Resilience & Well-Being in Academia

Graduate Studies Support Program

This workshop is part of the Graduate Studies Support Program of Berlin University Alliance. For an overview of all Graduate Studies Support Program events, click here.

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Objectives
Academia is an ultramarathon that we try to run as a sprint. This approach tends to leave us with little time or energy for life outside of work and very few resources to cope when we face challenges. But a healthier approach to research is possible and is essential if you want to build a sustainable career in academia (or anywhere else in this fast-paced, competitive world we live in).
Despite our increasing diversity, academics tend to harbour a common chorus of voices in our heads. Voices that demand perfection, or that tell us we aren’t good enough and we don’t belong here; voices that have driven us to excel, but that also charge a pretty high tax. A tax on our emotional, mental and physical health.
Yes, the environment is a contributor to the unhealthy, counterproductive lifestyle many of us live. However, we as individuals can address the way we approach academia to buffer us against stress and burnout, worry and fear, and the toxic competition we are often surrounded by.

Content
This workshop provides you with tools to increase your resilience to stress, anxiety and burnout, and to enhance your overall well-being. We explore:

• The self-critical inner voices that sabotage your motivationon and enjoyment for your work;
• How your mindset can help or hinder your day-to-day life and your future career prospects;
• How certain maladaptive coping strategies (e.g. procrastination and avoidance) maintain these self-sabotaging thought and behaviour cycles.
• How to reshape your thinking and behaviour patterns to work for you in pursuit of your goals.

Participation on both days is mandatory.