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Isolation, financial stress and other student-focused risk factors can be heightened during times like the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jed Foundation is " a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation's teens and young adults." The Jed Foundation has compiled a long list of helpful student mental health resources. Rather than re-list them all here, we strongly recommend you check them out and share them with anyone who might benefit. Need to talk with someone at Jed now? Text "START" to 741-741 or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Know of other resources we should share? Send us an email at email@phdbalance.com

Content warning: mention of addiction, depression, and suicide My name is Andy Day and I’m currently a first-year PhD student in molecular microbiology. I enjoy running, playing golf, watching sports, being active, hanging out with friends, reading, sciencing, and I’m also a recovering alcoholic. Over four months ago, I trapped myself in my room for two consecutive, self-induced long weekends, unable to stop drinking. I was unable to get out of bed to eat or even wash myself. My alcoholism wasn’t always like that, but here’s a little about how I got there, what surrendering was like, and what it’s like now in early recovery. I was born into a great, loving family in Duluth, Minnesota. My siblings were much older than me when I was born—ranging from 10 to 17 years older. Pretty much everyone in my immediate family has an advanced degree, and many more in my extended family do as well. While there wasn’t any explicit pressure placed on me from my family, there was always an innate pressure to obtain an advanced degree. This pressure largely shaped how I went about my life from an early age. Throughout high school, I always believed I should obtain straight A’s and always held myself to incredibly high standards. Nothing I did was ever good enough for myself and I believed that any problems I had could, and should be, solved solely by me. This played a large role in how I interacted with people in social settings, and how I approached school. Every move I took, everything I said, every assignment I did, EVERYTHING had to be perfect. Anything short of perfect was failure. This all changed my senior year of high school when I first tried alcohol. I remember it so vividly, even 8 years after my first drink. I stopped overthinking everything I did or said, I just did what I wanted to do and said what I wanted to say without thinking about how my words and actions would be perceived by others. I thought it was incredible and I had finally found something that could get me out of my head for a bit. When I went to college, I hit the ground running. I was socializing with everyone in the dorms, my grades were great, and I was also drinking 3 nights a week routinely. A lot of my socializing was done under the influence of some substance and I thought this was what people did and how I was supposed to act. I thought it was great and I completely embraced the work-hard-play-hard mentality that I had adopted. Throughout college my drinking progressed from 3 nights a week to nearly every night. I started doing homework, essays and studying for exams while drinking and really didn’t think twice about it. This was just how I was living and couldn’t see how this was wrong as I was blinded by my alcohol-ridden insanity. There were many nights in college that I drank far too much when I was out with friends and a few events that showed others how my drinking was evolving. My behavior was exposing that I had a problem. So, after these nights, I made a decision to begin a double life: one that let me drink all I wanted to, seemingly without consequence, in solitude, and one that portrayed a career-driven, motivated, social drinker. I graduated and took a job as a research tech and this is when the wheels really started to fall off mentally. I started to drink routinely every night in a single apartment. I wanted to be alone because it let me drink how I wanted to drink—as much as I wanted (which was everything) without having to hide from anyone in my apartment, while at the same time hiding from the rest of the world. Through this year and a half, as a tech, pretty much all I did was go to work and then get home and drink myself into oblivion. Lather, rinse, and repeat. This isolation and constant self-medication drove me into a serious depression, peaking at night, and then converting to crippling anxiety during the day. I started to pray that god would kill me in my sleep every night and I started to think about how I would kill myself. I became closer and closer to following through with these thoughts until I decided to reach out to an addiction therapist. He gave me some suggestions on what I needed to do and basically told me, straight up, that I was an alcoholic. I didn’t like this very much and I took none of his advice. I thought that I could do this sobriety thing all by myself, which didn’t work out very well as this only lasted about a month and I went right back to where I left off drinking every night. Fast forward another few months, after I had completed interviews, gotten accepted to a couple different schools, and I accepted a position with the school I’m currently at. I thought a geographical cure would be just what I needed to solve all my problems and for a while, I was a lot happier completing a few of the long-term goals I had had since college. The happiness obtained from achieving my goals only lasted for a transient moment, and I started to drink more and more, again until I couldn’t stop. My roommates were concerned that I had a “GI bug” again for the second time in two weeks, and