Graduate Student Mental Health Management from the Perspective of Two PhD Students
By Jessica Desrochers & Sarah Enouy
Graduate students experience depression and anxiety at more than six times the rates of the general population (Evans et al, 2018). The reasons behind the graduate student mental health crisis are complex, as each person experiences graduate school differently based on their economic situation, their program requirements, their life stage, their supervisor, and more. However, there is one thing we all experience regardless of our individual circumstances: Graduate school is competitive. As much as we try to foster feelings of comradery and peer support, at the end of the day we still compete for scholarships, awards, conference acceptances, and eventually, a tenure-track position. All this to say, on top of other individual life circumstances, the graduate school climate puts graduate students under an immense amount of pressure to attain perfect grades while also producing high-quality publications, which certainly contributes to mental health difficulties.
While we can’t remove competition from graduate studies, we can change the way we navigate and cope with the common stressors associated with it. Here, we share personal experiences – sprinkled with research – with two goals and a promise to not give any more time-management tips. First, we aim to normalize student experiences that are a not often talked about. Second, we want to share some strategies that worked for us to increase our well-being during grad school. The authors are second- and fourth-year PhD students, and best friends, who use these methods regularly.
1) Use the buddy system. Try to put that competitive feeling in your back pocket as soon as possible and make a few grad school friends. Yes, sometimes it’s hard to watch your friend get offered an opportunity when you don’t, we’ve been there, but we promise a time will come when they do the same for you. So, don’t hide from your peers and celebrate each other’s accomplishments! Having friends in grad school increases your opportunities for collaboration, peer support in coursework and shared experiences, and can ultimately lead to more productivity. Writing a paper with your friend is more fun than writing alone, we did and that’s how Sarah got her first publication!
2) Normalize (and plan for) big emotions. Research has shown that students who base their self-esteem on academic performance are at risk for depressive symptoms after experiencing academic hassles, such as a bad grade (Schone et al., 2015). Sarah: “I remember my first exam as a master’s student. I finished writing and then ran to the lab to cry because I was sure I failed (update – I didn’t, and you likely didn’t either). I’m telling you this because I want to share my coping technique, and also normalize the big emotions that will come at some point during your degree. Before every exam I make plans with my friends for immediately after. Usually, we get our nails done and watch Disney movies. I know that the stress will “boil over” at some point, and usually for me it’s right after an exam”. For you, it could be when the grades are posted, or when the scholarship results come out, or when you get the decision back on a paper you submitted. Plan for the big emotions as much as you can! This helps because it gives you
something to look forward to and it doesn’t let you dwell on the negative feelings. Sarah: “Instead of crying in the lab for hours, I had pretty pink nails, and sang along to Disney’s Frozen”. The exam is done, the decision is made, the reviews are in – now you do something fun with your friends and you’ll be in a better place to cope with the results after you’ve re-grouped. Try to find something that works for you and plan ahead to navigate big emotions!
3) Roll with rejection. Your work will be rejected often, so get comfortable with it as soon as possible (see “managing big emotions” above). Read that again – your work will be rejected, not you. Humans like to confuse these two things because we invest ourselves in the work we do, but make sure to remind yourself that your paper/poster/application was rejected, not you as a person. Everyone experiences rejection, from seasoned professors to junior graduate students. Sarah “I once received six internal awards rejection e-mails in one hour. I currently have a paper that was desk rejected from two journals”. Rejection doesn’t equal failure. It’s a set-back, and it can be annoying, but it’s part of the game. Look at the criticism objectively, re-charge, then take the next step. The next step may be to step back from the project, put your laptop in the dishwasher (we don’t recommend this, but we have wanted to before), and take a week off. Or maybe the next step is to rework the paper to submit it somewhere new. Jessica “I had a paper that I loved rejected. I was really hurt because I put my heart and soul into that paper. After taking a few days away from the rejecting, I went back to read the feedback and I was able to make some great changes to the paper. I know, now, that the published paper is much better than the original rejected submission and I am thankful for the feedback I did get to improve it”. We all deal with rejection in our own way and it’s ok to take time away from a project and come back when you’re ready.
4) Say “no.” Sometimes you need to say no. In a world of “publish or perish”, there is pressure to work yourself too hard, but remember you can’t stay productive if you burn out. Only take on what you are capable of doing. It is way more impressive to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around, and your health will thank you for it, too. For example, the authors have said no to requests to: review for journals, teach courses, be a teaching assistant for a difficult course, and collaborate on a new project. Obviously, we would love to say yes to all these opportunities, but if your schedule is already full, you have to start prioritizing your current commitments (school or otherwise) and your free time (this is key for maintain your well-being). We said no and the world kept spinning, you can too!
