‘Mental Health in Academia’ Event hosted by INet NYC

Words by Ipshita Zutshi
Edited by Jessica Sharrock
 
Burnout, stress, hopelessness…we in academia are only too familiar with these terms. How many times have we had a paper rejected, had a PI make unreasonable productivity demands, had to deal with the incessant guilt of taking time away from the bench? Mental health issues are pervasive and deeply entrenched across all fields of academia, but sadly often also go ignored. On September 24th, 2019, INet NYC organized an open mic event on mental health that invited anonymous stories from scientists and researchers across the country, which were then narrated to the audience. Several members of the audience also shed their inhibitions and shared their own stories of dealing with the pressures of academia.
 
By narrating stories of various kinds, ranging from annoying co-workers, to frustrating experiments, to serious cases of harassment, our goal was three-fold – first, to provide a healthy environment where one can gain some respite by sharing stories that have probably been festering for a while. Second, to demonstrate to all those suffering from mental health issues out there, that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Lastly, by narrating a large variety of stories, we hoped to gain a better idea of the breadth and range of mental health issues that plague us in academia. This event was awarded the 2019 Elsevier National Postdoc Appreciation Week Best New Event award and we would like to thank the NPA for recognizing the importance of addressing mental health concerns.
 
The event brought to light several reasons why mental health issues in academia are so widespread. Firstly, in academia, the lines between career and personal life become increasingly blurred. In our quest for success, we discourage time for hobbies, interests, families, and foster a culture of stiff competition where an inability to enjoy spending 12 hours cooped up in front of a microscope reflects too little “passion” for science. Unfortunately, so many of us slip between the cracks because of this culture, where we’re stuck feeling like misfits, or ‘imposters’, or simply not having what it takes. Another recurrent theme across most stories was that academia is a relatively solitary journey. Alone you trudge, dealing with failures on almost a daily basis – failed experiments, grant rejections, rejected papers. Toxic lab environments, competition between lab members, and unreasonable PIs were one of the primary sources of stress amongst our story contributors. Lastly, it became amply clear that most international researchers also have the added stressors of immigration. Most visas preclude international researchers from taking up jobs outside of academia, forcing them to be stuck, miserable, in their current labs, or risk having to go back to their home countries.
 
Bleak as all this it may sound, the event also discussed how the younger generation of researchers are now rejecting the stigmas and toxic expectations of academia. There are several very loud voices championing for better mental health in academia, and it was widely agreed that sharing our stories is a first step to making this career path a more inclusive and welcoming place.
 
Given the current coronavirus crisis, we acknowledge that mental health issues have likely been exacerbated for most of us. The stress of being away from experiments for an unknown period of time, being locked into our shoebox-sized NYC apartments, pressures from PIs to use this time “productively”, job and immigration insecurities, and a constant fear for our loved ones in faraway cities or countries – trust us, we know exactly how you feel! But maybe this is good time to take a break, spend time with a loved one, catch up on healthy eating, take up a new hobby. The experiments will still be waiting for you once this is all over, so for now, just make sure you are taking care of yourself. 
 
If you are struggling with mental health issues, please do reach out to counselors, friends and family. If you or someone you know needs immediate help, please contact the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Hopefully, with a little bit of help and support, we can work towards making academia a much more welcoming and positive career path than the one we have experienced till now.