Thesis getting you down? Read this! Help is here…

It has been said that the letters Ph.D. really stand for Permanent Head Damage rather than Doctor of Philosophy.

Sadly it’s not uncommon for doctoral candidates to experience mental health related difficulties during their studies. Some of this can be down to the nature of the degree. Candidates have to spend a lot of time and energy self-motivating to create new knowledge. Their work is solitary, hyper-focussed and generally not well understood by those around them. They have very intense, unequal relationships with a supervisor who holds a lot of power over them and who may be over or under-involved. By its inherent nature research involves a lot of dead ends, false starts and the ever present spectre of rejection from journal reviewers. And that’s all before undertaking the small task of writing up a book the size of a telephone directory and having to face a viva in front of a panel of experts.

 

As someone who has gone through the doctoral process themselves, supervised several and then ended up working therapeutically with PhD students and academics here is my advice.

 

  • Anxiety, stress and uncertainty are common, but more common as is the dreaded “imposter syndrome” where your typical PhD student wanders around fearful that they will be found out or people will realise that they are not clever enough. It’s all lies. If you are here in the first place, you are good enough.

 

  • Faced with writing a thesis it’s an understandable response to feel one that may be better off dead/ running away/ drinking until oblivion. This isn’t often acknowledged and people suffer, thinking they are the only one that feels like this. If you do feel this way, do seek support because there are a lot of resources at university to help with this. The Students’ Health Service, Student Counselling service, the Student Union and Academic departments can all be possible sources of support when it comes to despair, fear or doubts.

 

  • A good thesis is a finished thesis. It doesn’t have to be perfect, world changing or the last word in your subject area- it just needs to be done. Your PhD is not your magnum opus, it’s really your driver’s licence into the world of research and academia. You may not even be in the same area in the future. I can barely remember what was in mine, and have to think quite hard to even recall the title. However, the research and analytic skills I learned finishing it I still use on a daily basis.

 

  • Get out more. It’s all too easy to spend all of your time in the library/laboratory and feel massive guilt for doing anything other than your thesis. However, balancing your work with friends/ relationships/ healthy eating/ exercise and interacting with the outside world is incredibly important. It also makes you more effective and is probably the best known defence against procrastination, as you have a shorter window of time where you will need to be focussed. It’s only too easy to spend 20 hours a day occupying yourself with not writing.

 

  • You are not your work. It’s only a small part of what you do and doesn’t reflect on your capacity for kindness, altruism, empathy or being a worthwhile human being. It doesn’t even reflect on your intellectual ability as your PhD is more a measure of your tenacity and resilience than it is about how smart you are. Others will love you for a variety of reasons, but your PhD is unlikely to be one of them.

 

  • Best of luck with it. It’s tough. Remember, a thesis is written a line at a time. Keep doing that and it will eventually get done.

SHS Consultant Psychologist Dr Ian Barkataki

Movember!

Movember is all about bringing back the moustache or ‘Mo’ for the month of November.

It’s about having a bit of fun and putting a spotlight on men’s health, which doesn’t always get the attention it deserves.

It is for awareness of men’s health in general, but in  particular; prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.

The appearance of new hair on a gentleman’s or ‘Mo Bro’s’ face will be like a walking-talking billboard, promoting the health message. The moustache is a way of generating conversations, awareness and of raising funds for men’s health.

 

The rules of Movember:-

1)      Sign up at Movember.com. Each ‘Mo Bro’ must begin on 1st November with a fresh, clean shaven face.

2)      Grow and groom a moustache for the 30 days of November

3)      NO fake moustache NO beards NO goatees. That’s cheating!

4)      Use the facial hair to stimulate conversation and raise funds for men’s health

5)      You must conduct yourself like a true gentleman!

 

It is well known that men visit GP’s and other health professionals less frequently than women, and the average life expectancy for men is on average 4 years less than for women. The reasons for this are numerous and complex but include:-

  • Men being unwilling to discuss their health, or how they feel.
  • Stigma around mental health in particular
  • Men feeling they ‘need to be tough and get on with it’
  • Reluctance to ask for help unless feeling unwell physically
  • Lack of understanding and awareness of men’s health issues.