then enough was enough. I was tired of being trapped in my room, trapped in my alcohol-ridden depression, and constantly lying to maintain my double life. They asked if I was alright, and I responded, “I am not alright, I’m an alcoholic and I need to go to rehab.” In the following days, I set up plans to go to detox and rehab. I told a few of the professors in the department what I was going through and what my plans were now and was surprised, and so thankful, that my call for help was welcomed with open-arms and concern. Over the next couple months, I learned a lot more about myself. I learned about a lot of the problems I have that I tried to treat with substances. Alcohol was and is a large problem of mine, it always will be, but the underlying problems with social and general anxiety, depression, fears of failure, judgment from my peers, and insecurities were largely what made alcohol so alluring and a perceived solution throughout my life. I met incredible people in rehab who taught me how to live because the way I was living clearly wasn’t working for me. Today, I’m 131 days sober, I’m back in school, and I feel pretty damn good. I’m still in very early recovery, night-time outpatient therapy, and living in a sober house with other college and graduate students, but I feel like my priorities in life have shifted. For a very long time, I had a win-at-all-costs mentality because science was really all I thought I had. I tried to hide behind a wall of external successes to portray that my life was great, and I was fine. Clearly, I was not alright. Now I realize that I have much more to offer than being a driven scientist and it is not the most important thing in my life anymore. The most important thing in my life now is me and my sobriety because without it and without my own health, I have nothing. I have much deeper connections with family and friends now and don’t have to constantly work at maintaining my double life. Throughout addiction, I would treat my stress with alcohol and now I’ve found other ways to cope with my stressors, like talking to people, meditation, and exercise. I started taking a daily medication for anxiety and depression and I am still working to flip-the-script on how I acted during active addiction, as my incredible sponsor says. One of the biggest challenges for me still is expressing my feelings and letting people in on my struggles. I lived pretty much my whole life not telling anyone anything, as I thought saying anything other than “I’m doing great” was a sign of weakness. I learned that this couldn’t be further from the truth and I need to express my feelings to the people I can confide in. Letting people in just strengthens the connection I have with the people I care about in my life and lets them know it’s alright to not be alright. It’s incredibly important for my sobriety to let people in on my story so thank you for even reading any, or part of, or all of this weighty post. I still have many problems, but my problems seem much smaller than they did four months ago, and my life is much more enjoyable and more simple today. I strongly encourage anyone struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues to reach out for help or advice because the world is a much more beautiful place when you’re not a prisoner of your own mind and a bottle. Reaching out and letting people in has been one of the hardest, most rewarding, and best decisions of my life. The sun doesn’t always shine, but if you look hard enough you can always find a beam of light even on the gloomiest days.I If you are struggling and need someone to talk to or have questions please reach out to someone or me on Instagram or email me at Andrew.Day@tufts.edu. Thank you to Andrew Day (on Instagram @aday818_ ) SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 A national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Ryan and I didn't actually intend to buy a chinchilla the day we brought Sasha home. It was out first year of grad school, and we wanted a pet. We had decided that a dog would be too much work during PhD lab rotations, and Ryan is allergic to cats. I know I was likely to end up in a mouse lab, so I didn't want a pet that looked too much like my research animals - mice, rats, gerbils, and hamsters were out. We thought about a rabbit, but they're kind of smelly and we lived in a small (by Houston standards!) apartment. One of us came up with the idea of getting a chinchilla, and we found out that there is an exotic pet store in Houston that sells chinchillas. Our PhD program was structured so that during the first year, students get a week off after finals week at the end of each 8-week term. So, right before out first round of finals, we decided to go buy a cage and all the supplies we'd need for a chinchilla. We figured we'd go back and get the actual chinchilla after finals, so we would have a week off the get the chin settled in. But. When we went to the pet store, the sales associate said: "do you want to hold one of the chinchillas, just to get an idea of what it would be like?" Of course, we said yes. So he went back to the chinchilla area, opened the cage, and out hopped Sasha, right into his hands. He brought her over to us, and once I had this little fluff ball in my hands I couldn't just leave her there! So...we bought the cage and supplies, and they gave us a cardboard box to bring Sasha home in. Chinchillas are definitely not as excited to see you as dogs are, but Sasha lets us know when she's mad that we've been gone too long. And, I do think it's nice to have a pet to take care of. Plus, she's pretty cute. ... Thank you to Allison at @allison_mayle on instagram and Twitter for this week's PhD Pet of the Week! Submit YOUR pet of the week by clicking on this link!

