Tag: mental health

Mental health resources for students

As we’ve stated in two of our previous blogs Five tips for looking after your mental health as a postgrad and Five tips for carrying on with your research when things are tough, postgrad work can be isolating and stressful. Sometimes, that stress can impact our mental health. If that happens, it’s important to know that you’re not alone and that it’s OK to ask for help.

We’ve put together a list of resources that postgrad students can use if they are struggling with their mental health.

  1. Your university’s wellbeing team

Most UK universities have professional counsellors on their staff with whom you will be able to make a free appointment to talk. On a personal note, PGPR owner Johanna has had counselling at almost every university where she has studied or worked (which is quite a few) and she has always found university counsellors to be excellent. There is often a short waiting list as well. Of course, this might not be the case at your uni, but it’s a solid place to start.

  1. Your GP

GPs are also a good starting point if you need some support with your mental health. They can talk over how you’re feeling and refer you to a mental health specialist. Additionally, this NHS page has some useful ideas for improving your mood.

  1. Student Minds

Student Minds is the UK’s mental health charity for students. They empower students to develop the knowledge, confidence and skills to look after their own mental health, support others and create change. They offer peer support and workshops. You can read more about the support they offer here.

  1. Mind

Mind are a UK charity who offer support to anyone struggling with mental ill health. Their website is chock full of useful blogs, stories from people who are living with various challenges and ideas for better wellbeing. You can also call their helpline on 0300 123 3393, or email them on info@mind.org.uk

  1. Mental Health UK

This charity provides support and services for those dealing with various  societal challenges, including money problems, navigating the system to get the right support and understanding loneliness and isolation. Like Mind, their website has lots of useful resources and ideas. Their wellbeing plan and five top tips for good mental health might be useful starting points; you can download them here.

  1. The Samaritans

The Samaritans run a free, 24-hour helpline which is there to support people going through mental health crises, including suicidal feelings. You can ring them any time on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can read about other ways to contact them here.

Additionally, it’s important to know that if you ever feel that you are in danger of hurting yourself, you can call 999 for help.

Your mental health matters, and it’s always OK to talk about not being OK.

Five tips for carrying on with your research when things are tough

Postgraduate research is hard work. You need to design a study. Pass ethics. Find participants. Gather and analyse data. Write up your findings. Get into journals and conferences. And, usually, do all this whilst you’re also juggling work, family and occasionally trying to have a bit of fun.

If something goes wrong – and sooner or later with research (as with life in general), something will go wrong – it can be hard to carry on. Perhaps you’re having to jump through a hundred hoops to get ethics clearance, or maybe participants keep cancelling on you. It could be that your supervisor is pushing you extra hard. In situations like this, you might find yourself wondering why you’re bothering.

It can be hard to find the motivation to carry on after months of hard graft!

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

Does the world really need another piece of qualitative research? (Answer – yes it does!) Do you really have something to say? (Answer – absolutely, you do, you total badass!)

If you’re struggling to carry on with your postgrad research, here are five tips from PGPR to help you get back into the swing of things.

  • Take a break

Put your pen/laptop/tablet down and go outside. Look up at the sky (as long as it’s not raining of course). Read a good book, watch some reruns of Jane the Virgin. Gather your mates or your kids and go for a pizza. When you’re in the thick of a PhD, it can feel all-encompassing, but a good first step to tackling any research problem is to get things back into perspective. Other things in life can bring you joy – take a week off and go have some fun.  

There is very little a pizza party with friends can’t solve!

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
  • Try reading around the problem

Whatever issue it is that you’re facing, you can bet your bottom dollar (whatever THAT is) that someone else has had the same problem. Whether it’s a logistical issue or an analytical one, have a poke around on the internet, do a Google Scholar search and see if you can read a bit about how others in your situation have solved similar problems. Postgrad research can feel pretty lonely, but there are many other people out there doing what you’re doing, and we can all help each other.

Academic Twitter is (in my experience anyway) a pretty darn supportive place, so it might be worth asking a question on there. Trying using the hashtag #AcademicTwitter or tagging @AcademicChatter and hopefully, both answers and support will come along shortly.

  • Break the problem down into steps and tackle them one at a time

Challenges can feel overwhelming if we try to solve them all at once. Try instead to break the problem down into small, manageable chunks. Can you face the first one? Great – do that, then have a bit of chocolate. Leave part two till tomorrow. Rinse and repeat until the problem is dealt with. By the time you’re into the swing of it, I bet you it won’t feel as unsurmountable as it did to start off with.

