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Welcome to the month of November! As we’re heading towards colder temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, a season of school being outbreaks and people are making plans with their close ones is coming soon. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reported that approximately 24% of people with a diagnosed mental illness find that this upcoming season makes their condition “a lot” worse and 40% “somewhat” worse. Our Stronger together content for this month is to encourage people to make plans during this time either with family or with a group of friends. This week’s Stronger Together topic is all about how to practice gratitude. There have been studies showing that practicing gratitude will help elevate your mood. There are many ways of practicing gratitude that we will be discussing this week. We love to have you at our next module discussion on discord to hear the ways that you practice gratitude. 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. Sign up to our Stronger Together section here to take part in this month's modules on: Practice Gratitude. Join our weekly module discussion (via discord text chat) this Thursday (11/04) at 2 pm ET on our Discord server!

This week’s Stronger Together topic is all about giving back to your community. Just like last week, giving back to your community has been shown to help people with their moods! Not only that but also this is a great way to meet new people that you may have not been able to meet otherwise. We will be discussing different ways of giving back and how that has impacted our lives. Sign up to our Stronger Together section here to take part in this month's modules on: Giving Back. Join our weekly module discussion (via discord text chat) this Thursday (11/11) at 2 pm ET on our Discord server!

Meet this week's Grad Chat guest: Schuyler Borges! Hello, fellow grads! My name is Schuyler Borges (they/them), and I am a 4th year PhD student in Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University. My dissertation research focuses on astrobiology; specifically, I study Antarctic microbial mats as potential analogs for life on Mars and exoplanets. I use remote sensing, modeling, and lab work in my research to investigate the types of surface biosignatures these extremophiles have. My research is very interdisciplinary, as most astrobiology research is. However, I haven't always been drawn to the question of whether or not life exists elsewhere. I actually fell in love with rocks and more generally with the Earth as a young child, mostly intrigued by fossils. I attended UC Davis during my undergraduate, and as a result of my geologic interests, I got involved in Dr Dawn Sumner's lab, which focuses on Antarctic lake microbial mats and Mars sedimentology. After transferring universities, my continued passion for understanding the Earth is what led me to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI in 2018. Continued research with Dawn and her postdoc, Dr Marion Nachon, is what bolstered my experience in planetary science. With Marion, I created a tool that determined the location of rocks, seen in images from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, on an orbital image of Gale Crater, Mars. I also used Curiosity rover images to investigate past fluid circulation events that took place in Gale Crater, Mars. It was this Martian research experience that led me to the program I am in today. Over the course of my graduate experience, I have felt very alone as a result of my identities and values. As a result, I've been actively involved in numerous efforts to provide a support network for those with marginalized identities in STEMM. I've led departmental EDI initiatives as well as undergraduate workshops, and I've also been involved in local and international groups over my time in graduate school. Currently, I volunteer with THRIVE Lifeline, a trans-owned grass-roots crisis hotline staffed by and for marginalized people in STEMM. I act as a crisis responder, mentor, and training assistant. I believe in and am committed to establishing support networks and communities that are key to the advancement of marginalized people in STEMM. To all of you out there who are struggling, you aren't alone. You deserve to be here. You can find out more about Schuyler on their Twitter (@PlanetSkyentist) and Instagram (@schuylerborges). Schuyler will be taking over our Instagram account today, before being our Grad Chat guest tomorrow with host Linda! You can join the Youtube Livestream Saturday (10/30) at 3 pm Eastern/12 pm Pacific using this link! Alternatively, you'll be able to catch up on the episode on Grad Chat, The Podcast published next Tuesday (11/02) here!