Welcome Liesl! Liesl Krause is a current 2nd-year doctoral student at Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute studying STEM education. Previously, she has obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Villanova University and her Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. Liesl has been committed to outreach and student engagement from the start of her engineering journey in high school. Her own experiences in graduate school inspired her to study graduate student mental health as part of STEM education. In her research, she found PhD Balance and decided to reach out and become a member of the online mental health community. She has been helping manage the PhD Balance Twitter, and is a wonderful member of our team! Mental health is important to me because it's a critical part of our overall health. Being mentally healthy helps us to have healthy relationships, healthy bodies, and healthy emotions. Everyone deserves that and we need to let everyone know they deserve it. ~ Liesl Krause In her spare time, Liesl enjoys taking dance classes, working out with friends, and is a part of two different book clubs. Liesl also enjoys her side job working for a local labradoodle breeder, just working with adorable puppies in the morning can give her the boost she needs to get through the workday! Follow Liesl on Instagram and Twitter at @sourkrause94!

During this time of crisis, I’ve constantly felt the need to do something. My own course work, lit review, and even hobbies felt like they weren’t purposeful or productive. That’s part of what feels so stressful about a pandemic: the best thing you can do is stay home, but when the world is telling you to be scared you just want to do something active about the fear. One of my hobbies is sewing, and over the years I’ve amassed several scraps of cotton fabrics that I hang on to “just in case”. It turns out that “just in case” is right now. The CDC is now recommending that everyone wear masks in public places, but because of the high demand for medical-grade masks, to leave those for health-care workers. Cotton is the recommended fabric for making your own fabric masks to wear. These masks are not PPE, but they can help prevent spreading the virus if you are pre-or a- symptomatic. For healthcare workers, these fabric masks can be worn over medical-grade PPE to help extend use time. I told my friends over at @ashfordmanor about my project, and they stepped up by helping to cut pieces of fabric for over 60 masks for me to sew for donation to our local hospital and grocery store workers. I’m using the pattern provided by JHU on their COVID-19 information page (Click Here!). Working on this project has allowed me to feel helpful. There are other ways you can help others too: donating to a food bank, calling friends and family who are isolating alone, or donating money to healthcare workers. The most important thing though is to stay home to prevent virus spread. Thank you to Liesl Krause (@sourkrause94 on Instagram/Twitter) for today's post! What are YOU doing to feel more in control of this whole situation? Let us know in the comments, or tag us (@PhD_Balance) in a post/story on social media so we can share with everyone!

Growing up in a poverty-stricken rural area in North Carolina, that most people aren’t even familiar with greatly influenced the way I view myself and how I judge spaces that I am present in. I grew up with mostly Black, Hispanic, and Native American students from K-12th grade. During 13 years of school, I had maybe no more than 10 white classmates. Needless to say, I was used to being part of the majority. Also, in a space where most of us grew up in the same or similar socioeconomic class, we had an understanding of one another that seemed to overlook racial barriers most of the time; or at least I did. After high school, I left to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the Illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, which is a top-ranked public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the US. I went there because upon visiting during childhood and a few times during high school, it still felt like home. The faculty and students were and still is one big family. At NC A&T, I was once again a part of the majority. During undergrad, I realized that medicine was not going to be a path I pursued. I was intrigued by the idea of antibiotic resistance after my grandfather succumbed to endocarditis- an infection of the inner linings of the heart and received an expensive antibiotic treatment that eventually stopped working. Also, during this time, I was exposed to research by my wonderful microbiology professor. I knew I needed more research experience, so I applied and received a research internship at UNC-CH going into