Managing your Mental Health during your PhD: A Survival Guide

Managing your Mental Health during your PhD: A Survival Guide by Zoë J. Ayres

This book offers a candid exploration of the PhD experience, focusing on the mental health challenges that often accompany the pursuit of a doctoral degree. It’s both a personal narrative and a practical guide for current and prospective PhD students, drawing on the author’s own lived experience as well as insights from others in the academic community.

The book tackles why mental health issues are prevalent among PhD students and examines the complex interplay between the personal and systemic factors that contribute to these struggles. Rather than simply encouraging students to “be more resilient,” the author shifts the conversation toward the environmental factors that impact mental well-being. This includes the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the constant pressure to publish, and the systemic issues in academia such as racism, bullying, and harassment.

In addition to discussing these challenges, the book provides practical tips for maintaining mental health throughout the PhD journey. The author shares self-care strategies, ways to manage imposter syndrome, how to prioritize work, and other insights that she wishes she had known earlier in her own doctoral experience.

Finally, the book acts as a call to action, urging university institutions to make tangible changes that will create a healthier and more supportive environment for all students.

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Zoë J. Ayres also runs a very cool blog: https://voicesofacademia.com/

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