Doing a PhD can be a challenging experience and unfortunately often takes a toll on mental health. According to a survey conducted by PNN almost half of the PhD candidates have an increased risk of mental health problems. If you are looking for resources regarding mental health during your PhD, you can find a starting point at the website of Dr Zoë J Ayres.
Improvement needed in the academic culture
When talking about mental health during your PhD, often the focus is set on individual candidates to improve boundary setting and engage in self-care. While this is of course an important aspect of improving PhD mental health, PNN also sees clear issues within academic culture, such as a competitive landscape with pressure to publish that encourages overworking.
To sustainably improve the mental health of PhD candidates, not only interventions for individual PhDs are needed, but also institutional improvements and a cultural change in academia.