 

Movember facts:-

  • Started in Australia in 2003
  • Over 100 million people have grown a moustache worldwide due to Movember
  • Raises in excess of 75 Million US Dollars equivalent each year, worldwide
  • Facial hair grows at around ½ inch a month
  • The world’s longest moustache is over 14 feet long
  • Over 99% of testicular cancers and most prostate cancers can be cured if caught early

Together we can make a difference as well as having some fun over the month of Movember. Please think about joining in and encouraging others.

Bring on facial hair cultivation and create a dodgy Mo!

 

 

The Succeed Foundation’s Vision is “A World Free From Eating Disorders”

The Succeed Foundation has a simple mission to free the world from eating disorders. Through fundraising and investment in innovative research, and the promotion of ground-breaking evidence-based treatments and preventions, the charity aims to tackle eating disorders in measureable ways.

Every individual with an eating disorder is unique. They will not all respond to the same treatment. In partnership with researchers and clinicians, we develop a broad range of approaches and transform the science into practical tools that sufferers can beneficiate in their daily life as a self-help tool. We want to move from awareness to action.

The Succeed Body Image Programme

 The charity has a wealth of sound scientific research behind it thanks to its association with a number of academic institutions; including the University of the West of England; their Centre for Appearance Research is monitoring the Body Image programme in the UK, headed by research fellow and Doctor Phillippa Diedrichs.

The Succeed Body Image Programme (SBIP) is a cognitive dissonance-based intervention.

Dissonance theory suggests that if individuals act in ways that contradict their beliefs then they will typically change their beliefs to align with these actions. The Succeed Body Image Programme therefore, actively engages its participants in of a series of verbal, written and behavioural exercises that critique the unrealistic, ultra-thin-ideal standard of female beauty.

The SBIP is designed to help individuals across all spectrums to establish and maintain a positive body image. Using highly interactive, peer-led, small groups, it is a two-day, intervention program designed by experts and implemented through trained peer leaders on college campuses throughout the UK.  As the first peer-led, evidence-based eating disorders prevention program shown to truly work, The Body Image Program does not specifically focus on eating disorders; rather, it emphasizes creating and reaffirming positive and healthy personal body image through a variety of structured discussions, activities, and exercises. The phenomenal program has a proven track record – not only on improving body image issues, but on encouraging healthy confrontation and communication skills as well. It is the first scientifically supported evidence-based eating disorders prevention program designed.

Fat Talk Free

Fat Talk describes all of the statements made in everyday conversation that reinforce the thin ideal and contribute to women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies. We want to raise the nation’s consciousness about the danger of fat talk and our initiative is to eliminate that kind of talk from our lives and stop appearances critiques and accept the way we are.

This can be achieved by simply changing our conversation.

Our Success depends on collaboration and monitoring our work we want to focus in what works.

to access the support contact the Succeed Foundation Directly

www.succeedfoundation.org

Carers may find this link helpful too;

http://www.succeedfoundation.org/work/skillsforcarers

 

 

When you hear the word ‘counselling’ what do you think of?

Two people in a room; one talking and the other just nodding and listening? 
Films have a lot to answer for, and for me that image conveys nothing of the aliveness of the relationship that counselling offers.

For instance, when was the last time that a friend or someone in your family really listened to your experience, without confusing it or comparing it with their own? 

The real trick of counselling is that it creates the circumstances that mean you can fully be yourself. By providing relational sounding boards and mirrors it allows you to see and hear the self you are in this moment. Sometimes someone else can see you changing when you can’t see it yourself.
Most people emerge from experiences of counselling feeling better than they did at the start, more able to function and on a positive trajectory in terms of their mental health, but the chances of this are much increased if they can come along with some openness to the process, some belief it could help in some way. This is one of the reasons we ask people to refer themselves, rather than being required to come: they need just a tiny bit of belief, and it can be just tiny.

