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Transgender Awareness Week Story Spotlight! Sean bravely joined us 2 years ago to share his story about his transition journey and perseverance to finish his PhD. Find his business on Instagram (@hsbothaproductions), and read his story here - https://www.phdbalance.com/post/the-art-in-being-myself Sean's story was originally shared on October 25, 2019. If you'd like to submit a story or piece, anonymously or named, fill out our google form or email us at email@phdbalance.com.

Transgender Awareness Week Grad Chat Spotlight Fátima joined us earlier this year to talk about her transition and how it has affected her personally, socially, and academically. Find her on Twitter (@HappyStemCell), and listen to her podcast episode on all major podcast networks! A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc. Fátima's episode originally aired on May 15, 2021, and was uploaded to our podcast network on May 18, 2021. Watch into Fátima's Grad Chat with Linda on YouTube [livestream link]! Alternatively, you can catch up on the episode on the Grad Chat podcast here!

This week is Transgender Awareness Week! Did You Know? Since the TvT Nov 2020 report, there has already been 53 transgender or gender non-conforming people murdered, HRC.org, transrespect.org), and 24% of transgender students report being verbally, physically, or sexually harassed in the United States (U.S. Transgender Survey). How can YOU be an effective ally to a transgender person? (source: Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) 1. Never make assumptions on a transgender person's sexual orientation 2. Be patient with anyone questioning or exploring their identity. similarly, understand there is no "right" or "wrong" way to transition. 3. Do not assume pronouns. If they aren't explicitly stated, ask kindly by introducing your pronouns first! 4. Respect the name a transgender person is using and do not use their dead name. 5. challenge anti-transgender remarks. be okay with being uncomfortable by calling out anti-LGBTQ2SIA+ comments to really make a change in society.

This week’s Stronger Together topic is all about New Year’s. Can you already believe that 2022 is around the corner? How has 2021 been for you? This week, we will be reflecting on 2021 and talking about goals for 2022. We love to have you at our next module discussion on discord. Also, be sure to check out our website for more content about our November content. Here you will also find links to our discord server to build a strong community.

“Winter is coming”, this sentence is from the popular series Game of Thrones. Yes, winter is coming now, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere. During this period of time we do not always realize how dehydrated we are. This failure to recognize the lack of hydration is a common mistake since it is cold and therefore dehydration is less noticeable. Also, drinking tea and coffee to warm up is fine, however, they are not water. As “Winter is coming”, we advocate for drinking a glass of water per hour to improve the wellbeing of the entire body including the brain, the spinal cord, and other tissues. Be sure to check out our website for a growing list of resources that can help you in your mental health journey and chat with other grad students on our Discord server

Thank you to all our veterans, in the US and internationally. CW: statistics about suicide If you are one of 4% of graduate students who are service members or veterans, we see you and thank you. (NCES) If you are one of the 7-8% of student service members and veterans who have attempted suicide or the 35% who have had suicidal thoughts, we see you. You are not alone and you are loved. (PNPI) If you are struggling with suicide, please do not hesitate to reach out to someone you know or call 800-273-talk which has a dedicated line for veterans. Reach out to a veteran you know today and remind them that it’s okay to not be okay.

Graduate school can feel isolating, but we're in this together. Help other graduate students be empowered and share your story today. Your experiences can help others learn and grow, and make sure everyone feels less alone. We invite you to submit your personal experience to the PhD Balance Community related to mental illness, disabilities, or LGBTQ+ in academia! If you'd like to submit a story or piece, anonymously or named, fill out our google form or email us at email@phdbalance.com.

How to be a good ally to disabled people/people with disabilities (PWD): 1) Education! There are many different forms of disabilities, which can change over time. Even people with the same disability can have very different experiences despite having similar disabilities. Determine how the person wants (whether it be identity-first or person-first) to engage as you talk to them. Learn about ableism, which is the discrimination in favour of the abled. 2) Accessibility Ensure the content you are producing can reach all audiences for both visible and invisible disabilities. Some examples: Closed captions on videos/lectures, Color-blind safe figures/images, alternative text for screen readers, ramps or elevators. 3) Advocating Advocacy does not, and should not, only come from disabled people/people with disabilities (PWD). Abled people have a responsibility to speak up against ableism and provide an accessible space in every possible moment. 4) Continuously evaluate your allyship Allyship is not just a one-time checklist. Always evaluate where you stand in your allyship and be open to criticism. Mistakes will happen as you're learning so don’t let it discourage you to be an ally.

it's spooky season... 👻 Have you ever missed a deadline? Or maybe slept through your alarm and woke up halfway through your normal workday? Have you ever just been so exhausted at the end of your day that tackling your inbox is just impossible? Some of these can seem unacceptable, daunting, or just plain horrifying. But it's important to remember that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Maybe you were overwhelmed with other deadlines... Your body clearly needed a little extra rest... & (shout it from the rooftops) the emails can wait!!! We are all human! Be kind to yourself.

It's International Stress Awareness Day! Stress management is one of the most important things we can constantly work on for our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Whether it's therapy, cooking, listening to music, puzzling/knitting/painting, meditating, growing plants.... what do YOU do for stress management?

