Mental health amongst academics doesn’t really get talked about to much. Constant change within the tertiary sector, continual creeping (and often accelerating) bureaucracy, and an ever increasing audit culture can and do reduce space for collegiality, fulfilling a sense of vocation and developing a kind of work life balance (e.g. spending your annual leave doing the research your job requires but doesn’t allow time for in your regular work schedule). In this environment, mental health issues are hard to manage and even seen as a kind of normality sometimes. These recent articles on the issue from The Guardian pick up on this.
- Mental health and higher education: ‘I won’t let depression hold back my academic career’ | Higher Education Network | Guardian Professional
- There is a culture of acceptance around mental health issues in academia | Higher Education Network | Guardian Professional
- Dark thoughts: why mental illness is on the rise in academia | Higher Education Network | Guardian Professional