The other surprise to some is that counselling is not just about two people in a room, in fact increasingly this is less and less so. The Student Counselling Service now offers about 300 students direct support each week and whilst some of them will be in individual appointments, most of these are either initial assessments to establish the best pattern of care for someone, one off follow ups to these meetings to support a person’s self help, 20 minute initial meetings to establish support choices, or 20 minute ‘Drop ins’ to offer immediate triage and signposting to support, or to help keep them on track with ‘Beating the Blues’ (our online CBT support programme). Even our regular sessions tend to be for fewer than 6 weeks.

Over 100 of the total seen are accessing our regular closed groups or coming just this week to an open group, or attending one of our workshops. And that’s without keeping a count of the number of people who use our resource library and website self help pages.

Because of the range of what we offer we registered over 1600 students last academic year, and so far this year we are experiencing a 20% increase on that. We can’t work with everyone but we have a number of useful contacts in the wider community of Bristol, so that no one needs to feel alone with their concerns.

And just one little plug for group work. If counselling helps you see aspects of yourself you can’t yet see , imagine what it might feel like if other students just like you provided the sounding board, or if someone in the group told a story that made you feel you were not the only one struggling with similar things. It is a powerful moment, and every group sees it, when someone says, ‘it’s such a relief…I thought it was just me’.

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/student-counselling/

 

It’s Time to Talk about Mental Health! #TimetoTalk

This weeks blog is a quiz!

Time to stop the stigma surrounding mental ill health. See how much you know in the attached short quiz, via the link below. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page to see the Myth/ Fact quiz.

Then spread the word. It’s OK to talk about mental health!

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/downloads

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

 

 

 

 

The Olympic Games and the Untold Legacy

This blog is a personal viewpoint from the service’s eating disorders specialist…

Will Devlin, clinical psychologist and specialist in eating disorders for the University of Bristol, looks almost sheepish as he describes his mixed feelings about the great sporting achievements we watched with pride just a few months ago:

“…Don’t get me wrong,” he says, “there’s no doubt that the Olympic Games were a proud moment in the history of the country and many of us have been inspired by the achievements of athletes like Jessica Ennis, Jonnie Peacock, and Anthony Joshua.

“But what I can’t help wondering is what effect images of these almost superhuman, super lean, super muscled athletes is having on people who are unhappy with their bodies.  Very few of us have the genetic make up, let alone the motivation, dedication, sponsorship, training and time to develop the kind of body which we’ve seen so much of during the UK’s summer of sport.

“It’s one thing to be inspired to get fit by the Olympics, even I’ve been inspired to get back to the gym.  But the fact is,” Will says with a smile, patting his tummy, “like most of the population I’ll never have the body of an Olympian however hard I try! 

His fear is that amidst the pride and positive social change inspired by the Olympics, one untold legacy will be an increase in the number of people at risk of eating disorders: “I worry that if more of us end up unhappy with our bodies, then more of us might resort to unhealthy attempts to shape up as we aspire to a rippling six-pack, tight buns or super-pert breasts.

It’s not a popular view, that inspiring a nation with acts of sporting heroism could actually be bad for some people, but as I listen to Will’s concerns I do see his point: “Condemnation is growing on all sides at the use of size zero models on the catwalk, and Kate Moss was roundly criticized for endorsing starvation when she said, ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ …but it’s not easy to say that super lean athletes might have just the same effect as emaciated supermodels on those of us who want the perfect body but simply can’t have it.  “And don’t forget,” Will says, “the athletes themselves face these same pressures, eating disorders are rife amongst sports men and women, in fact it is estimated that more than one in 10 elite athletes may have an eating disorder.”

Will’s comments get me thinking about this untold legacy, and what some of the unintended outcomes of our summer of sport might be.  There’s no doubt that the efforts of Team GB and our paralympian heroes have the power to inspire a generation, but perhaps it’s also important to recognize that the pursuit of athletic success and the body beautiful may also have its downsides.

Will works at the University’s Student Health Service.  If you think you might have an eating disorder, talking to one of the service’s GPs will ensure you get access to the specialist help you need.

