they learn to deal with these types of situations. They make sure you're not in the same room all the time. They eat meals at different times et.c. just to minimize the contact until the issue is resolved.
We know for a fact that "frayed nerves" increases the probability of catastrophe in space by tenfolds. That's why I find this type of writing so bad, and lazy.
This is one of the reasons why I liked "The Martian" so much. It showed the guys as very friendly with each other. They had banter, but they were never antagonistic. [spoiler]When Matt Damon's character woke up and realized the situation, he knew why they had left them, and I would say he agreed with that decision because he knew the circumstances.[/spoiler]
It showed them working as a team, instead of individuals in a team. I found that to be one of the most realistic aspects of that film.
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