In this talk, the speaker addresses the significant psychological and physical challenges that doctoral students often face, such as anxiety, depression, isolation, shame, and guilt—especially in distance‑learning contexts. He argues that doctoral work is uniquely stressful and recommends that students secure professional mental‑health support, build peer‑support networks, and maintain open communication with family, employers, and community members. Physical self‑care (balanced diet, regular exercise) is emphasized as essential for mental clarity and progress. The speaker also warns against premature re‑engagement with pre‑program activities, urging graduates to pause, reassess personal values, and ensure they are healthy enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Throughout, the central message is to finish the degree while staying alive, healthy, and capable of appreciating the achievement.
Chapters
Time. So today I wanted to talk about the toll that a doctoral degree can take on you and the psychological and physical toll. It's not uncommon to hear people talk about anxiety, depression, or even discouragement during the process. I have long thought that doctoral programs should you get an advisor, you all should, should get a therapist because this is something different than most people have ever done. It can be a lot of pressure, a lot of stress, and also alone, because most people don't have anyone else they know who's also done this or anyone else in their family who's also done this. So when you couple that with the lack of support that's provided by most programs, it can be very easy to find anxiety and depression, etc. Because our mind sets up traps for us. So I want to encourage you to remember this and pause and talk to others and take care of yourself because you have to. Okay? One of the things I say to people, somewhat jokingly, is I want you to finish, but I also want you to be alive when you finish and be able to enjoy what you've done. So take care of yourself during the process. Now, I also say frequently this is a long and lonely journey, especially so if you're in a distance learning program. So it's just you sitting down at your computer every day, not knowing exactly the direction you're headed, not knowing ultimately what's expected, not knowing, you know what the next step is in the process. So it is isolating and lonely. So finding others you can partner with is, is incredibly important. We find that when we work with people in groups and things like that, they get to know other people and see that, oh, there's someone else out there that's doing this. Because most likely your friends and your family members have not ever done this. So they don't have when they say, hey, haven't you finished that degree? Or the one I like is, come on, it's just a paper. I wrote papers. And yes, they wrote papers. Most likely they copied most of it. And they aren't creating knowledge out of nowhere and getting a group of strange people to approve it. So, you know, they don't quite get what you're going through. So find others who understand that and that can help you. Now, stress can manifest physically as well, and all of this high blood pressure can come up other things. I really, really, really encourage you to follow the ancient adage of sound mind, sound body. So take care of your body, eat better, work out more. I went through a period in graduate school where I lived on some interesting Foods for a couple of months, cheap vanilla cream cookies, jelly beans and cheez Its. And I eventually realized, you know, I'm gonna need a vegetable. And as I started taking better care of myself, things also moved forward faster. I guess. One other thing, because we don't know, because we send up, set up a lot of things in our own mind, shame and guilt can come into play. Oh, I've been at this for years and I haven't finished. Oh, my God, I feel so bad. Or I'm. I'm taking time, so much time away from my family or not doing things at work, or not doing things in the community I used to do. So shame and guilt are big things here. Communication is really, really, really, really important. Okay? Talk to those, your family, talk to work, talk to members of the community and your friends and tell them what you're going through and let them help support you. And again, find others who are going through similar experiences. Find others who've already gone through it to help you, mentor you, support you on the way. I'm gonna say this again. When you graduate, I want you healthy enough to be able to appreciate and get the fruits of your labor and the rewards. I want you to be there to get those, to accept them, to appreciate them and not be so burned out. Now, one final thing I want to say is many of us, when we're in doctoral programs, we make a list of things. I'm not doing this, and I'll get back to it. And you know, we have this ongoing list either written or in our heads, and then a lot of people jump right back into, oh, I used to do this. I'm going to keep. I'll get back to it. I encourage you to wait several months before you get back into things and evaluate what it is you want to do. Because being in a doctoral program can change you and it can change the way you look at the world. So take some time, reevaluate. You're different. Do the things that you appreciate. Now, I hope you can stay healthy and be successful and finish. And if there aren't questions, I'm going to wish you a wonderful weekend.
