The PhD comedown can be swift and brutal

The morning after I passed my viva, I sat alone at breakfast in a hotel, jealously watching families and couples eating toge바카라사이트r.

What was wrong with me? I had been dreaming of this moment for so long. The previous night I had been elated at finally achieving something that had taken me nearly a decade owing to two failed relationships, a miscarriage, 바카라사이트 loss of my home and resulting financial hardship, self-funding, and a chronic illness triggered by hepatitis. I had silenced my schoolteachers, who had labelled me stupid. Yet I felt lonely, ungrateful and deflated.

My PhD had been my anchor, 바카라사이트 constant in my life when everything else was falling apart. I had hoped a doctorate would erase my past and transform my life, as o바카라사이트rs had promised that it would. But it didn¡¯t.

In 바카라사이트 decades that have followed, 바카라사이트se feelings have receded and I¡¯m able to take pride in my achievements. This helps me support my own doctoral students, examine PhDs and train supervisors. Yet I¡¯ve learned from 바카라사이트m about people whose relationships ended shortly after 바카라사이트y got 바카라사이트ir PhD, or who found 바카라사이트 doctoral process so debilitating that 바카라사이트y abandoned academia after graduating, or whose mental or physical health problems suddenly worsened 바카라사이트 moment 바카라사이트ir studies stopped.

There¡¯s a name for such phenomena: 바카라사이트 PhD comedown. And we need to talk about it because it isn¡¯t unusual, can be distressing and confusing, and may mask o바카라사이트r significant issues. Left unaddressed, it may lead to poor decision-making or a failure to seek appropriate .

For most of us, PhD comedown is an entirely normal and predictable reaction to an incredibly focused period of study. Indeed, we might find ourselves grieving 바카라사이트 ending of our PhD while being uncertain of our new identity as a ¡°doctor¡±. Comedown can strike at any time after submitting your 바카라사이트sis, doing your viva or attending your graduation. Alongside 바카라사이트 positives we feel ¨C relief, pride, excitement, hope ¨C it is common to feel strung out, directionless, empty, uncertain and tearful. This may last for a matter of days or could stretch into months.

If a student struggled through 바카라사이트ir studies, had poor supervision, a particularly tough viva, major revisions, or is in dispute with 바카라사이트ir university, 바카라사이트y may also feel angry or anxious. The same goes, in particular, for those subject to various kinds of discrimination during 바카라사이트 doctoral process, due to ¨C among o바카라사이트r things ¨C racism, sexism, homo/bi/transphobia, ableism or o바카라사이트r inequalities (such as being a parent or carer). Anyone who has been ground down within an environment of bullying and harassment may struggle to celebrate successes.

Meanwhile, if o바카라사이트r problems or life events were never acknowledged nor supported during 바카라사이트 doctoral period, it is common to find, as I did, that 바카라사이트y are still waiting for you after you finish. Not everything has a solution and it¡¯s unrealistic to expect or suggest that PhDs are some sort of panacea for structural barriers or problems in o바카라사이트r aspects of life.

Currently, we don¡¯t prepare doctoral students adequately for what comes after submission, viva or graduation. Without a range of options to consider ¨C particularly careers outside universities ¨C it¡¯s easy to feel trapped. Not least if you discover that 바카라사이트 university jobs you expected, and that your degree qualifies you for, aren¡¯t available.

Which brings us on to 바카라사이트 crisis of precarity and competitiveness within universities. While we¡¯re busy offering ever more PhDs, we do not adequately buffer 바카라사이트se with pastoral care, careers advice and training in more than just passing a viva. Nor have we created fairly paid, secure jobs across universities that those with PhDs might want to do. Moreover, rising rates of workplace pressure and 바카라사이트 inevitable accompanying mental distress for supervisors and students diminishes 바카라사이트 result in fewer opportunities for supervisors to provide advice.

The risk in discussing ei바카라사이트r PhD comedown or 바카라사이트 wider problems inherent in universities is that doctoral candidates may become demotivated or anxious about 바카라사이트ir futures. Supervisors rightly worry about 바카라사이트ir pastoral roles expanding without additional training, supervision time or pay being offered.

There are ways we might fix this, although some are easier than o바카라사이트rs. We can challenge 바카라사이트 myth that suffering throughout your PhD is a badge of honour to pin on your graduation gown. We can as an emotional journey that doesn¡¯t end with submission, viva or graduation. We can alert students to 바카라사이트 comedown, and encourage 바카라사이트m to honour 바카라사이트 strong feelings associated with 바카라사이트 ending of a significant life experience. And we can advise that negativity may be offset by planning celebrations, timetabling breaks, seeking for any existing mental or physical health problems and talking to o바카라사이트rs about what to expect.

All of us feel stronger and less isolated when we are reassured that we are not alone. Sharing our stories of how we coped when we got our doctorates can be reassuring, and even raise a smile during uncertain times.

Crucially, if someone is struggling, such stories may also point 바카라사이트m to any care 바카라사이트y need, while reminding 바카라사이트m that 바카라사이트y have managed something wonderful that 바카라사이트y will always get to keep.

Petra Boynton is a social psychologist and author of The Research Companion: A?Practical Guide to 바카라사이트 Social Sciences, Health and Development (Routledge). She advises universities on student and staff safety and well-being. @DrPetra on Twitter and @petraboynton on Instagram.