On Mental Health, or How To Breathe During Your PhD

Important note before I start: this post is going to talk about about personal issues and mental health issues, so if you’re not comfortable reading about this, please skip! Don’t worry – I won’t be offended.

I’ve been feeling a bit stressed out and anxious lately so I figured this was a good time as any to write this post. It’s something I’ve been wanting to write since I started this blog, as it’s something that’s incredibly personal to me: mental health.

It would be unfair to say that only your postgraduate studies will be some of the hardest and most stressful days in your career: life in general is incredibly stressful and hard! Unfortunately, as rewarding as postgraduate studies can be, they can also be the most challenging to juggle along with personal issues.

Time to get a bit personal – I’ve been struggling with mental health issues since I was 13 years old. For years I found both anxiety and depression to be manageable – not great, of course, but I could get through the day. Once I hit college, however, I could see that things were starting to get out of hand.

In the beginning of 2017, halfway through my first year of my PhD, I had a mental breakdown that left me very lost and without much enthusiasm for anything, really. Luckily I was surrounded by supportive friends and faculty that encouraged me to get help. I’m currently on medication that helps me stay focused and feeling, well, normal I guess?

If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, lost, depressed, etc. during your academic career, here’s some tips I can provide from my own experience:

• Talk to your supervisor. Be upfront and don’t try to hide your problems, especially when it starts effecting your work. A good supervisor wants to see you succeed, but not at the cost of your health. You don’t need to give all the details, of course, but let them know how things are and they should be able to help you figure out how to proceed from there.
• See what kind of help you can get from your university/institution. Many places have counselors on staff that you can book an appointment with, usually for free. I spent a few months with a fantastic counselor who turned me onto journaling as therapy and it was all through the university. Counselors can not only be directly helpful, but they may refer you to different therapies or professionals that may cater better to your needs.
• Remember that your academic career is not a race. This is something my supervisor has been telling me over and over again, and she’s right! Don’t feel like you need to be working every day, all day. If you need some time off, look into it! Some programs may be more accommodating than others, of course, but it never hurts to ask about taking mental health days.

Of course everyone’s situation is different and unfortunately, some people may not have the kind of support they need. Personally, I feel like universities and institutions need to start taking mental health more seriously – academia can seem like a terrifying and competitive place. It would be beneficial to start giving us all a bit of space to breathe once in a while.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there. For those who made need someone to talk to, here is a website of hotlines for suicide prevention from all over the world.

Now take a deep breath.

Let it out.

Things will be okay.

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