Indulging in a few choccy treats as a reward for doing a bit of work is a-ok in our book!

Photo by Michele Blackwell on Unsplash
  • Make a list of the successes you’ve had

Another problem with – well – problems, is that when we have one, we can make it mean something personal about us. I couldn’t write a great discussion section the first time around, so I must be a failure and a terrible person. Try to stop thinking like that, because trust me, you are not a failure. Anyone who is doing postgrad work is a superstar and a brainiac to boot. This work is meant to be difficult, so the fact that you’re occasionally finding it difficult means that nothing has gone wrong. And it certainly doesn’t mean that you are anything other than amazing.

If you’re finding that hard to believe, try making a list of all the successes (big and small) you’ve had since you started your research career. Include everything from acing that undergrad exam to being accepted onto your master’s to recruiting your first four participants. You could also include cooking a lovely dinner for your family last night and mastering that impossible-looking posture at yoga.

Once you’ve mastered your research, you can do anything!

Photo by Oksana Taran on Unsplash

If you managed all of those things, you can definitely manage this one too!

  • Book a PGPR VC

If you’re still feeling stuck with any element of your qualitative postgrad research project, a great solution could be to book a video consultation with PGPR. In these VCs, we spent an hour looking over your work and notes before the session, and then another hour talking the problems through with you via Zoom or Teams or whatever platform you like. Discussing the issue with one of our friendly team of qualitative experts is a great way to brainstorm, gain confidence and beat whatever issue is stopping you.

Get in touch with us via the button below to book.

Five tips for looking after your mental health as a postgrad


Postgraduate work is rewarding and can advance your career. But it can also be hard, lonely and scary. When your brain is full of ethics forms, analysis and recruitment, it can be hard to take care of yourself. Looking after your mental health is always essential but is especially important when you’re so busy you feel you don’t have the time. As the Zen proverb says:

‘You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour’.

Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

Here are five tips for maintaining your sanity while completing your master’s or PhD.

1. Fight isolation

Postgrad work is often groundbreaking. This is exciting, of course. But the problem with breaking new ground is that there might not be anyone else breaking that ground with you. This means you can end up feeling isolated.

Is there anyone else at your university doing similar research to you? If so, drop them an email, see if they fancy lunch. If not, have a look online for groups of people doing similar work to you. Lots of PGPR clients are conducting qualitative research using interpretative phenomenological analysis; if you’re one of those people, check out the IPA groups.io gang, which is a supportive place to ask questions and make contacts. Despite its reputation for being toxic, Twitter can also be a friendly space for academics. You might want to start out by following @AcademicChatter, @PhDVoice and PGPR’s account @DrJohannaSpiers for some interesting online conversations.


Postgrad work can be lonely
Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Unsplash

 

2. Take breaks

When you’re drowning in deadlines, it can feel tempting to keep working on into the night, only stopping to cram crisps into your mouth every now and then. But we all know this is a bad idea, right?

Make sure you work regular breaks into your days. Does your uni have a gym? Go for a yoga class or a game of squash. Are you working from home? Go outside, sit in the sun, read a chapter of a novel. Is it Sunday and you’ve been working for 15 days straight? Stop it! Watch some Ozark and put your feet up. You’ll feel much better, and you’ll be more productive when you do get back to your desk.

3. Ask for support if you need it

There’s no escaping it; doing a master’s or a PhD is tough. You’re leading your own research, which is unpredictable and has many elements outside of your control. You’re probably skint. You’re watching your friends and family fill their evenings with fun while you’re conducting analysis and writing discussion sections. And you might be juggling family responsibilities while doing all this. If you need help, ask for it. Many universities have free counselling services which are quick to access. Your personal tutor is there for you to talk to. Asking for help is a sign of strength, so don’t be scared to reach out.


We all need a helping hand from time to time
Photo by youssef naddam on Unsplash

4. Celebrate the wins

If you’ve read this far, you might be forgiven for thinking postgrad work is nothing but doom and gloom. However, there are many triumphs along the way: getting accepted onto the course, passing your status upgrade, getting ethics approval, recruiting your first participants, writing your first paper, presenting at your first conference. These are all amazing achievements – remember to enjoy them!


Celebrate your postgrad wins whenever you can
Photo by Ambreen Hasan on Unsplash

5. Contact PGPR for extra help

If you’re feeling stuck with spelling, tense about tenses or grouchy over grammar as you’re writing up your findings, get in touch for proof-reading help. We can also offer written and video-based feedback for qualitative social science work or help with your interview schedules and conference presentations. Just fill in the form below to find out more.