my junior year of undergrad. It was during the last few weeks of this 10-week internship that I actually noticed that I was there was only one other Black student working in the same space as myself, who wasn’t a part of this internship. That was pretty much it; I didn’t put much thought into it. The lack of representation didn’t really hit home then. Fast forward to right after undergrad where I started a research post-bac to increase my chances for being accepted into a research-intensive PhD program, I returned to UNC. Although I was always around people who rooted for me and who push me to succeed even to this day as a second year PhD candidate, I cannot help but notice every time I walk into a space and I’m the only one of my skinfolk present. I had never seen a Black neuroscientist faculty member until about a month ago and he was a PI at a research-intensive university. I was simply amazed that he is doing a job and research that I understand, in my field. Because where I’m from, there are no Black neuroscientists. In that moment, this whole PhD thing became a bit more obtainable. My point here, is that there’s power in representation. There’s just a certain type of confidence in seeing someone like you obtain a level of success that you haven’t seen before or rarely in your culture. From a mental health standpoint, being the only one or few Black students working toward a biomedical PhD can be both discouraging and encouraging. It’s discouraging because coming from an HBCU, I was surrounded by brilliant Black students, who simply lacked the exposure and/or resources to get to next stage of their career. It is easy for one to say “Well why don’t they look for opportunities themselves?” The question to ask yourself, is if you were browsing through a website filled with individuals who are doing what you desire, but you don’t even see a smidge of someone who looks like you, would you feel empowered? As a young student who may lack the confidence in his or her abilities, you would most likely feel afraid and discouraged. On the other hand, it is empowering because by powering through and obtaining this PhD, I can help many students of color reach this stage. I can give them the tools they need to endure just as my mentors gave me. Again, I am surrounded by amazing individuals, both students and faculty who pour positivity into me daily, but representation still matters. To sum everything up, as a Black student pursuing a PhD in the biomedical sciences, sometimes it’s lonely. Sometimes I’m discouraged or unmotivated. Sometimes I feel misunderstood or not understood at all. However, I will use these feelings to push through so that I can be the someone that young Black and Brown kids look up to because this PhD isn’t just for me. It’s up to pay back my ancestors whose backs I’m standing on for support and it’s for the young Black and Brown geniuses that are coming after me. So that they know that the stars are actually in their reach. So that they know that we are the stars. Janay Franklin is a PhD Student in Neuroscience at UNC in Chapel Hill. She is also an active member of the PhD Balance Development Team.

Abigail (Abi) Bagel is only 2 years old, but she takes caring for her human very seriously as @shuntedmdphd studies for her MD and PhD. Abi keeps a watchful eye out for any signs of pain or stress and is always ready with purrs and cuddles. Her likes include playing fetch, cuddling, talking to the birds, and socializing with the humans. Her dislikes include migraines and hydrocephalus (two things that cause her human pain), when her human has to leave for school, and other cats who try to steal her human’s cuddles. We LOVE seeing these PhD Pets every Sunday. Submit your furry/slimy/scaly friend's info so we can share yours! Click here to go to the submission form!

My name is Gretchen. I'm a postdoc studying natural resource management, and I have ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I've seen therapists off and on since age 19, and never thought I needed meds. But once I started grad school, all my normal coping mechanisms began to fail. When I started writing my dissertation, I became completely paralyzed with anxiety. I started seeing a therapist, who referred me to a psychiatrist. I was diagnosed with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder at age 32. The anxiety disorder diagnosis didn’t surprise me, but ADHD did. My brother and dad were diagnosed with ADHD when I was a kid, and they both have 'classic' hyperactive symptoms. (No surprise, since most ADHD research is on young white boys!) Adult ADHD diagnosis is more typical for women, who tend to present more inattentive symptoms (e.g. daydreaming). There are also significant disparities along racial and ethnic lines for ADHD diagnosis and