Hi, I’m Leila! I’m here to share my PhD journey with you today! I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist entering my 4th year as a PhD Candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I study how diet affects the gut microbiome. Specifically, I use machine learning to study how fecal bacteria can be used to identify food intake to advance the field of personalized nutrition. When I’m not in lab or writing, I enjoy spending time with my husband, our 3 cats, rescue PitMix (@clover_the_pitmix), betta fish, boxing, napping, enjoying good food (at home or at the newest restaurant), binge-watching TV and the latest movies, practicing my brush lettering, and tending to my plant collection. As someone who describes themselves as having a Type A+ personality, it wasn’t surprising when I was diagnosed with anxiety at the start of my PhD program. Being in grad school, we're all smart people and I think with that comes the fear of failure and rejection. We're often perfectionists, so how dare we show any sign of weakness? And I think that's just it, acknowledging you have a mental health issue feels like a weakness. But it's not. We know that 1 in 4 adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. It is so clear that we are not alone and that it's not something to hide but rather to embrace. Entering my PhD program, I discovered the courage to openly talk about my anxiety with others. This has not only led me to begin to end the stigma in my personal life and through starting the group @gradsunwind, but also helped me to get tools and resources to help me live with my anxiety. And now, when I feel my anxiety bubbling up, rather than hiding that from those around me, I feel comfortable verbalizing that with them. I've only ever been met with support and I hope that by being open about these things, others who are struggling can realize that they're not alone and that we can help one another. That's also where Grads UNWIND comes in - Grads UNWIND (Understanding Wellness IN Discussions) is a workshop series focused on mental health and self-care during graduate school. Our workshops feature diverse speakers and laid-back conversations about important topics related to wellness and mental health in graduate school. These workshops are crafted by fellow graduate students in Nutritional Sciences, Neuroscience, Kinesiology, and Food Science and Human Nutrition. This makes the discussion of mental health part of the norm, rather than part of a stigma. While I have many achievements I am proud of, I strive to show others that no one is perfect. From manuscript rejections to failing my first attempt at the qualifying exam, I’m here to remind others that they are not alone. We're in grad school to learn and with that comes making mistakes and receiving feedback for improvement. Whether that feedback is from your advisor, committee, or reviewers, we have endless opportunities to grow. But the fact that we're learning and growing doesn't make receiving criticism any easier. So, here are my tips on how to deal with criticism: When I receive criticism, I start by taking it in, feeling my emotions and acknowledging them. Then, I step away. Depending on how critical it was, this can vary from a few hours to a few days. I talk to others about it and take the time I need to process it and cool down. During this time when I've stepped away, I'll often flip through my "Feel Good" folder - an email folder where I store all the positive things - awards, manuscript acceptances, kind words, anything that brightens my day and reminds me of all I have to be proud of. Then, I come back to the criticism and reflect - was it constructive? Or was the person providing it projecting their own insecurities onto me? Regardless of the case, I ask myself what I can learn from it, big or small. Implement those changes and move on! We thank Leila for submitting her story! Find her on Instagram (@nutrishinn) 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

We asked our Editors to write about setting boundaries and expectations with your supervisor. This is one of their responses: It might sound cliché, but it all starts from within, at least for me. Knowing what boundaries and expectations you want is the first step, as the supervisor is as new to supervising “you” (individually) as you are to being supervised by them. Broadly speaking, they could be either versatile or set in their ways on what they expect from a student. While the initial guidelines of a university might be a starting point, the expectations from each supervisor should be clarified in explicit terms. Personally, I came into the PhD with certain expectations from a supervisor: periodic meetings, honest feedback suggested constructively, and the timely review of manuscripts. With the pandemic thrown into the mix and the omnipresence of online meetings, this makes even the most trivial talks with a supervisor, when you could normally just knock on a door, a mighty ordeal. Navigating through the labyrinth of endless virtual meetings these endless months, one can now see a faint glimmer of hope as the “normal” research life begins again, with regular presence in the universities. (My university was/is really cautious in opening up to staff and students, which is not the case for several researchers). A personal suggestion would be to bring up the expectations that you have from PhD supervision and the boundaries that you set (times when you can be contacted, workplace interactions, etc) in the periodic meetings (maybe quarterly or monthly) and evaluate the deviation(s) from your plan. The problems that arise from improper supervision and/or issues like negative power dynamics in the lab, mental abuse, overworking, etc. - though heavily linked to this topic, would be better addressed by researchers who have undergone similar experiences. To sum it up, formulate a supervision plan (writing it down could help) and keep updating it with time, just like a research plan. Each student tackles a different beast in the form of a PhD, and this note hopefully could help stimulate conversations and bring out experiences from fellow researchers that could really help one in need of advice. Thank you so much to Arjun Anantharaman for his piece! Arjun Anantharaman, from Chennai, India is currently working on his PhD concerning lidars and wind energy in Oldenburg, Germany. When not in the office, he loves playing endless sets of tennis, gaming and travelling to different cities to eat, learn their history and of course, sightseeing!