 

Antidepressants; friend or foe?

Antidepressants; friend or foe

 Two (unrelated) students asked me to write this blog. Independently they mentioned at the end of their consultations that there was a lack of positive stories about using antidepressant medication, and that other students might like to hear about some success stories such as theirs. They felt that these ‘good news’ tales might balance some of the very negative opinions that they and their peers were reading online.

Well I have worked at the Students’ Health Service for over 10 years and it has certainly been my experience that the vast majority of students that I treat with antidepressants get better. Treatment times vary, as does the need to try more than one type of pill before finding that one that works for an individual, but alongside psychological therapies, medication is usually successful in helping students return to normality.

Of course we must consider possible side effects (minimised by starting with a half dose for the first week in many cases), and appropriate length of treatment (6 months for a first episode, 2 years or more for recurrences ). It is also vital to withdraw the medication very slowly tailored to an individual’s response. The GPs at SHS are fastidious in planning regular follow up for patients on antidepressants and strive to have continuity of care to allow us to get to know each student as best we can, therefore giving a better overview of treatment response.

Evidence suggests that medication is most appropriate in cases of moderate to severe depression, so we are much less likely to prescribe it for mild cases, and we always encourage other supportive treatments such as increased exercise, counselling and psychological input as necessary.

Six million people are thought to suffer from depression in the UK, and in the last few years the NHS has noted a significant (26%) rise in the prescription of antidepressant medication. Much has been written and theorised on the reasons for this, but it is a phenomenon noted throughout the population, and students are no exception unfortunately. In the face of rising numbers of people with mental health issues it is good to have a treatment that works to offer them, and which shows benefit within usually 4 to 6 weeks. Sometimes people need to take something just to be able to get back to a point of functioning well enough to start talking therapies, of which there is steadily increasing availability on the NHS.

Antidepressants work for the majority of students that we treat, though it needs to be the right one for the individual. They can be life changing, and should always be considered and discussed as an option, though decisions should be made on a case by case basis of course.

I am confident in stating that antidepressants are an important option to be considered in the consultation between the GP and any student who is feeling depressed, and we see significant positive effects on an almost daily basis in our population. It is true that these good news stories don’t excite the media in the same way as negative stories, but that’s no great surprise.

If you are worried about your moods, or feeling low, please do come and talk to us, we really do want to know and help you, in whatever way suits you best.

 

Mental Wellbeing Week (20/02/12)

Look around you.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing,  1 in 6 of the people around you will be struggling with a mental health problem at this time. 1 in 4 will have a problem at some time in their lives. Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s your flatmate or friend, partner or another student on your course.

The important thing is to know how and when to get help if you or your friends need it, or advice if you’re not sure what to do.

At the Students’ Health Service 1 in 4 of our doctors’ consultations is for a mental health problem.

Students, like anyone, can develop anxiety, depression, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, bipolar and schizophrenic disorders, as well as rarer problems such as body dysmorphic disorder and borderline personality disorder. (For more information see www.patient.co.uk )

If you are thinking of harming yourself, we want to help you.
If you can’t leave the house because of fear or low mood, we would like to hear from you.
If you think that life’s not worth living please talk to us.

If you know someone who is suffering, please encourage them to make an appointment with a GP or bring them in yourself. We don’t judge, we listen. We really want to help you.
This is what we do, this is why we are here.

It is time we as a society started talking more openly about mental health issues and how to deal with them positively.
Less stigma would lead to quicker access to help and better long term health.
So look around you… 1 in 6 of us is suffering.

Can you act today to help that person feel better?

Talk to the Students’ Health Service or Student Counselling Service for guidance, support or treatment.

Mental Wellbeing Week starts 20th February, at locations around the precinct, especially between Senate House and the Library, with free activities and much more.

 Students’ Health Service; 0117 3302720

Student Counselling Service

Other good sources of info;

Mind

Living Life to the Full  (depression advice)

Moodgym  (depression advice)

b-eat  (eating disorders information)

Bipolar UK  (bipolar disorder support)