treatment. My ADHD symptoms mainly present as impulsivity, being easily distracted, inattention, difficulty switching tasks, and trouble with focusing on or starting tasks (unless there is a looming deadline!) After treating my anxiety, which was masking some of these symptoms, I started taking ADHD meds in early 2020. Medication has been an important part of my treatment plan, but I also see a therapist weekly. I use cognitive behavioral therapy to address distorted thinking resulting from anxiety and ADHD. I also use behavioral strategies like automated reminders, online calendars, writing groups for accountability, and a daily task journal. I try to talk openly about my mental health and treatment strategies, both in my ‘real’ life and on social media. I started the #AcademicsWithADHD hashtag on Twitter to find other scholars with ADHD. This community has been really helpful for me! I post about ADHD, anxiety, and being an early career academic across Twitter (@GretchenSneegas), Instagram (@sistrgoldnhr), and on my blog. You’re also welcome to subscribe to my "Academics with ADHD" Twitter list! Gretchen's Information: Instagram: @sistrgoldnhr Twitter: @GretchenSneegas

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash In 2013, NSF reported that out of the 4.4k PhDs awarded in engineering, only 65 of those were granted to black women. With numbers this bleak, we have to address the issue of poor matriculation rates for black women in STEM. A major cause is the lack of inclusivity in these spaces, not lack of interest or lack of training. Don’t get it twisted, the talent amongst diverse populations was always there. The fact of the matter is, diversity means nothing without equity and inclusion; in fact, it’s like being invited to the party but not asked to dance. It looks like being excluded from the social aspect in your office or lab of peers. It looks like being talked over. It looks like having your ideas stolen from you and credited to someone else. It looks like being passed up for a promotion or dream project, simply because you’re with child. It looks like companies not having good parental leave policies and no guarantee to start back where you left off. And that’s just from being a woman alone. The more intersectional your identity is, the more implicit biases and microaggressions you are likely to face, while being expected to outperform, constantly. Unfortunately, the voices of marginalized grad students cannot move the needle alone. As an ally, you must use your privilege to do good. But what does that look like? Well, one way to address the pay gap for women is to keep salaries transparent. Discuss this in the work space and bring it to HR and higher ups if there’s a pay discrepancy. Ethical companies practice transparency, so if you’re not a woman or POC, encourage that. Also, encourage the fostering of ideas. LISTEN to one another and treat every idea equally. If you, as a man, notice someone speaking over a woman, stop and correct it. A third, easy way to be an ally, is to encourage HR to push for maternity and paternity leave. A fourth way is to invite the WOC in your program and lab to your social outings! Be a person. Ask them about their day, and just be you! Ask yourself, based on interactions, if what you’re doing or saying is a microaggression. Put yourself in their shoes and see how you would feel. If it doesn’t feel good on the receiving end, don’t. Most importantly, encourage departments to seek and hire diverse faculty. Institutions with diverse faculty is reflected within their student population and also tend to lead in cutting edge research. This is not a coincidence. Ti’Air Riggins is a current Biomedical Engineering PhD candidate at Michigan State University. She received her bachelors in Biomedical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2011 as the first black undergraduate BME student, and proceeded to earn a master’s from the University of Cincinnati in 2013. Her research focus is integrating tissue engineering with implantable electrodes to tune immune response in the brain, in the REIL lab under the direction of Dr. Erin Purcell. She is heavily involved in the BMES, NSBE and is in the speaker’s bureau for the Rape And Incest National Network. She has also served in the community under her platforms of sexual assault awareness and exposing underrepresented students to STEM as Miss Indiana United States 2015 and has received awards for her Social Justice in 2016 and Humanitarianism in 2018. She was named a fellow in the Society for Neuroscience from 2016 – 2018. Her future goals include managing her own lab and being a successful entrepreneur and mentor for students who are underrepresented students in neuroscience and engineering. You can follow her on Twitter and connect on Linkedin.