People of colour face many challenges including racism, systemic exclusion, microaggressions and stereotypes. With that in mind, how can you be an effective ally? 1. Education, Education, Education Things that are happening to POC change frequently (e.g. Black Lives Matter, xenophobia towards Asians, MMIWG Movement). Keep up as to what is going on by doing your OWN research! 2. Don’t practice “performative allyship” Australian journalist Monisha Rudhran defines performative allyship as “the practice of words, posts and gestures that do more to promote an individual’s own virtuous moral compass than actually helping the causes that they’re intending to showcase.” Example: Supporting racial equity but lacking diversity in leadership. 3. Speak up in your own social circles and get uncomfortable This is the best way to call people out for being racist and using privilege to voices that don’t have privilege. 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. Sign up to our Stronger Together section here to take part in this week's module on: Allyship to People of Color

It's hard to be self-critical sometimes but often seemingly innocuous actions can be hurtful to others. Have you reflected on how your actions could affect someone who may be marginalized in your community? This week’s Stronger Together topic is all about being an ally for people of color. COOL FACT: you don’t have to be a person of color to be an ally! We will be going over challenges that people of color face and ways to be a good ally. We love to have you at our next module discussion on discord. Also, be sure to check out our Stronger Together Section for more content about our October content were you will also find links to previous interviews with graduate students who guested on Grad Chat. Sign up to our Stronger Together section here to take part in this month's modules on: Allyship to People of Color Join our weekly module discussions (via discord text chat) on our Discord server!

Every day ends with the sun going down and a dark and maybe cold night. You might not see where you are and it might feel never-ending. But it won’t stay like this. Another day, another sunrise. Please remember and have trust: Next morning the sun will rise again and bring light, colors, and warmth!

Balance, from latin „bi-“ and „-lanx“ meaning two scale pans. Generally, to balance something means to bring s.th. into harmony, steadiness, or stability. There are many things in different areas of your life and body that need to be balanced. Think of e.g. the basic psychological needs for autonomy and attachment, or Na/K in your cells. And just as equilibrioception (your sense of balance) prevents your body from falling over, striking a balance between stress and relaxation in your grad school life can play an important role in maintaining your physical and mental well-being. There is no need to be well-balanced at all and every time, but try to keep the balance in the longer term. A PhD certainly has lots of stressful phases - so it’s good to have phases of rest and recreation! (Reminder: You don’t have to earn them first.)

Meet this week's Grad Chat guest, Zori Paul! Hey folks! I'm Zori Paul (she/her)! I'm a clinical mental health counselor and doctoral candidate in counselor education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. I am also one of the co-founders of @BlackInMH. I graduated with my MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University in 2018 and my BA in Comparative Human Development with a minor in Gender and Sexuality from the University of Chicago in 2015. (Here's hoping I graduate with my Ph.D. in 2022! Fingers crossed and send all the good vibes, please!) Currently, my research interests include bisexual+ women of color and identity affirmation, which I’m focusing my dissertation on. I also research cross-cultural mentorship rupture and repair with a team of amazing fellow counselor educators. For me, undergrad and grad school had, and still have their challenges, and as a Black woman in higher education, there were/are a lot of learning curves and obstacles, unfortunately. However, seeking and gaining both formal and informal mentorship throughout my academic career has helped me navigate academia's vast and often confusing world. Not everyone knows the amazing benefits of supportive mentorship, though, so that's why I'm super excited to share my experiences, both good and bad, as well as talk about what research says about mentorship with you lovely folks. So, if you've been looking for a sign to learn about, maybe even seek, mentorship, this is it! You can find out more about Zori on her Twitter (@ZoriAmber) and Instagram (@AmberInsights) accounts. Zori will be chatting with host Niba on the Youtube Livestream tomorrow (10/16) at 3 pm Eastern/12 pm Pacific using this link! Alternatively, you'll be able to catch up on the episode on Grad Chat, The Podcast published next Tuesday (10/19) here!

What do we do? 🤔 Are you (or have you been) struggling during your grad school journey? Are you looking for a place to exchange experiences? Do you want to find support from a community of like-minded people? YES? You might not be alone in this! Did you know that about every second PhD and graduate student struggles to maintain their mental health?! This is exactly what PhD Balance is about! We are providing a space for academics from around the globe to learn from shared experiences, to create resources, and to connect with others. No voice should remain unheard, so join our community!

Welcome to the month of October! Have you heard of being an ally for a marginalized group before? This is the topic for this month as we are covering two groups: people of color (POC) and disabled people/people with disabilities. This week’s Stronger Together topic is all about being an ally for people of color. Cool fact, you don’t have to be a person of color to be an ally! We will be going over challenges that people of color face and ways to be a good ally. We love to have you at our next module discussion on discord. Here you will also find links to previous interviews with graduate students who were guests on Grad Chat. Sign up to our Stronger Together section here to take part in this month's modules on: Allyship to People of Color Join our weekly module discussion (via discord text chat) this Thursday (10/14) at 1 pm ET on our Discord server!