Depression, Doctorates and Self

Abstract

With the emerging and ongoing public discourse on mental illness, there is a need to understand the effects on students living with depression of undertaking the doctoral journey. Depression is a mood-altering illness that can and does have an effect on the doctoral student both temporally and cognitively. The cognitive effects include one’s beliefs in the ability to complete the research. This chapter is my autoethnographic experiences in undertaking a Doctor of Education degree whilst living with depression. The chapter explains my reflections on researching and writing a thesis while coping with depression. Strategies for other students who are affected by the sometimes cognitive and behavioural effects of depression on their doctoral aspirations are also presented.

Since this paper was researched and written, changes to my psychological wellbeing have occurred. The severity of the recent depression episode has been attributed to an episode of uncontrolled Diabetes Type 2. That is, the level of blood sugar was never within the acceptable medical range. This necessitated a critical change in diet in July 2016 that has allowed these depression episodes to subside so that the severity of depression is considered as ‘mild’, resulting in a cognitive behaviour range around the conscious phase, and allowing for greater production of acceptable analysis and interpretation of research data. For the last three years, I have been categorised as being ‘in remission’ relative to diabetes-induced depression.