What Happens when the Bubble Bursts? – Dealing with Depression as a Student

A PhD is wonderful experience! It is a great opportunity to meet new people, travel the world, build more skills and, ultimately, provide a better future for yourself and your family. While many students complete this experience without any difficulties, some students may find, on one or more occasions, they encounter stressful situations that can be difficult to deal with. If ignored, this can lead to greater problems, such as depression.

Depression is a complex, yet surprisingly common, illness that can affect as many as 5 in 100 adults every year [1]. Despite these statistics, it can sometimes be difficult to diagnose. While some people experience more obvious symptoms such as low mood and general loss of pleasure in enjoyable activities, other symptoms such as disturbed sleep, changes in appetite and general agitation can also be an indication that something is wrong.

 

It is sometimes easier to think of the mind-set of a depression sufferer as being constantly frightened of ‘the bubble bursting’ - you visualise life as being contained within a bubble, the fragile surface bursting under the smallest stress and thus dissolving all control you may have of a situation. Another analogy for depression was described by a PhD student in a recent blog post, where she likened it to occasionally ‘peeling a cat off your face’. While you are not constantly occupied with caring for this cat, sometimes it can demand your attention at the most awkward times, leading to all efforts being directed towards the animal until it is satisfied.

Figure 1 - How do we hold something as fragile as the human mind together? (Picture taken from http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100022038/bond-bubble-fears-and-why-i-have-taken-the-biggest-bet-of-my-life/ Accessed 5/5/15)

Despite how common this illness is, there are still certain stigmas associated with the condition, which can often make it difficult to talk about the situation and unlikely to seek help, even when you know something may be wrong with yourself. Stigma can also cause others around you to treat you differently based on their idea of depression, e.g. ‘must be really sensitive and easily offended,’ ‘is not really sick, it’s just an excuse for time off,’ ‘can’t be trusted to finish anything on time, give it to someone else.’ I think the following video excellently demonstrates some of the stigma associated with depression: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdPZ7rw0wMc.

A PhD is a very difficult and demanding job (even though outsiders see students like someone who is skiving all day!). A PhD student has a lot of research to do and a limited time in which to carry all this out. When you add to that the responsibility of demonstrating, training, conference attendance, travel, equipment duties, supervision of undergraduate and younger postgraduate students, writing papers and experimental failure, it is easy to see how stress can develop!

The advice I would give to anyone in this situation is find someone to talk to! I like to think of this as the ‘Buddy-Up’ approach I mentioned in my previous blog post, but the university also offers a free counselling service if you would prefer to remain anonymous. Supervisors are always there to help, but every student has also another appointed member of staff if you not feel comfortable with your supervisor, a rare problem in my experience! Financial help is also offered through student finance and even the Student Union can provide many different kinds of support through their advice hub. 

I think the important message to get across with this blog post is – you are not alone! There could be any number of people in your office or department suffering just like you, but there are things you can do to make life better and help you control your mind-set. If we go back to my analogy of depression being like a ‘bubble bursting,’ there is now a product on the market known as touchable bubbles. These are bubbles that no longer burst under gentle touch, allowing multiple bubbles to be stacked on top of one another. I think of this as changing the chemistry of the bubble solution, just like changing our mind-set, allowing us to cope more easily with the stress of everyday life!

For a touchable bubble recipe, follow this link: 

http://littleaustinite.com/2010/03/touchable-bubbles/

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[1] http://www.patient.co.uk/health/depression-leaflet Accessed 22/5/15

By Elanor Brammer - second year PhD student and also mother to an eight year old daughter and two year old son.