Blog
Life as a聽research聽student can be unpredictable, with some situations聽putting a strain on your mental health. PhD student,聽Karolina Biernat聽has faced a number of personal and professional聽challenges that have affected her student wellbeing, but found the mental health support she needed to overcome it.
颅The changing focus of a聽research聽student
Karolina鈥檚 research looks at the聽Holiday Kitchen programme, which provides healthy food and educational activities to families that need it most.
Set up by聽Accord Housing Association, Holiday Kitchen has been designed to help families during the long summer holidays, ensuring they learn about and eat healthy meals, enabling them to return to school physically healthy and mentally sharp.
Karolina arrived with a background in nutrition, but soon discovered she鈥檇 have to change her entire discipline.
鈥淲hen I submitted my proposal, the research was very quantitative and looked at the nutritional science aspects,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 wanted to go in, measure BMIs, and assess what participants were eating at the beginning, during and end of the programme.鈥�
However, her first visit to one of the kitchens made her realise such research would not be possible.
鈥淗oliday Kitchen programmes are naturally quite hectic 鈥� there鈥檚 a limited number of staff due to limited funding, but there are over 30 participants,鈥� Karolina explains.
鈥淪taff must manage this while cooking two meals a day. The participants had, by this point, also filled out evaluation forms. I realised if I came in with a whole new set of forms and questions, it just wouldn鈥檛 work.鈥�
Further changes
Karolina鈥檚 research changed again, this time moving towards more interactive methods. However, further shifts were on their way.
鈥淒uring my first-year progress review, the panel felt the study I wanted to do didn鈥檛 have enough of a theoretical background, which meant I once again had to revaluate,鈥� she explains.
鈥淥ne of my supervisors left the University and their replacement had a background in sociology, who persuaded me to push my research into that area.鈥�
Student mental health concerns
Over the course of just a few months, Karolina had changed her research idea, her research disciplines and her supervisors.
All of these dramatic shifts 鈥� as well as the daunting prospect of repeating her first year of study 鈥� began to really affect Karolina鈥檚 student wellbeing.
To make matters worse, Karolina suffered a personal tragedy, with her grandfather sadly passing away.
鈥淚t all happened simultaneously,鈥� Karolina explains. 鈥淚t was very overwhelming, and I didn鈥檛 know how to cope with it. I took a month off and headed home to Poland to attend my grandfather鈥檚 funeral and stay for Christmas.
鈥淲hen I returned all my work was waiting for me. I was falling behind, and on top of that I was having to learn everything about sociology. Furthermore, I was still waiting for the results from my review resit, so I wasn鈥檛 even sure if I鈥檇 be able to carry on with my research, anyway.鈥�
Opening up
Karolina tried to keep a brave face, but a meeting with her supervisor saw her fa莽ade shatter.
鈥淚鈥檇 been putting a mask on, pretending I was fine when I wasn鈥檛,鈥� Karolina says. 鈥淲hile talking to my supervisor about my work, I just burst into tears.
鈥淚 spoke to him about my problems and from that point on, things changed. They were aware of what had been going on, but they didn鈥檛 realise just how much it was affecting me.鈥�
Enlightening mental health support
Karolina鈥檚 supervisors gave her the time and support she needed to get back on her feet, but it was the help of the聽BCU Mental Health Team that she feels truly made a difference.
鈥淢eeting with them was the real turning point,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 received聽one-on-one support and spoke to someone in a non-judgemental environment. They really understood the academic side of things.鈥�
When it comes to feelings of stress and anxiety, Karolina believes聽every聽research student should be open about their struggles.
鈥淓ven if it鈥檚 only a small feeling, tell your supervisors. As soon as they are made aware, they will help you,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 would strongly recommend the BCU Mental Health team. They helped me work through things I didn鈥檛 even realise were related to my situation.鈥�
If you are struggling with your mental health, email聽wellbeing@bcu.ac.uk to book a face-to-face appointment.聽