Abstract
This chapter explores our understanding of mental health and mental illness, what they are, and how we might recognise the signs in ourselves and those around us.
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Notes
- 1.
Access to healthcare is not always available and I want to acknowledge this. Inequity in healthcare can also contribute negatively to the PhD experience.
- 2.
If you find yourself here, please seek help. Options available to you are discussed in detail in Chap. 12.
- 3.
This was perhaps the most challenging barrier for me personally to face. I had a supportive partner, was surrounded by friends and family, and an excellent PhD Supervisor—what did I have to complain about? That is the thing with depression, our brains lie to us. it is also important to remember that suffering is not a competition.
- 4.
To give you an example of disaster spiralling, for me personally, I might see that it is raining outside, think it might be more dangerous to drive in (which is true and important to be aware of), but then I might also think about all my loved ones and that they might get hurt in an accident because of it. Suddenly my thoughts have gone not from a to b, but from a to z in terms of hypothesised scenarios.
- 5.
Putting others first may seem like the right thing to do but looking after your own mental health means that you can be well to support others. It is important to put your own oxygen mask on first.
- 6.
Having had conversations with people long after when I was experiencing suicidal thoughts during my PhD, I think I was incredibly good at presenting a “happy” version of myself to the world, even though I was anything but. This made it even more difficult for those around me to realise I was struggling.
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Ayres, Z.J. (2022). Challenging Perceptions: What Is Mental Health Anyway?. In: Managing your Mental Health during your PhD. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14194-2_2
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