I'm sure you've seen the myriad articles (like this one, this one, and this one) describing how poor graduate students' mental health is. Becca and I discussed some of this in episode 6 of season one of our podcast - check it out here if you haven't listened to it already.
Part of the reasons why grad students may not seek mental health is that this term alone can be confusing and often defined incorrectly.
When I was writing my dissertation on mental health and learning in undergraduate students, I found I had to spend some time making sure my definitions and conceptualizations of mental health were clear. This is because people often think of mental illnesses (e.g., anxiety, depression) when I used the term mental health.
For me, I use the World Health Organization's definition of mental health. Mental health is "a state of well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community."
I believe that mental health is a human right and is determined by complex combinations of individual, social, and systemic factors.
In their survey, the Ontario Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario asked 2001 grad students about their experiences with mental health on campus.
The top five reasons that impact graduate students' mental health are: time to completion anxiety, anxiety of failing/appearing weak, tuition fees/costs, not feeling supported by their institution, and anxiety around seeking/paying for mental health support.
Graduate students have stated that they are reluctant to access mental health resources for fear of personal, funding, and career reprisals (CFS, n.d.).
These reasons are heartbreaking and I have both personal and professional experience with the many barriers that exist for grad students accessing affordable, accessible supports during grad school.
This is part of the reason why I created How To Grad School -- it is my aim to provide access to evidence-based learning strategies that this may help grad students improve their well-being. Engaging in the reflective, iterative self-regulated learning cycle can also help identify challenges and when and how to seek help.
Mental health is in the Foundation category of the FLOW framework for a reason -- your mental health is a core component of who you are. Taking time to even define mental health for yourself may be helpful because it can identify what areas of your life you may need support with.
If any of this resonates with you and you've been debating seeking help for your mental health, please know that there are many services on campus for you that are already paid for with your tuition dollars.
And, if you are a grad student who lives in BC and are interested in seeking counselling, reach out to me for a free 15-minute consultation. I offer reduced rates for grad students to do my part for making counselling affordable and accessible. Check out my counselling website for more information.
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