Abstract
An introduction to the book, including exploring PhD mental health, the author’s own journey, and how to use the guide.
(Trigger Warnings: suicidal ideation, depression)
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Thankfully this has really started to change over recent years, with more and more being published on PhD/graduate mental health and several universities realising the need to provide tailored support.
- 2.
Note: This book is not designed to discourage you from you endeavours. Far from it. Its purpose is to better prepare you for the personal challenges you may face navigating your PhD journey. As academics, we believe that with knowledge comes power: the same applies for PhD mental health. If you are aware of the challenges you may face and you are provided with coping strategies you can be better prepared and more likely to succeed.
- 3.
However, throughout, I aim to avoid “toxic positivity” which happens all too often, suggesting that everything about the PhD experience is fantastic, that we should be grateful for simply having a position, and nothing needs to be improved at an institutional level.
- 4.
I am also mid-journey in seeking an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis, which I believe has underpinned a large portion of my mental health journey (a story for another day).
References
The Graduate Assembly (2014) Graduate student happiness & well-being report. University of California, Berkeley, CA
Evans TM, Bira L, Gastelum JB, Weiss LT, Vanderford NL (2018) Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nat Biotechnol 36(3):282–284
Brown P (2016) The invisible problem? Improving students’ mental health. Higher Education Policy Institute, Oxford, UK
Metcalfe J, Wilson S, Levecque K (2018) Exploring wellbeing and mental health and associated support services for postgraduate researchers. Vitae
Cornell B (2020) PhD life: the UK student experience. Higher Education Policy Institute, Oxford, UK
Mackie SA, Bates GW (2019) Contribution of the doctoral education environment to PhD candidates’ mental health problems: a scoping review. High Educ Res Dev 38(3):565–578
Levecque K, Anseel F, De Beuckelaer A, Van der Heyden J, Gisle L (2017) Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Res Policy 46(4):868–879
Schueth A (2022) Reducing the stigma of academic mental health can save lives. Nat Rev Urol 19:129–130
Boynton P (2020) Being Well in Academia: Ways to Feel Stronger, Safer and More Connected. Routledge, Abingdon
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ayres, Z.J. (2022). Introduction. In: Managing your Mental Health during your PhD. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14194-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14194-2_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-14193-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-14194-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)