1 Avoiding Burnout Ashl ey and Phaedr a’s D ecl assi f i ed Gr ad School Sur vi val Gui de Ashl ey D avi s, Ph.D . Candi dat e- Biomedical Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Biology Phaedra Norrell, Ph.D. Student - Bi omedi cal Sci ences, N eur osci ence Graduate Student Orientation - Fall 2019 Kent State University 2 Get to know a little about us! - Br eaki ng t he I ce ● Phaedra Norrell ● Ashley Davis ○ Secon d-year Bi omedi cal Sci ences ○ Fifth-year Bi omedi cal Sci ences N eur osci ence St udent Cellular and Molecular Biology ○ Research focus on addiction PhD Candi dat e neuroscience and ○ Resear ch f ocus on obesi t y and neuroendocrinology of disease metabolism ○ Lover of cat s, cof f ee, and sl eep ○ Loves t o r ead, bi nge wat ch net f l i x, and pl ay pokemon 3 Welcome to Kent State! ● T oday we’l l t al k about t aki ng car e of your sel f i n Gr aduat e School ● Some topics we’ll cover ○ Sel f -Car e and W el l ness ○ St r ess and i t s causes ○ M i ndf ul ness Pr act i ces ○ U sef ul Resour ces at t he U ni ver si t y ( and i n t he sur r oundi ng ar ea) 4 W h at i s Sel f -Car e i n Pr act i ce? ● D o you t ake car e of your sel f ? ○ Some exampl es ■ D o you have t i me ever y day t hat i s dedi cat ed t o j ust you? ■ D o you have a hobby? ■ D o you have sel f -car e r out i nes of any ki nd? ● I n what ways do you t ake car e of your sel f ? ○ D o any of t he above appl y? ○ I s t her e anyt hi ng el se you do t o t ake car e of your sel f ? ■ Goi ng t o t her apy ■ Exer ci se ■ Gr oup Fi t ness Cl asses ■ H eal t hy D i et ■ Taki ng a Soci al M edi a Sabbat i cal ■ Get t i ng enough sl eep!!!! 5 D ef i ni ng Sel f Car e ● Sel f car e i s… ○ Deliberately taking care of our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health ○ Vital for our well-bei ng ○ Thi ngs t hat r echar ge your bat t er i es ● M ake sel f -car e a pr i or i t y i n your dai l y l i f e! 6 Ex am pl es of Sel f -Car e ( I n addi t i on t o t hose ment i oned ear l i er ) ● H eal t hy l i f est yl e choi ces ● M ai nt ai ni ng a wor k-l i f e bal ance ● Set t i ng boundar i es ( and set t i ng t hem ear l y) ● Exer ci si ng r egul ar l y ● St r ess management 7 W h at Sel f -Car e I SN ’ T ● SEL FI SH ○ Sel f -car e i s N EV ER a sel f i sh act . ○ Sel f -car e does not equal l azi ness ○ Isolating yourself - j ust because you need t i me f or you doesn’t mak e you sel f i sh! 8 W el l ness - What is it? “... a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely in t he absence of di sease or i nf i r mi t y.” - T he W or l d H eal t h Or gani zat i on ( W H O) “ A consci ous, sel f -di r ect ed and evol vi ng pr ocess of achi evi ng f ul l pot ent i al .” - The National Wellness Institute 9 T ypes of W el l ness - Si x D i mensi ons of W el l ness M odel ● Emotional Wellness ● Physical Wellness ● Spiritual Wellness ● Social Wellness ● Intellectual Wellness ● Occupational Wellness 10 A ddi t i onal A spect s of W el l ness ● Financial Wellness ○ Attend the Breakout Session on Grad School Finances at 12:20 or 3:05 for more information on managing your money while in graduate school! ● Fami l y W el l ness ○ At t end t he Br eakout Sessi on Panel on Fami l y Resour ces at 2:10 f or mor e i nf or mat i on from our graduate students with families! 11 W hat i s St r ess? ● St r ess i s our body’s physi cal , emot i onal , and behavi or al r esponses t o event s t hat ar e i dent i f i ed as t hr eat eni ng or chal l engi ng. ● St r ess i s subj ect i ve ○ I t ’s di f f er ent per son t o per son ● St r ess i s cont ext ual ○ Stress can be related to certain situations ● D i st r ess vs. Eust r ess 12 Causes of St r ess • Ext er nal vs. I nt er nal Causes • Ext er nal • Financial difficulty • M aj or l i f e changes ( get t i ng mar r i ed, l osi ng a l oved one) • Rel at i onshi ps ( f r i ends and f ami l y) • Internal • N egat i ve i nt er nal di al ogues • U nr eal i st i c expect at i ons • Per f ect i oni sm • Fear of Fai l ur e • I t ’s okay t o f ai l and t o be i mper f ect . You can al ways t r y agai n. 13 St r ess i n Gr aduat e School ● D eadl i nes ● Cl asses ● H omesi ck ness ● I sol at i on ● Fi nances ● W or k/Li f e Bal ance ● Feel i ng Over whel med ● Work, TA, GA, or other responsibilities ● Cu l t u r e Sh ock ● Sense of Belonging ● Language Bar r i er s 14 Exer ci se on I dent i f yi ng St r essor s - Internal Audit ● Take 3 minutes to reflect on one (or more) of the following questions: ○ What are the five most stressful things in your life? ■ Rat e t hem on a scal e of 1-5 ( 1 bei ng t he l east st r essf ul t o 5 bei ng t he most st r essf ul ) ○ W hat ar e some t hi ngs t hat make you anxi ous? ○ H ow do you t ake car e of your sel f when you ar e st r essed out ? ○ Can st r ess be posi t i ve? W hy or why not ? 15 Internal Audit - Phaedr a’s Responses ● Take 3 minutes to reflect on one (or more) of the following questions: ○ W hat ar e t he f i ve most st r essf ul t hi ngs i n your l i f e? ■ Rat e t hem on a scal e of 1-5 ( 1 bei ng t he l east st r essf ul t o 5 bei ng t he most st r essf ul ) ● 1 - Cl asses ● 2 - TA Responsibilities ● 3 - Ti me M anagement ● 4 - Lab Responsibilities ● 5 - M anagi ng my out si de-of-work life (bills, relationship, etc) ○ W hat ar e some t hi ngs t hat make you anxi ous? ■ Fear of maki ng someone angr y, t he f eel i ng of not bei ng l i ked/accept ed, f ear of f ai l ur e, f ear of t he unknown. ○ H ow do you t ake car e of your sel f when you ar e st r essed out ? ■ If it comes to it, I cry it out and let it happen. I always feel better afterwards even though I hate crying. If it hasn’t come to that point, I’ll take a day to do nothing when I get home and just have a chill evening. ○ Can st r ess be posi t i ve? W hy or why not ? ■ Somet i mes. I f i nd t hat deadl i nes keep me or i ent ed whi l e al so i mposi ng an amount of st r ess t hat i s motivational, but test taking makes me too nervous for my own good. 16 Internal Audit - A shl ey’s Responses ● Take 3 minutes to reflect on one (or more) of the following questions: ○ W hat ar e t he f i ve most st r essf ul t hi ngs i n your l i f e? ■ Rat e t hem on a scal e of 1-5 ( 1 bei ng t he l east st r essf ul t o 5 bei ng t he most st r essf ul ) ● 1. Anal ysi ng my dat a ● 2. Writing my dissertation ● 3. Finishing up experiments ● 4.