When I first started Purdue, I was excited for my career in academia, but something tragic happened to me. TW: Rape I was raped by someone I knew and it took a toll on my mental and physical health. I began to have nightmares, lost 10 pounds in healthy weight due to stress, suffered from PTSD, depression, turned to alcohol and had thoughts of suicide. I tried to find solace in counseling and outside sources, since Purdue lacked resources for assault survivors. Due to the lack of a rape crisis center, which the campus once had, I decided to turn my horrible experience into a source of help and inspiration for other survivors on campus and start the group Students Against Rape And Violence (SARAV). I also created the platform of sexual assault awareness during my reign as Miss Indiana United States 2015. Because of these efforts, I was recognized and became a motivational speaker in the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to combating sexual assault - Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN), speaker’s bureau and began to share my story. Although this string of events has led me to become an activist on campus in regards to sexual assault, these kinds of resources should be readily available on every campus. Especially for grad students, which can be an isolating time for many. For those tasked with the burden of seeking help for assault survivors, here’s a small list to start. University requirements: https://www.knowyourix.org/ RAINN https://www.rainn.org/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline NSVRC https://www.nsvrc.org/ Remember, you’re not alone and what happened to you is not your fault. Thank you so much to the author Ti’Air Riggins ( Instagram @pslove_ti, Twitter @ti_enjoli) for this brave and powerful piece. Author bio: Ti’Air Riggins is a current Biomedical Engineering PhD candidate at Michigan State University. She received her bachelors in Biomedical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2011 as the first black undergraduate BME student and proceeded to earn a master’s from the University of Cincinnati in 2013. Her research focus is integrating tissue engineering with implantable electrodes to tune immune response in the brain, in the REIL lab under the direction of Dr. Erin Purcell. She is heavily involved in the BMES, NSBE and is in the speaker’s bureau for the Rape And Incest National Network. She has also served in the community under her platforms of sexual assault awareness and exposing underrepresented students to STEM as Miss Indiana United States 2015 and has received awards for her Social Justice in 2016 and Humanitarianism in 2018. She was named a fellow in the Society for Neuroscience from 2016 – 2018. Her future goals include managing her own lab and being a successful entrepreneur and mentor for students who are underrepresented students in neuroscience and engineering. You can follow her on Twitter and connect on Linkedin.

Happy Easter! This week we are excited to feature @thegoldenratio4 as our PhD Pet of the week. If you don't follow them on Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat, you are missing out! Dr @jengolbeck shares the lives of her pack of golden retrievers, many of them rescues and fosters, with the world, providing a smile to everyone involved! They like waffles, carrots, and walks. They don't like shampoos, nail trims, or the vet. Currently in the pack are Hopper, Venkman, Swizzle, Guacamole, and Chief Brody! They brighten up every day with their food dances, staring down fish, and tug-o-wars. Angel dogs Boyfren Riley, Maggie (aka Schmeig), Jasmine, and Queso continue to bring cheer with throwback photos and happy memories. Dr @jengolbeck does research through the University of Maryland to determine how social media can be curated to make a happier community, rather than current curation methods. We've mentioned her study "Dogs Good, Trump Bad" before and still recommend giving it a read! Her dogs also participate in science, particularly Hops and Venk who are subjects in a life-long study! Remember! You can submit YOUR PhD PET through our online form!

I was first diagnosed with chronic depression and anxiety in 2010 when I decided spending 4 months alone in a room was preferable to going to classes, and I dropped out of college. I went back the next year, to a new school, city, and field of science. I was better, but eventually I’d find myself in the same position, engaging in the same self-destructive behaviors. Exercise, meditation, and a good diet helped, but I never really kicked it and I needed to graduate—so I went to a psychiatrist and asked about medication. Medication was quite literally a lifesaver. I’ve been on the same meds since 2014. They helped me graduate and overall open up and participate as an academic. It wasn’t until after I started taking them that I really realized how much my illness held me back. I started graduate school at the height of my emotional stability. For the first two years, I was productive, I made a lot of friends, and I joined bands that performed around town. Overall, my life felt amazing. Then, life happened. During my third year, my estranged father took his own life. I felt a mixture of emotions that is hard to explain, but I was self-destructing. Grad school itself started to change as well—the honeymoon period was over, and my work became more independent. I began to use that as an excuse to isolate myself—to self-destruct in secret while I worked and hope the face I put on for my weekly meetings was enough. I thought I could get over it, but things kept getting worse, and the disrupting life events kept piling on. It’s been over 2 years now. I haven’t completely grown out of the behaviors from that time, but I am working on it. If I had any advice to give—not that it’s novel—is honestly, put your mental health first. It’s not worth it otherwise, and you never know when putting it off for one week may turn into one year. You can’t predict when life will pile on the garbage, but you can work on creating a strong foundation that’ll be harder to topple over when it does. Author: Booker, William - follow on Twitter at @willwbooker