Dr. Jennifer Paxton acknowledges that her feelings of inadequacy had always been there but were amplified during the transition to motherhood. She opens up about an interaction with an empathetic colleague that shocked her into seeking support. TW/CW: Themes of suicidal ideation A Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, PI of a tissue engineering lab, wife and mother, Jennifer opened up in the last episode about parenting as an academic during COVID-19. This is the second part of her story.  If you...

Senior Lecturer, PI, wife and mother, Dr. Jennifer Paxton, opened up about feelings of embarrassment, guilt, anger and acceptance in response to professional contacts seeing her home life in online meetings and lessons. She highlighted specific frustrations of being a parent in Academia. She also courageously opened up in the final 15 minutes about her decision making process for having a child. She, like many of us, was putting off major personal milestones because of the pressure of...

5th year Health Psychology PhD Candidate and creator of the Dear Grad Student podcast, Elana Gloger, chats about maintaining wellness - creating space between where you’re at, and your tipping point to becoming unwell. She encourages leaning in to your unique needs and remembering that ‘you’re not other people.’ Elana opened up previously, in episode 27,  about how premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) impacted her life and PhD before it was well managed. CW: swearing, sexual...

Emily chats with Elana Gloger, who opens up about how premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) impacted her life and PhD before it was well managed. TW/CW: Suicidal ideation, swearing This episode covers: - Elana’s favourite, I mean F-A-V-O-U-R-I-T-E video game, her childhood likeness to Angelica from the Rugrats, and being a child of divorce - A description of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and premenstrual exacerbation (PME) - How Elana’s diagnosis of PMDD unfolded - An explanation...

Emily chats with Dr. Andy Fraass, who opens up about support for anxiety that comes from his wife and daughters, improved sleep hygiene, and challenging intrusive thoughts. Andy opened up previously, in episode 25, about social anxiety, learning he couldn’t trust his own self-perception, and the impacts of academia on family life. This episode covers: -  Self-educating about indigenous cultures, science fantasy, and achieving the bucket list goals of professorship and family. -  Family...

Emily chats with Dr. Andy Fraass, who opens up about social anxiety, learning he couldn’t trust his own self-perception, and the impacts of academia on family life. This episode covers: The boy behind the family man, a career stemming from childhood media (Jurassic Park), and single-celled creatures that tell us about climate change and evolution Andy’s family history of mental illness, and academics The increased difficulty of hiding social anxiety with age, exacerbation of symptoms,...

TW/CW: Bullying and abuse Emily chats with Andrea Hayward, a Project Manager for the CACTUS Communications ‘Joy and Stress Triggers: A global survey on mental health among researchers.’ They discuss open-ended answers from the survey, highlighting what institutions can do to ease work-related pressures, reduce barriers to seeking help, and encourage personal wellbeing of researchers. Andrea also opens up, for the first time, about experiences she had during her Masters, including being made...

Emily chats with Seda Battilani, who opens up about juggling medication trials with work, disclosing medication use to a supervisor, and social media accounts for people with ADHD. Seda opened up previously, in episode 22, about anxiety disorder, and pursuing an ADHD diagnosis as an international student. This episode covers: YouTube obsessions, choosing someone to share a life with, and the desire to settle in one country long-term Juggling the impact of medication trials with work ...

Emily chats with Seda Battilani, who was drawn into research in linguistics after learning about the field during her undergrad. She became fascinated by how our communication impacts the way we perceive each other. Seda opens up about early struggles with an anxiety disorder, and the complexities of pursuing an ADHD diagnosis whilst also an international student. This episode covers: Seda’s COVID wedding and a crash course in her research (translanguaging and endangered languages) The...

CW: Academic bullying and abuse Emily chats with Dr. Kartik Aiyer, who opens up about the benefits of a good academic mentor and support network on mental health and productivity. Kartik opened up previously, in episode 20, about the impact a poor Faculty relationship had on his mental health during his PhD. This episode covers: Kartik’s music obsession and the positive relationship with his family The benefits of supportive research group culture on mental health but also...

CW: Academic bullying and abuse Emily chats with Dr. Kartik Aiyer, who opens up about the impact a poor Faculty relationship had on his mental health during his PhD. This episode covers: Kartik’s love of running, books and sports How academia doesn’t appear to be people-focussed How researchers require training in mentoring to get the best out of people Suffering in silence Poor relationships with academic faculty Ineffective bullying/harassment management pathways through...

Emily chats with Dr. Viviana Re, who opens up about using therapy, the physical and meditative teachings from yoga, and essential oils to help calm the nervous system and manage panic attacks. Viviana opened up previously, in episode 18, about experiencing panic attacks during her PostDoc and how they restricted her personal and work behaviour. This episode covers: ·  Living a yoga lifestyle, supportive partners and accepting oneself ·  Judgement as part of life in academia ·  Learning...

