Beating burnout
How Brain in Hand helped me return to my PhD studies
Brain in Hand (BiH) has empowered Annie to manage overwhelm and anxiety, supporting her to return to her PhD studies. As a result, there are potential social and economic benefits for Annie, but also her future employers and wider society.
“It is something that enables me to function in a better way and it's there every day. It’s that kind of reassurance.”
Getting DSA support as a PhD student
Annie is a 51-year-old who experiences anxiety and self-identifies as autistic and ADHD. She started using Brain in Hand mid-way through her PhD and has been using it since. Due to burnout, Annie took a break from her PhD and contacted her university disability service to make a decision about whether to return to her studies or not.
They helped her apply for DSA with a letter from her GP, which noted severe anxiety and possible neurodivergence. She was introduced to Brain in Hand by the DSA Needs Assessor, who provided a demo of our support. Annie could see how valuable this support would be for someone like herself in moments of crisis or when she finds it difficult to ask for help.
“It looks like the best thing ever for somebody like me who finds it really difficult to ask for help, but has a lot of crisis moments when I've got no one to reach out to. The whole traffic light system to monitor how I was and the fact that I can ask for help if I need it was kind of a revolution to me really.”
Finding support without a formal diagnosis
Annie is self-diagnosed and only recently looked into getting a formal diagnosis because this is the only way to access support. However, she believes that Brain in Hand is an important tool that helps her to “plug the gap while she hopes to get some other kind of more formalised [psychological] support.” Brain in Hand allows Annie to get expert help without a formal diagnosis, supporting her to manage anxiety and overwhelm.
Overcoming anxiety and overwhelm
Annie completed two undergraduate degrees and decided to start a PhD after a long gap in her studies. Her partner convinced her to go back into education and she was excited, sharing that her PhD gave her a purpose again. But, this also caused anxiety around the work day-to-day, not feeling good enough, or quick enough as a student. The PhD was a big step up after being away from studying for a long period of time.
Brain in Hand has supported Annie to work through overwhelm and anxiety using simple mood tracking tools, like the traffic light system. With the support of her coach, she has been able to identify new coping strategies, giving her new ways to deal with things. She also had that extra reassurance that there is 24/7 support available if she needs it, which was “a great comforter.”
“I still get massively overwhelmed and really anxious, but it helps me to track that. For me, the actual pressing of a light and writing in and tagging stuff, that action in itself is beneficial to me because it's out of my head. In that sense, I'm writing it down, I'm documenting it, and it's something I can go back to.”
“It’s like having a constant in your life, even if there's other kinds of external things that are influencing how you feel. It's like a grounding thing, you've always got that to go back to, you've always got that to rely on, and in times when things are calmer; I can do more with it, like setting up strategies.”
Finding motivation and hope for the future
Annie shares that Brain in Hand acts as a regulator and motivator for her during her studies. She notes that she doesn’t think her studies would be going so well without it. Brain in Hand helps her to juggle not only her studies, but challenges in other areas of life.
“There are still a lot of challenges on the life side of things, and I definitely think Brain in Hand is a regulator for that. Without that, I don't think I would still be studying or doing as well as I am doing. It gives me that motivation to keep going, knowing it's there, knowing I've got support. I'm getting better at asking for help and recording how I feel. It's just given me that sense of hope that I can actually finish my PhD.”
She also describes how Brain in Hand has helped in her personal life, including her relationships and communication. BiH gives her a better insight into her triggers, helping her communicate her needs with her partner, and other things that are difficult to verbalise. This increased awareness helps her interact better with people, feel better about herself, and therefore less anxious.
“It's been really good in terms of helping me focus on building good habits. It’s definitely made me more aware and it's like stepping outside of yourself, being able to look at the triggers and the circumstances. And really think about how I can put strategies in place to help me either prevent those things or deal with them when they occur. It's given me more insight.”
Embracing community support and self-care
Brain in Hand has helped Annie to see how important it is to ask for support. She is keen to work on building her confidence with her BiH coach. This can help her connect with communities and build a wider support network.
“Part of what it's taught me is that I need to reach out, asking for other forms of help. I need to start looking for other kinds of communities, ND community groups to join, or peer support groups, that kind of thing. At the moment I don't have the confidence to do it even online stuff creates a bit of anxiety now. But I think with the help of Brain in Hand and the coaching, that's something that I will work towards. I think, you know, that probably is more reliable than unfortunately relying on what support I might get through the NHS.”
Annie feels better able to look after herself and her wellbeing. She uses Brain in Hand to ensure she takes time out for self-care alongside her studies.
“A direct result of Brain in Hand is being aware that I need to build in self-care. I started time blocking my calendar for my PhD work, but actually I do it for all sorts of things now. I've got reminders for my yoga and pilates, my meditation twice a week but I need to build in these times. For some other habits that I don't do but would be beneficial, one of the things I’m going to do in the Brain in Hand calendar is to set myself reminders to just practise doing breathwork exercises. So, that actually when a crisis comes, if I've been practising those things, just when things are OK, then it might become more of an instinctive reaction to managing a crisis.”
Overcoming moments of crisis and planning ahead
Brain in Hand has empowered Annie to continue with her PhD with strategies that work for her. She might have given up her PhD, feeling lost without support for moments of crisis, and for understanding her ADHD.
“Without BiH, I would have spent a lot more time in crisis, but actually not had any support. I think my mental state would have been a lot worse. I probably would have given up the PhD by now because I have had some real challenges with it which has been a bit as a result of the ADHD really. But again it's that awareness that Brain in Hand has given me. Some of the strategies and actually that reminder that you do have strategies in place to deal with this. It might take time, but you can get through it. I do see it like a safety net, like having a comfort blanket knowing it's there. I'm lucky that I've got the licence until the end of my PhD. I'm very grateful for that but think I'd be a little bit lost without it.”
Annie also feels that Brain in Hand supports her in preparing for new events that may cause anxiety. She describes how she prepared for a major PhD review with the support of her coach. Together, they set up a plan within Brain in Hand with everything she needed, including relevant coping strategies.
"I've got my major review coming up and just the thought of it creates massive anxiety about a number of things. My coach walked me through how to set up a plan to make sure I've got everything that I need to get out of the house and get there on time. And what I need to put in place in advance to stop me getting anxious. All those strategies and knowing that I've got that functionality there, at the touch of a button, really means that I can work through those situations in advance and take some of the anxiety out of the situation. It’s a bit of reassurance that, you know, it's kind of there all in one place.”
The value of completing a PhD
If Annie doesn’t complete her PhD, the university loses an average of £4,500 per year in fees. Beyond the university, recent research by Read et al, (2024) has illustrated the value of supporting people to complete PhDs. They found a PhD leads to higher wages for the individual, boosts business performance and productivity, and benefits society as a whole, contributing to the public good.
As a PhD holder, Annie can expect a £5,500 increase in wages per year. In addition, PhD holders also boost business productivity, increasing competencies for 95% of firms (Read et al., (2024). They increase competitiveness (81%) and knowledge (95%), R&D investment potential (76%), and strengthen contacts with academic institutions (77%).
PhD holders also enhance the productivity of those they work with and teach the next generation, contributing to the public good and benefiting society as a whole (Read et al., (2024).
“PhDs are a public good that benefits society as a whole, as holders of PhDs generate production externalities that raise the productivity of those without a PhD alongside whom they work. Those holding PhDs also teach the next generation, creating multiple long-term effects on society. Growth models see education as enhancing technical progress, regardless of how that education is provided, and society has a strong argument for sponsoring education to enhance growth through its impact on society.”