For a long time, my self-care has been an afterthought, and it felt like things were just happening to me, rather than me making anything happen – like I was in the ocean with waves crashing over me, but I wasn’t swimming (I love a good simile). I’m not sure how or when even I … Continue reading Taking self-care seriously
Being a postgraduate tutor has been one of the best things I’ve ever done, hands down. I was so nervous when I was offered my first classes, teaching medieval literature (from Old English riddles to Chaucer and Henryson) to second year undergraduates. As is typical for me, I ended up spending a lot of time … Continue reading 4 things you should know about being a postgraduate tutor
This guest post comes from Dr Clare Edwards, who has recently completed her AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award PhD with Glasgow Life at the University of Glasgow. Clare's PhD investigated the emergence of cultural policy in Glasgow in the decades leading to European City of Culture in 1990, based on archival research and oral history interviews with key decision-makers. … Continue reading How to complete your PhD when you’ve got more difficult things to deal with – and how your PhD can help
I recently read a comment about the stress of a PhD, which personally hit me to the core: “If you’re emotionally unstable or vulnerable, it’s not a good idea.” This was me, 3 years ago. Or in fact, 5, 8, or 10 years ago. I’ve lived with depression, anxiety, and OCD for a decade of … Continue reading Starting a PhD with existing mental health problems
When you’re hyper-focussed on working on your PhD, especially when you get towards deadlines and you’re furiously writing or editing, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks, and for other areas of your life to start going awry. This always reminds me of Bridget Jones saying, ‘it's a truth universally acknowledged that the … Continue reading Having a life outside the PhD
I don’t know if it’s just my intense perfectionism, but I have a real fear of finishing things, signing off, and saying I’m done. I’ve always been terrible at doing so, handing in essays right on the deadline during my undergrad. Once or twice, I even edited an essay within an inch of its life … Continue reading Perfectionism and the PhD: the dread of completion
There are many struggles you’ll encounter during your PhD experience, two of the major ones being feeling overwhelmed, and feeling completely stuck. Both are things I’ve come up against quite a lot over my 2 and a half years of being a PhD researcher, especially the former due to my depression and anxiety. So, in … Continue reading What to do when you feel like you just can’t do it anymore
Like many people around the world, when the new year rolled around I found myself binge-watching the new Netflix series ‘Tidying up with Marie Kondo’. I’d heard of her book The Magical Art of Tidying Up some years ago, but had never been interested enough to read it. In fact, I secretly resented the principal. … Continue reading ‘Sparking joy’ in my life and research
As I mentioned in my previous (and first ever!) post, one of my missions over the next six months is to explore the PhD experience as a sufferer of mental health problems. This is something I barely, if ever, discuss, but I’ve come to realise how important it is for so many reasons, not least … Continue reading Fight or flight? Presenting papers with anxiety
Hello everyone! I’m Lizzie, the new SGSAH blogger for the next six months. I’m currently in my third year of doctoral study at the University of St Andrews, and looking forward to sharing the experience with you all! I’m nervous about stepping into Britnee’s shoes, but her previous posts have been a great source of … Continue reading From Cat to Wolf
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