5) Ask for help. Whether it’s about your thesis, your stats assignment, your TA duties, or just an overwhelming workload. We often try to play it cool for fear of looking like we can’t handle grad school, but remember, professors were once grad students too and your peers are also playing it cool right now (Jessica: “Sarah and I have each other on speed dial to ask each other for help”). So go ahead and ask for help! Your supervisors and professors have been in your shoes and are ready to support you. Sarah “I have shown up to a meeting with wet eyes and said, “I’m dealing with some big emotions. Please excuse my tears but I am frustrated and need help” then proceeded to explain that my statistical analysis was bullying me…” Anyway, yes it’s embarrassing to cry in a professional setting, but you will usually end up laughing and feel better almost
immediately (versus not going to the meeting and prolonging the suffering). So go to the meeting even if you have to push through big feelings! We promise you’re not the first or the last.
6) Embrace the imposter syndrome. We know what it is like to feel like an imposter, you are not alone. Many in academia feel this way. Remember, everyone sweats during public speaking, and nobody actually reads every academic paper start-to-finish. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed in a new situation or to say “I don’t know” in response to a question. One of our favourite tricks to remind ourselves of this is to pay close attention to how professors answer questions. You’ll start to notice they sometimes say, “I don’t know, let me look that up and get back to you.” That’s normal and we love to see it!
7) Visit Carleton’s Therapy Dogs. That’s the tip.
8) Be more than just a grad student. The groups we identify with impact the things we value. So, if you identify as a student, you likely value grades. Research found that when students identified with more than one group, they based less of their self-worth on academic achievements (Blankenship et al., 2017). This is good, because we know that when people base more of their self-worth on academics, they tend to have higher depression and anxiety symptoms (Enouy & Tabri, in prep.). In practical terms, this means you may benefit from building your identity outside of academics! This could look different for everyone. For example, some areas we foster our identities are: figure skating, being girlfriends / sisters / daughters / friends, horseback riding, camping, canoeing, knitting, and raising ducks. Try to foster your hobbies and relationships with activities and people outside academia. Don’t underestimate the importance of this!
9) Prioritize your health. You can’t do anything if you’re not mentally and physically healthy. We have very successful friends and peers who have taken a leave of absence, taken a program extension (Sarah: “this one was me”), or even left the program to pursue other goals. Any and all of these options do not make you a failure. Your well-being is more important than your degree, so take care of yourself first! On the same note, we are often made to feel guilty (even by ourselves) about not focusing all our attention on our work, but self-care is not procrastination! So go do that Zumba or yoga class, make a yummy meal, take a bath, or go for a walk in nature (research shows being in nature can make us happier; see Capaldi et al., 2015). Reach out for mental health support when you need it. Many campuses have counseling services that are free and easily accessible to students. For Carleton students visit: https://carleton.ca/health/counselling-services/
We hope these shared experiences and tips can help normalize some grad student experiences and continue the mental health conversation. If you want more concrete tips and tricks from a peer, please read “Managing your mental health during your PhD: A survival guide” by Dr. Zoe J. Ayres.
Reference:
Blackenship, B. T. & Stewart, A. J. (2017). Intercetional identities, identity dimensions, and academic contingencies of self-worth. Identity, 17(3), 109-124.
Capaldi, C. A., Passmore, H. A., Nisbet, E. K., Zelenski, J. M., & Dopko, R. L. (2015). Flourishing in nature: A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention. International Journal of Wellbeing, 5(4). tps://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v5i4.449
Enouy, S. & Tabri, N. (in prep.). Psychometric properties of the academic focused self-concept scale.
Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L. T., & Vanderford, N. L. (2018). Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature Biotechnology, 36(3), 282–284. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4089
Jaremka, L.M., Ackerman, J.M., Gawronski, B., Rule, N.O., Sweeny, K., Tropp L.R., Metz, M.A., Molina, L., Ryan, W.S., & Vick, S.B. (2019). Common academic experiences no one talks about: Repeated rejection, impostor syndrome, and burnout. Perspective of Psychological Science. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336408985_Common_Academic_Experiences_No_One_Talks_About_Repeated_Rejection_Impostor_Syndrome_and_Burnout
Schöne, C., Tandler, S. S., & Stiensmeier-Pelster, J. (2015). Contingent self-esteem and vulnerability to depression: Academic contingent self-esteem predicts depressive symptoms in students. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1573.
Zelenski, J. (2020). Positive Psychology. Sage Publishing.