Text Ning Fan
PhD candidates explain the most thought-provoking thesis proposition. This time it’s Alejandro Berlinches de Gea, who received his PhD on 10 January. His thesis was about how soil microbe diversity affects plant performance under various global changes.
‘When I started my PhD, I went to a mental health retreat workshop, hoping it would be helpful. But the entire day was spent listening to everyone talk about how stressful and miserable their PhD journey was. As I sat there, I began to wonder: am I doing something wrong if I don’t feel stressed? Should I be struggling more? I ended up feeling drained and discouraged, and that thought stayed with me throughout my PhD journey.
‘The problem isn’t acknowledging mental health struggles — they are real and very important — but that we often focus so much on the difficulties that we forget the good parts. The excitement of a successful experiment, the friendships we make and the chance to work with brilliant minds… These moments are rarely shared among PhD students. Sometimes the discussions in these mental retreat workshops even make you think that if you’re not suffering you’re not doing it right.
‘I think that instead of excessive talk about mental health issues, universities should strive for a more balanced approach, one that encourages positive thinking, celebrates small wins and helps PhD students build resilience. Doing a PhD is tough, which is exactly why we should focus more on recognizing progress, however small, rather than just adding to the stress.’
