How to Beat Anxiety and Reduce Stress - PhD student

Hi 👋, do you sometimes feel that your PhD is super stressful and that you cannot fully manage it? Today, I wanted to talk about this feeling and give you some tips and tricks that hopefully can help you a bit.
🎶 Music
Epidemic Sound [www.epidemicso...]
📚 Papers and other resources
[hubermanlab.com/]
🏞 Images
[www.freepik.com/]

[@yunjuanChen]

Hi Charlotte, I am a first PhD student. Its the first time I study in a foreign country, I feel really isolated these days. Because from the beginning of the journey I was so struggle with my academic performance, I have to finishing my reading tasks, write 10-week assessment report, and prepare a presentation about my project in the lab. I was so stressful about all those things, and feel so anxious that I dare not to spend time on the social events. after two months, I found myself sometimes don't speak a word with anyone in a whole day. I feel everybody have their own group, I as an international student can hardly be involved in them. That makes me feel lonely and sad. but your video really cheers me up!

[@CharlotteFraza]

Your message resonates deeply. Being a first-time PhD student in a foreign country can indeed feel isolating, especially with the academic load you're managing. It's okay to feel overwhelmed, but please remember, you're not alone. I'm glad the video cheered you up!

[@danceillusions13]

I'm a Masters student. I've just got burnout because I've spent the past two weeks working on a paper, and had deleted whatsapp so as not to be distracted. As a result I became super isolated and just crashed. Also, so true about self-worth. I was writing me Prof really emotional emails because I missed the deadline last Wednesday, and then both extensions he gave me, until last Friday and last Sunday. Now I just had a video call with him and he said my emails are too emotional and "aufgeregt" in German. He said "es ist ja nur Wissenschaft". And I've been treating it as a matter of life and death. I thought I was disappointing him and that my worth depended on this. But it seems hes not disappointed. He genuinely doesn't view my worth as a person as in any way connected to when I do or don't submit the paper. I am amazed

[@hugotolentino4348]

Hi Charlotte! I'm currently at the end of my master's in biochemistry and trying to apply for a Ph.D. position in the US... But my anxiety and stress levels have just been so hard on me. Still sleeping well tho haha. But the thing that I got most out of this video is our identity related to the work we do. I had many difficulties in my master's, problems with equipment, really toxic lab colleagues, and an advisor really busy all the time. And everything is just hitting my self-worth so bad, to a point that I think I'm not even capable of writing the documents needed for the Ph.D. position. But anyway, feeling better just by writing here and seeing this video. Thanks for the effort that you do making such great videos of important topics.

[@shahadalrawi6744]

I'm a master student. Just watching you telling my to not to stress is soothing :) Also knowing how PhD is difficult, is also soothing.

[@pasha6098]

Hi Charlotte and many thanks for your great advice out of mercifulness and well wishing but I consider one source of anxiety you missed out or maybe you don't faced with, is financial safety! you are hearing me from Iran where every day we get poorer and poorer. As a biomedical engineer I'm extremely interested into computational neuroscience and I really love to enter this field of science but you never can feel how my anxity drived from this issue having bad influence on my progress.

[@rosetyler628]

I feel the same in turkey

[@iezioaudi22]

thank you! I think I have associated my self-worth with competitive exams alot lately. It used to affect my stress levels, sleep and social life. Despite me performing well on several occasions, I still had the mindset problem where I used to think I should get everything right which caused more harm than good. Currently, I am working on the mindset part. Your video made the picture clearer in my head about the situation. Thank you!!

[@akashimariane3949]

This video was very much needed cause my anxiety level has increased detrimentally manifold in the past 2 months. Thanks Charlotte you're doing great!

[@dhruvashikhabajadeja6673]

Same ❤

[@jacksparrow218]

i like your voice Ms Charlotteeee ^^ and my stress can high up when somone call in my phone or outside in streets !!! i like to be more focus and away from people ^^

[@guanche617]

I'm not a (Phd) student and I don't know anything about computational things, but I totally hear your struggle. Ik wens jou veel geluk met jouwe zoektocht! :-)

[@naninani-lv1gb]

I love your voice

[@michaelcueva530]

fitting for ASMR

[@sriratna9211]

You are a awesome human being, thanks.

