Anyone here in academia at PhD level and beyond with mental health issues/history?

Just curious if there's anyone on this forum at PhD level and beyond who suffers from, or has suffered from, mental illness (and if so what's your poison :P)?

Also happy for anyone else to chime in regardless of what level of school you're at. :smile:

(Forgive me if similar threads have been made before, I'm new to this forum and just had the idea to do it.)

I imagine it's quite a common thing and while that's unfortunate :ashamed2:

I'm glad the stigma's gradually being broken down and people are becoming more willing to discuss it openly, and it's great this forum exists. :h:

Personally I'm currently an undergrad (2nd year) and still not sure what I want to do career-wise, but the prospect of staying in academia, doing research etc. appeals to me. Unfortunately I've always struggled a bit with mental health and had depressive episodes through my life, and fear it may always plague me, but it is what it is. I think I'm getting better at recognizing and coping with it at least, and hopefully it'll become more manageable and less debilitating over time. :smile:

To whoever's still reading this, have a nice day! :yeah:

Reply 1

Noodlzzz

PhD student here with mental health problems.

Reply 2

kittenmittenz

Original post by Noodlzzz

PhD student here with mental health problems.

Thanks for chiming in! :colondollar:

I recall you mentioning elsewhere you were schizophrenic if I remember correctly? Also what are you researching for your PhD? :smile:

Reply 3

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Hey! I'm halfway through a music PhD atm :musicus:

I have schizoaffective disorder (basically a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar) :yes:

I'm not planning on going into academia - music academia is waaaaaay too stressful-sounding :colondollar:

But I'm mostly enjoying doing my PhD. It's been hugely tough and doing a PhD is a rollercoaster journey even without the mental health problems tbh :nopity:

The key thing (imho) is to find supportive course leaders (Masters level)/supervisors (PhD level), as that can be hugely influential on how your postgrad studies will go! I've only been able to start and continue my PhD due to my amazing supervisor :love:

Reply 4

kittenmittenz

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

Hey! I'm halfway through a music PhD atm :musicus:

I have schizoaffective disorder (basically a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar) :yes:

I'm not planning on going into academia - music academia is waaaaaay too stressful-sounding :colondollar:

But I'm mostly enjoying doing my PhD. It's been hugely tough and doing a PhD is a rollercoaster journey even without the mental health problems tbh :nopity:

Thanks for the response and massive kudos to you for being so successful in spite of the schizoaffective disorder which I can't imagine is easy to deal with! I can imagine supportive course leaders can make a world of difference; thanks for the advice, I'll definitely bear that in mind if I decide to embark on a PhD myself (will cross that bridge at the time years in the future lol)! Out of curiosity what are you researching?

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 5

Noodlzzz

Original post by kittenmittenz

Thanks for chiming in! :colondollar:

I recall you mentioning elsewhere you were schizophrenic if I remember correctly? Also what are you researching for your PhD? :smile:

Yes schizophrenia. Psychology PhD, don’t want to disclose more!

Reply 6

kittenmittenz

Original post by Noodlzzz

Yes schizophrenia. Psychology PhD, don’t want to disclose more!

No worries, hope it's going well! And nothing but respect for you for kicking schizophrenia's arse.

Reply 7

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by kittenmittenz

I'm researching fans of the pop group ABBA :biggrin:

I have a PhD blog on here that I can share the link to, if that's of any interest :smile:

Reply 8

kittenmittenz

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

I'm researching fans of the pop group ABBA :biggrin:

I have a PhD blog on here that I can share the link to, if that's of any interest :smile:

Ooh, that sounds fun haha (did you watch Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again? :tongue:

)! I'd love to see your blog.

Reply 9

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by kittenmittenz

Ooh, that sounds fun haha (did you watch Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again? :tongue:

)! I'd love to see your blog.

I did - 9 times in fact :awesome:

Here you go :biggrin:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3553551

Reply 10

kittenmittenz

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

I did - 9 times in fact :awesome:

Here you go :biggrin:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3553551

9 times? That is an achievement in itself haha!

Cheers for the link (now I've got SOS stuck in my head :tongue:

Reply 11

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Original post by kittenmittenz

9 times? That is an achievement in itself haha!

Cheers for the link (now I've got SOS stuck in my head :tongue:

Reply 12

AlexL1987

Heya yeah it’s defiantly possible and you can do it I’m wishing you all the best and hoping you have friends / family and your gp you can go to get support most colleges unis have counsellors and student support as well you can go to .

Here’s a link that you may find useful that takes you to click on where they have some listening services

Best of luck

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/crisis-services/getting-help-in-a-crisis/?o=10152#.XCj8u6SnzYU

Don’t be alarmed or worried about the word crisis here you don’t need to be in crisis to call ( though it’s ok if you are ) you can talk about anything