Some Mental Health Tips During Your PhD
47% – A study by the University of California, Berkeley, found nearly half of postgraduate students met criteria to classify them as depressed.1
Some Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Wellbeing
Seek Medical Advice
Speak to a medical professional about how you are feeling. This may lead to intervention such as medication or counseling to help you manage your mental health.
Take Some Time Out
Taking a break can actually improve efficiency when you return to work. If you cannot justify taking a couple of weeks off, take a series of long weekends to get some time away.
Focus On You
It is a proven fact that lack of sleep can add to feelings of stress. Exercise can also work to alleviate stress. It may feel like you don’t have time, but going for a walk at lunchtime (for example) may be a positive change you can make.
Requesting Counseling
Universities have counselling sservices that are available for you to use. This can be useful to help talk through your problems and also make sure appropriate coping strategies are in place.
Talk to Your supervisor
It is not always possible, but if you feel you can approach your supervisor, discuss your mental health concerns with them. Other options include discussions to reduce workload temporarily or take time out.
Talk to Your Peers / Postdocs
It is highly likely that people around you have also experienced the stressful nature of a PhD. Reach out, if you feel able. Remember, postdocs have survived their PhD so may have some useful tips / coping strategies.
Create Manageable Chunks
If everything is overwhelming, try to break down your research into manageable tasks. It may help to do this in consultation with your supervisor. A good tip is to aim to get into the lab first thing in your day, before looking at other tasks like emails.
Read Literature
There are a large amount of online resources available to help manage mental health and wellbeing, For example, the charity Mind, have a range of booklets available, from how to manage stress, to how to support others with mental health problems.
Self Harming? Suicidal Thoughts? Need help?
- CALL CAPS at 1-919-966-3658 (24/7)
- National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
A poster by Dr Zoe Ayres (@zjayres). Free to distribute. Originally produced for #RSCPoster.
Reference 1. Graduate Student Happiness & Well-Being Report, 2014, University of California, Berkeley.