Introduction
Graduate school can be challenging but it is also rewarding. Sometimes, it feels like productivity is prioritized over our mental health and wellbeing in graduate school. I know that I felt this during my own studies. Early on in your program, it is important to set boundaries and define your values. This will help you maintain some form of work-life balance while pursuing your degree.
Many people describe PhD programs as marathons and master’s programs as sprints. I finished my MS in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic and started my PhD mid pandemic. It is true that my PhD studies feel like a marathon compared to my MS studies. However, it is important to keep in mind that you need to be healthy and in the right mindset to perform at your best in any race – regardless of the distance.
Though not perfect, I am working on my strategies to maintain and promote my own health and wellness during my PhD. Below, I discuss some points I find important to health and wellness as a graduate student.
What Is Wellness?
Before we talk about wellness, it is important to define the term. According to Oxford Languages, wellness is “the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.” Even within this definition, ‘health’ can provide some ambiguity among people. When I think of health, I think of it as a multifaceted aspect of our lives. It can be physical, emotional, mental, and many other things.
Whatever you choose to define wellness as will help guide you to achieving and maintaining your wellness.
Types of Health (Physical, Emotional, Mental, Etc.)
Physical Health
Physical health or wellness may be what we think of as the most important part of our general health. Especially with the global pandemic looming over us, physical health is a hot topic.
Physical wellness relates to our corporeal or bodily health. Caring for yourself physically may include exercising like yoga, running, swimming, etc. Eating nutrient full foods also contributes to your physical health. Maybe most important of all, sleep hygiene is a large part of physical health as well. Personally, if my sleep is poor, my work productivity decreases and so does my general enjoyment of the day. Because of this, I try to prioritize sleep above most other things to keep my health up.
Lastly, regular health checks and physicals with your doctor is also an important part of promoting your physical wellness.
Emotional Health
Emotional wellness relates to your state of mind, feelings, and emotions. Though this is a separate category from physical wellness, many things that you can do to care for yourself physically also promote emotional health. Earlier, I mentioned the importance of good sleep hygiene. In addition to physical issues suffered from poor sleep, I also find it more difficult to regulate my emotions and cope with stress when my sleep is poor.
Mental Health
Mental health is related to the cognitive processes that occur in the brain. Recently (and thankfully), mental health has become a relatively common topic of discussion in social media and general media. The pandemic negatively impacted mental health around the world but led to increased discussion about the topic in workplaces and everyday life.
Similar to emotional wellness, many physical self-care activities also improve mental health. Healthy diet, exercise, and good sleep hygiene can improve mental health. The University of Michigan recommends surrounding yourself with good people and also giving back to your community. Although I am an introvert, I know that seeing friends and participating in outreach opportunities always grounds me. It can reset my perspective and help me feel like I am part of a community.
Grad school can be a time of high stress and anxiety. A study published in Nature found that graduate students are more likely to experience anxiety and depression than the general public (Evans et al. 2018). With that being said, it is possible to balance work and life in graduate school while also maintaining your wellness. Building close relationships with other students in your lab and cohort can be especially helpful to navigating the process.
General Tips to Improve Health in Graduate School
- Exercise regularly.
- Visit with friends and family and nurture positive relationships.
- Unwind with arts, crafts, or other hobbies.
- Make your sleep/wake schedule regular and eliminate screen time an hour before bed.
- Seek help when you need help.
- Normalize saying “no” and supporting your boundaries.
- Give back to your community.
Navigating Campus Resources
Most schools have several resources available to help students maintain and promote their health and wellness. Though, it can be difficult to navigate these resources and identify the appropriate offices for your needs. Finding a mentor is a great way to learn about these resources. Never be afraid to reach out to faculty members or other students when you are in need of help.
What do your fees cover?
One way to find out what resources are available on your campus is by looking at the fees that you pay to attend your institution. Fees are the balances that you pay outside of tuition. Sometimes universities provide itemized lists of the services that your fees cover. This can include anything from gym and recreation services to counseling and wellness services.
Health Insurance
Depending on the state that you are attending school in, your school may provide or mandate health insurance for their students. In California, we are either covered by a Student Health plan or we can opt out of the student plan by providing verification of private health insurance.
Are you covered under private insurance?
Typically, if you are on your parents’ insurance, this coverage can supersede student health insurance. Though, it is important to note that children can only be dependents on their parents’ insurance until the age of 26. Additionally, you may be covered as a dependent on another person’s plan like a spouse. If this is the case, you can often choose to opt out of the student health insurance plan. Though, opting out of student health plans may limit your access to on campus health services.
Health Insurance Plans and Coverage
If you are on a student health insurance plan (and in general), it is important to understand how the plan works. One of the main benefits to a student health plan is access to on campus health facilities (if your institution has them). Some plans allow you to visit any provider (doctor or specialist) without prior approval if they are in network. Other plans require a referral (prior approval) from your general practitioner before you can seek other services.
Additionally, many plans vary by what type of coverage they offer. Many plans separate mental health, vision, and dental care from other general medical services. In this case, you may have a separate plan covering these services.
The ins and outs of health insurance can seem complicated (and they can be) but it is important to understand your plan from the beginning. This ensures that you won’t be paying for services unnecessarily. If you are confused about what your plan offers, your university likely offers specific representatives to answer those questions. I faced some challenges with claim coverage under my plan, but the university health insurance representatives were very helpful.
Have An Emergency Plan in Place
Medical Emergencies
Of course, we hope we will never need to carry out an emergency plan, but the reality is that it might happen. When I was in college, I had to go to the ER on two different occasions for bike related accidents. I also had to take my roommate to the ER once for a medical emergency.
In cases like those, it is so important to know what ERs and urgent cares are in network with you insurance. Emergency visits can be expensive and out-of-network fees can make costs skyrocket. Your health is more important than money but it is sometimes difficult to manage medical bills on a graduate student stipend.
If you have an emergency plan in place, you can avoid unnecessary expenses. Share this plan with your friends, roommates, and family so they can help you if necessary. To make it easy, my roommates and I would post our emergency plans on our fridge. This kept the information in one place, if we needed it.
Natural Disaster
Natural disasters vary by where you live. In California, the main natural disaster concerns are wildfires and earthquakes. It is important to keep supplies for first aid and reserves of food and water in your home. If clean water is cutoff from your area, it can be weeks before water is restored. We also saw during the pandemic how food can go flying off of shelves in a panic. Having a few cans or dried bags of food and a portable stove on hand is never a bad idea.
When fire season is bad in my area, I pack an evacuation bag with everything my cat and I would need to be able to leave on short notice. If you have pets, you might consider training them to enter a kennel or backpack for quick evacuation in an emergency.
Conclusion
Graduate school can be stressful but planning for major events and setting boundaries before classes start can help make things more manageable.
I hope that you found some useful or helpful information in this article. Thanks for reading and, as always, check out my other posts on other tips for graduate school. I am also on Medium.
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or feedback!