Emily chats with Dr. Viviana Re, who opens up about experiencing panic attacks during her PostDoc and how they restricted her personal and work behaviour. This episode touches on: ·  Vivana’s love of books, the sea and nature in general ·  Personal growth ·  Descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, and how to recognise them ·  Hiding symptoms at work to avoid being judged harshly ·  How the unpredictable nature of panic attacks restricted Viviana’s personal and work behaviour ·  The...

Emily chats with Henry Powell-Davies, who tried a PhD and decided it wasn’t for him, choosing to exit with a Masters. He discusses what supported him through the isolation, making this decision, and moving on. Henry opened up previously, in episode 16, about the mental health impacts of pandemic isolation, and making the difficult decision to exit his PhD with a Masters. This episode covers: ·  Breaking habits, #ChemistsWhoCook, skydiving and visiting Australia ·  How academics seem to...

Emily chats with Henry Powell-Davies, who opens up about how the isolation he experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated lockdowns, led him to question and ultimately redirect his career path. This episode covers: ·  How Henry’s experiences have made him who he is today ·  What led Henry to research & the alternative paths he considered ·  How being visually impaired since birth has impacted Henry’s life, within and outside academia ·  How disability doesn’t define...

CW: OCD and bipolar disorder Emily chats with Dr. Clare Griffin, who opens up about medical treatments for OCD and bipolar disorder, strongly advocating for her needs and using creative writing as a medium to express experiences of mental illness. Clare is a science historian who opened up previously, in episode 14, about the delay in her diagnoses and how this impacted her academic journey. This episode covers: ·  A fantastic book series recommendation, and more animal chat ·  Some of...

CW: OCD and bipolar disorder Emily chats with Dr. Clare Griffin, who opens up about the delays in her diagnoses of OCD and bipolar disorder, and how the conditions have impacted her academic journey, both before and after treatment. This episode covers: ·  Clare’s love of video games, running and animals ·  The common lag time of ~10 years from onset of symptoms to diagnosis of OCD or bipolar disorder ·  How mental illness is often framed based on how it impacts other people ·  The...

TW: Fatal and racist violence in the U.S. Emily chats with Dr. Malik Boykin, who opens up about how dancing, writing hip hop rhymes, and challenging his self-doubt in the mirror keeps him going, with a challenging life and career. Malik opened up previously, in episode 12, about early life experiences and challenges he faces as a Black man and Professor. This episode covers: ·  Malik’s love of 90s hip hop, and his dreams to perform in Africa, publish a Nature paper, and become a full...

TW: Depression, loss, and racial discrimination Emily chats with Dr. Malik Boykin, who opens up about early life experiences, how they lead him to become a Professor, and some of the challenges he has faced, and continues to face, as a Black man and academic. This episode covers: ·  Embracing multidimensionality eg. You can be a scientist AND an artist ·  Formative experiences from Malik’s early life ·  A drop off in high school engagement and grades after significant loss ·  Malik’s...

Hi everyone! I'm taking a short break from releasing episodes but will be back on August 11. That's just enough time for you to catch up on past episodes ;) Here's a sneak peek of the upcoming episodes with Dr. Malik Boykin.  For episode 12 -  [Malik] "People who study race have a much better time when there are people of color as Editors of the Journals. But oftentimes you're fighting an uphill battle. And the fact that if an editor doesn't think that this is a valid thing to think about...

TW: Depression Emily chats with Tonja Wright, who opens up about how her PhD supervisors supported her when she was depressed, her discovery of the benefits of complementary medicine, and the inspiration for her productivity and wellbeing business. Tonja opened up previously, in episode 10, about the difficult decision to leave her PhD when she was experiencing treatment-resistant depression. This episode covers: Fun podcast recommendations! How did this get made podcast, The deep dive...

TW: Depression Emily chats with Tonja Wright, who opens up about treatment-resistant depression, the difficult decision to leave her PhD, and how she is now grateful to have re-evaluated her life’s direction. This discussion includes: How Tonja’s experiences led her to start a business (Design to Transform) that uses evidence-based design to optimise productivity and wellbeing in workplaces A few ‘getting to know you’ questions – The answers to which really help develop an understanding...

Emily chats with Dr. Mohamad Nadim Adi, who debunks the myth that it’s impossible to leave then return to academia. Nadim discusses the mental health benefits of starting his own business and volunteering for an organisation that made him feel valuable, before deciding to give academia another shot. Nadim opened up previously, in episode 8, about perfectionism, a micromanaging Post-Doc supervisor & leaving academia for a few years. This discussion includes: Debunking the myth that...

Emily chats with Dr. Mohamad Nadim Adi, who opens up about feeling the pressure to be perfect, the detrimental health impacts of a micromanaging Postdoc supervisor & how the deterioration of his confidence led him to leave academia for a few years. CW: Weight gain, civil war, and a death in the family This discussion includes: Laughing about the challenges of switching from architecture to programming The pressure to be perfect affecting ability to complete simple tasks Trial by...