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Posted Aug. 28, 2025

Looking after your mental health as a PhD student

PhD student mental health

There is a lot of pressure on all postgraduate students, and some may consider studying for a PhD to be the most academically, financially and personally challenging of all academic studies. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you look after your mental health during this time of your life.

Here are some achievable methods you can employ to ensure you keep an eye on your student wellbeing whilst studying your doctorate.

Work out your stress triggers

Everyone has different triggers and things that stress them out. As a PhD student these could include academic deadlines, the quest for grade perfection, balancing home commitments with your latest academic demands, or adapting to a new environment including the new university, city or even country. The first thing you should do is try and identify which of these factors are most likely to impact your mental health so you can monitor how you’re feeling and hopefully reduce your stress levels.

Ensure you have a solid support team

When you are studying it’s important to ensure that you have a great support team – this will include your fellow students, family members, faculty staff and supervisors.

  • When you start at your new university find out where and how to contact the student wellbeing team as they will be on-hand to offer guidance and support whenever needed. Universities will often have teams to specifically support PhD students – for example the University of Reading offers dedicated support to students throughout their doctorate.
  • Keep in regular contact with your friends and family back home as they will keep you grounded and be available to lend a sympathetic ear if you are feeling overwhelmed or homesick.
  • Speak to your PhD supervisor at the beginning of your course, opening a good line of communication with them from the start – and don’t be afraid to contact them if you are worried about a looming deadline or a specific research project.
  • Set up study groups with your fellow students – two, three or even four heads can often be better than one!

Create a good life/study balance

Before launching yourself into your academic research project make a timetable to ensure you factor in time to do activities that you really enjoy.

  • Join a university society so you can meet some like-minded students who appreciate the same sports or hobbies as you do.
  • Engage in some more mindful pursuits like yoga and meditation.
  • Try using an online resource like The Wellbeing Thesis, it has been specifically created to support the wellbeing of postgraduate research students.
  • Organise monthly social meetups with fellow students so you can get together in a relaxed environment. You can keep costs down and make it even more fun at the same time by making these bring-a-dish dinner parties and asking each quest to bring a specialty from their own country.

Don’t forget your physical health

So, maybe joining the university hockey club is not top of your to-do list when studying for a doctorate degree, but this doesn’t mean you should forget about your physical health. Physical and mental fitness are intrinsically linked – so by keeping a check on your physical activity, your overall student wellbeing should benefit. This is achievable even if funds are low, as going for a daily walk is free of charge and a great way to clear your mind, take in nature and increase your fitness. Make sure you eat properly too. Meal prepping and batch cooking are the postgraduate students’ friends – offering time- and money-saving ways to eat well, even at the most academically demanding times. There are plenty of good blogs offering advice on healthy eating for students, including this one from a postgraduate student at Queen’s University Belfast.

Don’t ignore looming issues

And finally, if you do start feeling mentally unwell or become overwhelmed with your PhD studies, don’t ignore it. Talk to your supervisor about ways to reduce or manage your workload. Tell your friends and family how you’re feeling and ask them for moral support. Keep the lines of communication open so people around you can offer their help and support.

Looking to study a doctorate degree? Use our course search to find your ideal PhD course.

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