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PGR mental health and wellbeing
Find out more about the supportive services available for PGRs, as well as information on common mental health concerns for researchers.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Services at the ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ
As a postgraduate researcher, it is important to avoid becoming overwhelmed by your research, which can impact negatively on your wellbeing. If you want to find out more about the resources available to you, then you can check out the health and wellbeing pages on the Student Hub. It also provides specific contact information if you need urgent help for yourself or another researcher.
The Student Centre can also refer you to a range of therapeutic and counselling services, including one-to-one sessions and group workshops (either in person or online). My Sussex is your online support portal, where you can get advice about anything from careers and accommodation to disability and wellbeing support.
There is also a Student Wellbeing module on Canvas, which all PGRs are invited to enrol on, with useful information on wellbeing events and key contacts.
PGR Wellbeing Advice
As wellbeing is a key part of the researcher journey, the Office for Students funded a U-DOC project at Sussex that focused on addressing the challenges of PGR mental health, via prevention and early intervention. An output of this project was the creation of a poster by the U-DOC team and Chimney Design, which suggests some strategies for self-care that may help doctoral researchers to manage their own mental health and wellbeing.
Similarly a group of PGRs in the School of Psychology conducted a study to identify how psycho-social factors, such as the presence of social groups, one's relationships with their supervisor and the availability of social support, can have a positive or negative effect on student's health and how they can affect a student's PhD progress. Their findings were published in the article .
You can also watch highlights from the PhD Survival video by Angel Productions on the Researcher Development Canvas module (Sussex login required).
Imposter Feelings
Undertaking a research degree is a demanding process. Some postgraduate researchers (PGRs) can experience the feelings of self-doubt or belonging, often known as imposter feelings or ‘Imposter Syndrome’.
Rather than seeing these feelings as a flaw, consider them a normal part of the academic process. Recognising imposter feelings as a shared experience with other researchers can help you manage them more effectively and prevent them from holding you back. Remember you are not alone and feeling unsure at times doesn’t mean you’re not capable, it just means that you’re growing.
If these feelings become overwhelming or start to affect your research, it’s important to reach out. Speaking with your supervisor or connecting with the Student Centre can offer valuable support and reassurance.
There are also a range of online resources on imposter feelings, including articles by researchers:
- The Thesis Whisperer article -
- The Research Whisperer article -
- 100 Days to the Doctorate article -
External Wellbeing Support
There are also external support services available to PGRs, such as Vitae’s advice and guidance on researcher wellbeing. Researcher Wellbeing Cymru (RWC) is an online resource designed to enable researchers to foster a healthy sense of wellbeing. There is also Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity, which provides a mental health toolkit, training and has some specific advice for the PGR journey.