We asked our Editors to write about how they extend feelings of rest and recreation after a break. This is one of their responses: Have you ever come back from a vacation or semester break that was filled with joyful, fun and relaxing things to only find you fall back into full stress mode within very few days or – even worse – within a few hours on your first day back at uni? Where did all the energy you'd gained during your holidays with so much effort go?! We, unfortunately, know this feeling too well, too. Here are some tips I've collected and developed over the years, holiday after holiday, on how to preserve the feelings of rest and recreation after a break for a little longer. Have the next vacation or day trip planned and scheduled in your calendar already. It helps to have a specific date and activity to look forward to. (In German, there is a specific term 'Vorfreude' – a pleasant feeling of anticipation – for this!) Ask yourself, what elements of the vacation did I enjoy in particular? Is this something that I can bring into my daily life? Try to schedule one or two of these elements into your week – and, again, gain some energy from feeling Vorfreude! Some examples for those elements are: Finding unknown streets or areas in your hometown, listening to the sound of bagpipes, doing touristy things like visiting a museum, sights, or a free walking tour, or – if you're missing a specific country and its food – find a restaurant or supermarket + recipes to bring a piece of this country to your home. There are a thousand more possibilities: please have fun with getting creative! If you left your hometown for the vacation, it helps to plan an extra day off at the end, to have a smooth transition into your home routine and also time enough to get your stuff sorted and the workday ahead planned. Speaking of planning the workday: Keep the contrast between holiday-life and work-life as low as possible to give your mind and body a chance to adjust. Moving from relaxation mode to work mode is hard – ideally, it's a slow transition, not an immediate switch! If it is possible and in your hand at all, leave your schedule for the first day empty, so you have time to catch up with what has happened during your absence. Thank you so much to Laura for this piece! Laura Klask is a physicist specializing in nuclear physics and biomedical techniques based in Cologne, Germany. After receiving her master’s degree she started and quit a PhD program because it turned out it wasn’t the right thing for her - a difficult but good decision. For PhD Balance, she is the Content and Editing Co-Lead!

“You may experience an increase in sweating” My psychiatrist warned me before changing my anti-depressants. I’m going to be honest, I internally scoffed. Even if my sweating increases, that won’t be a major problem, right? I thought to myself. Oh, how wrong I was. I’m writing this over 18 months after that appointment. My sweating did in fact increase, and I was extremely unprepared for the effect that would have on my life. But even worse than that, as I finally had got some sense of control over the sweating, my psychiatrist increased the dose again (for actual mental health reasons). And I fell into the same trap again! Once again I internally scoffed, but this time it was more of a scoff about how it could possibly increase. It had already wreaked havoc on my life, there’s no possible way it could increase more. But it did and once again I was back at the point where the sweating was practically dictating my life. It took me a long time to figure out how to deal with it and that time was filled with embarrassment, shame, and isolation. I didn’t want to go anywhere just in case. But I couldn’t escape it, the night sweats were probably the worst. And you can’t stop sweating - except by maybe getting Botox in your sweat glands but there’s honestly too many sweat glands for that and ouch the thoughts. So, I had to completely rearrange the way I approached life and that wasn’t easy. What worked? 1. Bringing extra clothes with me Whenever I went anywhere where I knew I’d be doing a lot or even a moderate amount of walking, I’d bring spare clothes. If I didn’t know I’d bring them anyway. Even if I knew I wasn’t going to be doing any exercise I’d still bring socks, underwear, and a t-shirt just in case. 2. Buying different types of clothes To be honest, I’ve found advantages and disadvantages for every type of material. Cotton is usually recommended for sweating, and it is nice for very loose clothing, but it also absorbs moisture so can start to feel disgusting if you can’t change. Polyester and nylon don’t absorb moisture so they can be better choices for non-loose clothes, but they can sometimes pool the sweat if excessive. I haven’t found a concrete solution for this, I just wear loose clothing and bring a change of clothes pretty much wherever I go. 3. A New Deodorant An obvious help can be to have more showers but that’s not always feasible when you have depression. A better option is to switch deodorant and my advice is: Switch to a cream. I was super apprehensive, but I wish I’d done it sooner. It has made the BIGGEST difference out of everything on this list. 4. Changing the Way I deal with Bedsheets & covers This is a tough one because when you’re in a bad place with depression, as I definitely have been, it’s hard to deal with night sweats but you can get them. I always use a mattress protector so if I wake up in the middle of the night in sweats I can just throw the sheet away and go back to sleep. It’s a tough one though and to be honest I don’t really have a solution just change them when you’re able to and keep a blanket on hand for when you can’t. I don’t know how many people are really affected by this, but I’ve been told it’s common. When I bring it up to people I know have depression, I’ve had many of them say their antidepressants have caused some increase in sweating too. I hope it can help someone because I remember feeling so lost and ashamed about it. But to end on a medium note, it can be managed. I finally have more control over things now and can actually go about my life. We thank Linda for submitting their story! Find them on Instagram & Twitter (@LindaCCor). If you'd like to submit a story or piece, anonymously or named, fill out our google form or email us at email@phdbalance.com