Taking care of your mental wellbeing

Become more self-aware

This may seem quite obvious, but becoming more attuned to your emotional state, triggers and worries can be helpful in managing your mental wellbeing. Reflecting on how you felt physically and emotionally during a stressful time could help make you become aware of how stress manifests in you. Think of what the situation was about, the physical sensations you felt, the thoughts that were running through your mind, and any emotions you can identify. Research has found that doctoral candidates tend to experience greater mental health problems compared to the general population, therefore being aware of signs and symptoms of common mental health problems could be helpful in building your own self-care plan to take care of yourself.

You can use this simple template, and some of these self-care suggestions specific to postgraduate researchers to build your own wellbeing toolkit.

Manage your time wisely

It may always seem like you are chasing a deadline! Learning how to organise your work and other commitments could be helpful in managing your workload and having sufficient time to enjoy life outside of your research degree and other professional commitments. Dedicate enough time in your weekly schedule to take a break (you deserve it!), engage in hobbies and connect with friends and family. One of our Teaching Fellows (and former EdD student), Ian Johnson offers some amazing tips on time management in his blog post.

Build a community

Feeling isolated is one of the factors being highlighted across research on postgraduate mental wellbeing, especially by those who are following their programme on a part-time basis or at a distance. Our mental health and wellbeing are affected by the presence or absence of social networks. Connecting with others who are on the same journey could provide much-need social and emotional support. It may seem daunting at first to make new connections with people, especially if you have had to move to a new location for your research degree, but having peers you can depend on can make a difference. A good place to start is the Postgraduate Research Society. The PGRSoc organises social events and online study groups where you can interact with other postgraduate researchers in an informal manner. There are many other opportunities to connect with peers at the University as well, for instance, the Research Culture Drop-Ins organised by the Graduate School are open to all postgraduate researchers.

Be kind to yourself

As we work in a highly competitive environment, we are sometimes faced with perfectionism and self-doubt. These are tied with imposter phenomenon which is common in academic settings. Practising self-compassion can often be helpful in dealing with self-criticism and self-doubt, as self-compassion nudges us towards being kind to ourselves. When experiencing a challenge, an easy exercise would be to ask ourselves how we would respond to a friend experiencing the same situation as ourselves. Self-compassion could be choosing to use more positive and empowering self-talk, instead of a self-critical inner monologue. You can learn more about self-compassion via this Moodle resource offered by our Student Wellbeing Service.

Ask for support when you need it

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and support when you feel that you are in need of it. Completing a research degree can be challenging in many ways, therefore take some time to identify who you can reach out to for different types of support. It could be useful to keep your friends and family informed of particularly demanding periods of your degree programme, and ask them to notice if you are not coping well. Keep your supervisory team informed if you need any support that you may need, for instance more time to meet a deadline. If you feel that you need to reach out to a professional, the Student Wellbeing Service offers free mental health and wellbeing support for all students.