Why PhD Students are Anxious and Depressed - Strategies to Take Care of Mental Health During a PhD

PhD life is strongly associated with anxiety and depression, with research cited here putting roughly 40% of doctoral students in the range for severe depression or anxiety—well above the 25–30% seen in similarly aged working professionals. The fallout is not just internal: many students normalize distress, consider taking time off, and a sizable share contemplate dropping out. Even as mental-health conversations have grown, stigma and shame remain common, leaving many people to suffer quietly while trying to “dissect” their feelings without always finding clear answers.

A central thread links that distress to “connections” that can erode during doctoral training—especially when the work becomes isolating, values get sidelined, and the future feels unstable. Drawing on Johann Hari’s Lost Connections, the discussion frames anxiety and depression as often tied to changeable lifestyle and social factors rather than only medical fixes. The approach is not presented as a substitute for professional care; it’s offered as a practical lens. The “quick fix” critique targets an overreliance on medication without addressing underlying drivers—illustrated by a dehydration-and-headache analogy: symptom relief can mask the real problem until new symptoms appear.

The breakdown of lost connections maps closely onto PhD realities. Meaningful work can slip away over a long program, especially if students lose sight of why their research matters; staying anchored to the purpose set out in proposals, plus building motivation through long-term vision and shorter goals, is offered as a counterweight. Loneliness and lack of belonging are treated as predictable in a solitary PhD environment; strategies include using social media to find peers who “get it,” joining university-wide PhD societies, and developing buddy systems or peer groups for real-time support.

Values are another pressure point. The routine of constant consumption—endless scrolling, low-value busyness, and neglecting health, relationships, and hobbies—can leave students feeling off-kilter. The suggested remedy is to identify core values (curiosity, success, health, creativity, pleasure) and deliberately schedule leisure and recovery so the PhD doesn’t swallow everything. Childhood-learned coping patterns also get attention: behaviors like people-pleasing can intensify during doctoral training, driving overwork and burnout. The guidance is to recognize these patterns and seek professional support when needed.

Status and future security round out the picture. Imposter syndrome and belonging doubts are framed as a paradox of PhD life—high achievement in one sense, but low status and early-career insecurity in another. Tracking inputs and achievements is offered as a way to counter the tendency to discount one’s effort. Nature is treated as a simple but often neglected stabilizer, with greener environments linked to lower stress and nature breaks tied to creativity.

Finally, the future can feel “hope-less” because job security in academia is uncertain and financial pressure is real. The response is to clarify desired outcomes, set structured short-term goals (the speaker uses 12-week cycles), and—controversially—consider a side hustle for added security. The discussion closes by emphasizing that genetics account for only a minority of depression risk, while neuroplasticity means change is possible; the most important step, regardless of cause, is to talk to someone and get support.