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start a poll first:

how high do you think the mental health of doctoral students is?

a. very unhealthy

b. unhealthy

c. relatively unhealthy

d. general

e. relatively healthy

f. health

g.very healthy

when the number of pills hidden under the halo of the doctor is increasing day by day, can you imagine that those friends in the academic ivory tower may be on the verge of mental collapse.

how much impact does studying for a phd have on mental health?

a recent longitudinal study from the departments of economics at the university of gothenburg, stockholm university, lund university, and the swedish social research institute at stockholm university directly addressed this issue.

the study used swedish national administrative record data, including psychiatric drug prescription data for more than 20,000 doctoral students studying for doctoral degrees in sweden from 2006 to 2017, as well as more than 7 million general people and more than 300,000 master's degree people. and hospitalization records for mental health problems,event study analysis and comparative research were used to explore the changes in the subjects' mental health before and after the start of their doctoral studies.

psychotropic drugs. image source: tu chong creative

the study found that before the start of doctoral studies, the proportion of "b0" students using psychotropic drugs was similar to that of people with a master's degree, and lower than that of the general population. however,once the doctoral career begins, the proportion of doctoral students using psychotropic drugs increases significantly, and this increasing trend continues during the doctoral studies.

in the fifth year (usually also the year before graduation)，this proportion is close to the general population and significantly higher than other highly educated individuals. at this time,drug use increased by 40% compared to before starting doctoral studies;drug use has since declined.judging from the hospitalization records,similarly, as doctoral studies begin,hospitalizations for mental health conditions rise significantly, trending down after five years。

what's even more exaggerated is that the study further found that compared to major stress events such as the death of a parent, studying for a phd has a greater impact on the use of psychotropic drugs and lasts longer.

the relative risk of using psychotropic prescription drugs during doctoral studies has a greater impact on "older" young people, women, and students with a history of mental illness. data point out that students over 31 years old studying for a ph.d. have a relative risk of receiving psychotropic drugs that is 1.51 to 1.65 times higher than those studying for a ph.d. under the age of 26.

the article also made an interesting discovery, from the perspective of career, ph.d.s who ultimately choose to work in universities have a 28% higher risk of receiving psychotropic drugs than ph.d.s who work in companies.

where does doctoral student anxiety come from?

as a "retired ph.d.", i ask myself where does the anxiety of studying for a ph.d. come from? every night when i stayed up all night processing data, every moment when i beat my chest after an experiment failed, scenes came to mind. those days when the future was uncertain and hair fell out may be the source of anxiety.

according to incomplete statistics of the brain, the sources of mental health problems include but are not limited to:

1

academic pressure

large papers, small papers, journal papers, conference papers, large group meetings, group meetings, progress reports, failed experiments, academic competition, boss warnings, lack of creativity, self-pursuit, etc. these "straws", big or small, can all be solved. crushing the "camel".

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2

career development dilemma

as mentioned above, phds who continue to work in academia have lower mental health during their phd than those who "quit" phds. in today’s world of “getting more and more jobs” and facing the challenge of “getting up or leaving”, worries about future academic careers and anxiety about employment prospects during the phd period are also one of the most important sources of stress.

3

pressure to publish papers

there was a very popular book a few years ago called "publish or get out", written by professor li lianjiang of the chinese university of hong kong. professor li combined his own experience to provide many practical insights for young scholars and students. the title of the book also reflects the current situation in the academic circle. for doctoral students, failure to publish papers often means failure to graduate. what follows is no job, no income, and "achieving nothing" at an advanced age.

4

economic pressure

the vast majority of doctoral students are over 25 years old, and family support no longer exists, and expenses increase with age. especially for some research groups with meager subsidies, the "financial dilemma" of doctoral students is particularly prominent. some students the need to maintain a living through part-time work has further resulted in “time conflict” and “mental and physical exhaustion”.

5

work-life balance stress

a large amount of time investment is a necessary but not sufficient condition for doctoral graduation. doctoral students usually need to work long hours, which may affect their physical health and the vitality of social life, and even cause "social isolation", and the sub-health state of the body will also affects individuals' emotions and motivations, thereby creating a negative cycle.

6

intimacy and family responsibilities

on the one hand,the doctoral period is often a "critical period for love." the large amount of time and cognitive investment taken up by doctoral studies may prevent doctoral students from giving their partners sufficient "emotional value" and "economic value" in intimate relationships, thus affecting the quality of intimate relationships. healthy survival.on the other hand,for doctoral students who already have families, caring for family members or raising children may also increase stress, and anxiety may arise from partner or family relationships. discussions on "my significant other is a doctoral student, should i understand him or not?" can be seen everywhere on the internet.

