24 Supporting Mental Health in Graduate School
Mental health is comprised of your emotional, psychological, and social well-being, which often determines how we interact with other people, how we handle stress, and how we make decisions – all of which are integral components of your graduate school experience.
We all experience changes in our mental well-being during graduate school (e.g., changes in mood; challenges with managing the many areas of stress in your life). Seeking out help is a normal part of managing changes to our mental health, either as a proactive measure or in response to an event in your life. Some students seek help from friends, family, or peers, while others seek professional counselling supports on campus or in the community.
At McMaster, there are mental health supports for students who are looking for structured counselling support, supports from peers and groups, or online/self-help resources. You can review a full list of the services and resources offered by McMaster’s Student Wellness Centre [https://wellness.mcmaster.ca/resources/] to learn more.
A common starting point for students is to seek support through Counselling at the Student Wellness Centre, where they will explore options for support on-campus, which could include further counselling support through the Student Wellness Centre, counselling support in the community, connections to wellness skills programming, or connections to other resources. You can learn more by reviewing the Counselling page [https://wellness.mcmaster.ca/services/counselling/] of the Student Wellness Centre website.
If you are looking for off-campus supports, there is a graduate-specific 24/7 counselling services phone line called “Empower Me”. The phone number is 1-844-741-6389.
You Are Not Alone: A Graduate Student’s Experience with Mental Health
“In the second year of my PhD, while reading for my second comprehensive exam, I was diagnosed with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – the symptoms of which I had been experiencing for a while without seeking help or being able to put a name to what was going on. I had been struggling that semester, not just because of school, but writing my comp exam certainly became a secondary stressor for me, as I felt unable to focus or absorb material at that time. I was spending a lot of time and energy learning to take care of my mental wellness in that season and feared failing my comprehensive exam, and not being able to make it through the reading list on time. In conversation with my supervisor, who was very understanding, I took a step back from reading for a month and read at a slower pace. Previously being a very type-A, “able to handle anything” personality, I certainly experienced impostor syndrome at this time – wondering if my love of learning and passion for research would come back. I completed my comprehensive exam on time that semester, but worked to a modified schedule and learned to adjust my expectations of myself on days where less work could be done. I also learned that it is possible to re-define success – the “ideal type” of the graduate student who spends late hours in the lab or the office working 24/7 is not me. I need more time, a slower pace, and to set boundaries to be able to take care of myself and have a full life with other components besides grad school/academics. Part of reaching this positive space has involved changing my thinking about what it means to be successful in graduate school, working closely with my supervisor to maintain the boundaries I need, and having other people and activities in my life that are not part of the academic community, but that are equally as important to me. With several years under my belt now, I feel very empowered in managing my mental wellness while also succeeding to work in an academic environment. Some of that comes from advocating for external support and boundaries, but a lot of it is actually an internal acceptance and even contentment with my own strengths and limitations.”
