Mental health and wellbeing in academia

Mental health can take many forms, and people who work in high-stress environments are prone to experience mental health issues. There is a mental wellbeing crisis in academia, one that has been documented in multiple recent studies of graduate students and a few studies of teaching staff. Problems (and their solutions) exist, and both at the individual and community level, though triggers can be difficult to identify and resources can be difficult to find and access. As mental health issues can and do affect people at all career levels, everyone from students to profs are encouraged to educate themselves on how to sustain positive mental wellbeing practices and how to build a system of support.

Though I’m not a trained mental health professional in any way, I have led seminars and discussions on mental health and wellbeing in academia, particularly for early-career researchers like graduate students and postdocs. I’ve compiled lists of internet resources, shared below, based on the presented material. Slides from seminars/discussions with the physics & astronomy department at MSU, the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics 2019 at MSU, and Women in Physics Canada 2019 conference are at the links. You can book me for a workshop for your group or event.

You’ll notice that I prefer the phrase “mental wellbeing”, not “mental health” — there are other concerns for academics beyond formal mental health problems and mental illnesses, like loneliness and homesickness, which I want to be sure to include. Disclaimer: I am an astronomy postdoc, not a mental health professional. This is peer-to-peer advice and my personal (non-expert) opinion.

Content warning: depression, anxiety, other mental illness, suicide

Quicklinks: studies, crisis, local resources, internet resources, mentoring, advice articles, self-care

Studies

I’ve compiled a list of studies and summarized their individual major findings here. The big take-aways:

  • Graduate students are at least twice as likely to experience negative mental wellbeing, especially depression and anxiety, compared to a similarly educated non-graduate-school population
  • Gender & sexuality minorities had significantly higher rates of problems than cis-men
  • Work and organizational context (including satisfaction with mentorship/advising) are significant predictors of grad students’ mental health
  • Professors and teaching staff are burning out and experiencing way too much stress
  • Postdocs are also experiencing way too much stress
  • Everyone’s too stressed, which is bad in and of itself, but it also exacerbates other negative mental health patterns.
  • The excessive stress generally comes from systematic pressures, and these pressures do not ease up at higher career stages

Crisis hotlines and remote support

You don’t need to be thinking of suicide to be in crisis and need someone to talk to.

University and in-person resources

  • Student counseling center at campus health clinic: at-risk/crisis, getting started with therapy/counseling
  • Depending on size/funding of the counseling center, you might be referred to an off-campus long-term therapist after only a few meetings. This is ok! They want you to access the help you need, within your means, and within the reach/scope of the counseling center.
  • Check website for links to 24/7 emergency services like hotlines, local domestic violence shelter, food cupboard, etc.
  • Ask your doctor for a referral to a therapist (who will accept your university health insurance, if applicable)
  • Search the internet for sliding-scale/sliding-fee/pay-what-you-can counseling in your area
  • Talk with peers, trusted colleague, and/or mentor (in your department or elsewhere)
  • If looking to re-vamp university-level services: “Customizing Mental Health Information and Services for Graduate Students”

At Michigan State University:

Mentoring

Supervision is related to mental wellbeing in academia, because someone’s satisfaction with their workplace environment (including supervision, advising, and mentorship) is a significant indicator of their mental wellbeing. Mentoring agreements are a useful starting point when forming a new mentoring relationship, since they provide the structure for individualized management (e.g., feedback styles, the level and type of supervision). These are intended to be the beginning of a continuous conversation, not a full and complete one-off conversation. You can use it as a template for a verbal mutual agreement, or write your own and actually sign it (the former is much more common). Change whatever language or context don’t fit your research field. In order of most to least thorough: Example 1 from the American Association of Medical Colleges; example 2 from U. Alabama Birmingham; example 3 from U. Nebraska Lincoln.

The concept of boundaries is brought up in some of the mentorship agreement templates. These boundaries can include not discussing details of mental health and details of other personal problems, since professors/PIs may be uncomfortable dealing with something that is both very important and outside the scope of their own training. It may also be a sensitive topic for them due to personal or familial experiences with poor mental health. Both mentor and mentee should discuss what they’re comfortable with in the context of their professional relationship. Finally, all of this mentorship advice is assuming good faith of both parties. If this is not the case, please seek advice and/or intervention from a more-senior-to-you group member, a trusted colleague, and/or health counseling services.

Internet resources

You can’t (nor should you have to) meditate your way out of the structural failures in academia, but some of these coping mechanisms can still be helpful and valuable for individuals.

General

Articles with advice and perspectives

General

Depression

Anxiety

Et cetera

Self-care

Remember that the most valuable self-care is building a life from which you don’t feel a regular need to escape.

If you have a favourite resource that you find really helpful but I didn’t list, you can contact me. Again, I’m an astronomy postdoc, not a mental health professional. This is peer-to-peer advice and my personal (non-expert) opinion.