Abstract
As a PhD student, I experienced significant stress which impacted on my wellbeing during my candidature. In this chapter, I reflect on my doctoral journey, exploring the causes for my increased feelings of stress and anxiety. I analyse my experiences through the lenses of the transactional model of stress and coping, the impact of imposter syndrome, and the effects of comparisons with others. Finally, I provide several strategies to help other PhD students manage their levels of stress and anxiety in their doctoral candidature.
Many PhD students take the view that if you’re not doing overnight experiments, missing meals, or binge drinking, you’re not doing it right.
Academics Anonymous (2014), para. 17.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Vista Bhopti for sharing her clinical psychology expertise during the preparation of this chapter. I would also like to acknowledge the MBio Discovery Scholarship that enabled me to conduct my doctoral studies.
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Lau, R.W.K. (2019). You Are Not Your PhD: Managing Stress During Doctoral Candidature. In: Pretorius, L., Macaulay, L., Cahusac de Caux, B. (eds) Wellbeing in Doctoral Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9302-0_6
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