7

mentor and peer relationships

a compatible, patient, and supportive mentor and a research group with a harmonious atmosphere and healthy competition can reduce a lot of pain in an academic career; conversely, an irresponsible, bad-tempered, negative mentor, and a disharmonious competitive atmosphere can it’s another source of “driving people crazy”.

response suggestions

having said so much, as someone who has been there, i would like to share with you three "little secrets" that helped me get through the long years of studying for a ph.d.

graduated as a doctoral student. image source: shanghai jiao tong university official website

1

get out of "learned helplessness"

martin seligman, a master of positive psychology, points out in his theory of learned helplessness,"an environment in which important results are uncontrolled", "a reaction of self-abandonment", and "a cognition of learned helplessness (that is, the expectation that all autonomous actions cannot affect the outcome)", these three aspects constitute "learned helplessness" helpless".once we form "learned helplessness", we may have three types of reactions: "weakened motivation to control outcomes", "interference in learning of outcomes that can be controlled by responses", and "fear and depression accompanied by traumatic outcomes".

the above-mentioned performances and reactions often appear repeatedly during the phd study. for example, if the experimental results fail to meet expectations no matter what, the direction that you have worked hard for for half a year has completely failed, and the paper is constantly rejected by reviewers, no matter what you do, it cannot meet the standards. do you want to give up... at this time, you are likely to face the problem. depression caused by uncontrollability and anxiety caused by unpredictability.

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in this regard, the author also gives corresponding ideas for solving the problem.

on the one hand, you can start with simple things and carry out exercises with a sense of control and predictability to relieve anxiety.increase self-esteem and self-efficacy by experiencing a sense of control. for example, doing housework that does not consume brain cells is a good way to relieve stress. when you see the bright and clean room that you have cleaned, you will feel a sense of gain.

on the other hand, you can change your own interpretation style of things and constantly give yourself positive psychological hints.say to yourself: my difficulties and bad things that happen are temporary, not permanent, specific, not universal, external, not internal.

to some extent, fan debiao’s mental state in the picture is worthy of reference. image source: tv series "ma dashuai"

for example: my article was rejected, just because it was rejected this time does not mean it will be rejected forever; my article was rejected by this magazine, not by all magazines; my article was rejected because it may not be suitable for this journal or point of view although it is not recognized by the reviewers, it does not mean that my paper is without merit.

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2

improve intrinsic motivation

self-determination theory states that,the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and interpersonal needs will allow people to enjoy the pleasure brought by the task, thereby generating internal motivation to complete a certain task.on the contrary, lack of autonomy, being controlled, being unable to meet role goals, and having relationship conflicts with key people will lead to a lack of internal motivation.

continuous negative feedback during the phd can deplete autonomy and feelings of competence, reduce internal motivation, and create “learned helplessness.” faced with these difficulties, we can still start from two aspects:on the one hand,you can start from yourself, that is, "regulate your emotions and accept yourself";on the other hand,individuals also have the ability to influence the environment through behavior and expectations and make the environment more supportive of autonomy. we can persuade others to accept our views by "talking to the instructor" or "discussing with the reviewers".

3

find and embrace social support

returning to the third point of self-determination theory - relationship needs, the support and encouragement of others, especially key others, is particularly important at some important nodes.

in the last year of my ph.d., when i was frustrated in finding a job, my supervisor asked me about my progress. i told him that i was not optimistic. since my goal was the industry, my status as a "female phd in psychology" brought me a lot of trouble in some industries. some obstacles, he told me on wechat, "there are too many kinds of discrimination, gender discrimination is particularly prominent, but if you have confidence, you will definitely be better than most people (regardless of gender)." these words helped me rebuild my confidence and gave me i am greatly encouraged.

and in those moments when "i can barely hold on", the care of family and friends can also give doctoral students the confidence and courage to persevere.

finally, i wish all students who want to study for a ph.d. can enjoy this journey without any regrets. i wish all the students on this journey will get everything they want, live up to their time, and be healthy and happy. to quote director bi in his graduation video:

image source: "thirteen years have passed and i finally graduated!" 》video screenshot

at the same time, if you have a friend or relative who is studying for a ph.d., please listen, understand, encourage and care about him. some of your small actions may be extremely warm to him and help him get through this long period of time. not an easy journey.

references

[1]martin seligman. (2020). learned helplessness. china renmin university press.

[2] edward l. deci, & richard frost. (2020). intrinsic motivation. machinery industry press.

[3]Sanna Bergvall, Clara Fernström, Eva Ranehill, Anna Sandberg. (2024). The Impact of PhD Studies on Mental Health—A Longitudinal Population Study, Working papers, Lund university

planning and production

produced by popular science china

author丨beta phd in applied psychology

producer | china popular science expo

editor丨dong nana

reviewer丨xu lai linlin