[@CharlotteFraza]

Wow, thank you!

[@XxAssassinYouXx]

Very happy I stumble upon your channel as I will start my PhD in physics in the next year. I got accepted this year and I'm very happy about it, but I'm taking a gap year to have an opportunity to collect my thought and enjoy life outside of school as I felt like I didn't get to do that much in undergrad.

[@CharlotteFraza]

Welcome aboard! What will your PhD be about? Have fun with ur gap year ^^

[@XxAssassinYouXx]

@@CharlotteFraza Theoretical particle physics!

[@abderrahmanbenabdeljelil2587]

I would be grateful if you could help me, I'm a 4th year computer science PhD student, and I'm sure I haven't made any progress of any kind, I really don't feel like I'm doing a PhD, believe me (I'm an expert in the field now : p ) I spent many months doing nothing especially during the lockdown, there were even times when I really hated my supervisor, I hated the subject, I stopped opening my mailbox, I spent hours reading vent posts on reddit, I've been lonely for over a year now, I don't care what happens next, I hated myself, I even had a panic attack (twice). Lately, I have started to write down how I feel and try to make peace with myself. The remaining question is: should I continue? I want to finish this thesis, but the imposter syndrome, I want to feel that I deserve the degree.

[@CharlotteFraza]

This is really hard, I'm not sure what you should do, but I do think the most important think is that you take good care of yourself 💪😊!

[@abderrahmanbenabdeljelil2587]

@@CharlotteFraza You know what's the hardest, when you find your friends and colleagues start complaining and you sympathise with them, but all these discussions consume you, I can't handle all these emotions. I hope I haven't given you any negative vibes, look at the positive side, I will become a stronger person in the end, according to the theory of evolution, learning is adaptation. 😅

[@abderrahmanbenabdeljelil2587]

@@CharlotteFraza Oh, the books you recommended are very good. 😘

[@afraalsamkari2445]

Hi there, I hope that you are doing better. I would say that first you need to connect maybe with other students doing PhD. You will find that you are not lonely. They feel the same and they struggle and may have some good tips. I feel the same though it is my first year. Another thing is that make sure you are not suffering from depression. In such a case you might need medications to boost serotonin levels. Wishing you the best of luck 🤞

[@abderrahmanbenabdeljelil2587]

@@afraalsamkari2445 Thanks, I really appreciate your concern, ^_^ A little advice for you since you are in first year, write, write all your thoughts, reflections, experiments, every protocol you create, comment your code, and if you run your code or some kind of experiment with different parameters make a configuration file for each experiment and write notes and remarks about it. the moment you have difficulties go back to what you wrote.

[@Dipshikha9973]

Thank you so much.

[@UNKNOWN5427]

Great video, thanks

[@bouamimohammed6186]

I wish I was watched this video a long time ago I'm going throw all what you said , push my friend and family away , have bad feeling , addicted to screen have no result yet in my PhD.....wish you can help me

[@ZhansDoIT]

so ! thank you!❤

[@yosef5508]

Tell me about it. I just completed mine in Computer Science and Technology after five years of little sleep, hardly any recreation and as a mole. The key is resistance, focus, focus, focus, scheduling, planing, take breaks, do small things outside the PhD work, exercise and eat healthy. It would be almost inevitable that you break up with your girlfriend or if you are married to loose your marriage.

[@LongVu-sm8wm]

Thanks, it's helpful.

[@shimaalcarrim7949]

You are amazing

[@Icelander00]

Thanks

[@sepidehsamadi1640]

helpful❤

[@mailanuragguha09]

help me. I am done. I want out.

[@keithrezendes6913]

Love your videos. Very motivating. Italian last name but Icelandic accent?

[@keithrezendes6913]

Might be French origin.

[@mahdiamrollahi8456]

Thanks, but unfortunately COVID changed some manners.!