Grad school is a challenge that tries students on academic levels, as well as mentally, emotionally, and physically. On top of the intense workload, grad students have to battle periods of isolation, feeling out of place, and the stress of dealing with pressing deadlines. While there's nothing wrong with hard work, the environment that grad school creates can be damaging to one's mental health. Mental Health and the Grad Student Many grad students are in crisis. In studies conducted by Harvard University, statistics pointed to the environmental factors of certain academic departments as a potential cause of the anxiety many graduate students face. While schools often have counseling centers on campus to help address the issue, many faculty members and students agree that treating students' mental health must go beyond offering counseling services. Paul Barreira, Harvard University's director of Health Services, holds that at Harvard, there are about 55 clinicians for the 200,000 students that attend Harvard. Everyone from the clinicians to the students are overwhelmed and the system needs to be reworked. Barreira points out that students must "hedge against failure". In doing so, students should take on academic research projects that offer them a sense of short term usefulness and meaning. Furthermore, faculty members and advisors should make it clear to students that their success matters to them. Far too often, advisors and faculty members take an apathetic stance to students' success and mental health. Alternatively, Barreira suggests that all staff members should prioritize the mental health of their students, rather than their academic success. Mental Health According to Each Program In a working paper, Barreira and other colleagues measured students' mental health data to help establish rates of anxiety, depression, impostor syndrome, eating disorders, suicide risks, self-esteem issues, alcohol consumption levels, and the like. Then, the researchers worked to identify environmental factors that contributed to these issues. They found that recorded levels of anxiety and depression varied by department and program. Economics Students and Mental Health Students of the economics department at Colombia, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were all studied by Barreira. This study recorded that 18% of these students experienced severe or moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression, which is significantly higher than the national average for 25 - 34 year olds in the United States. While students are encouraged to "hedge against failure" it is also up to the faculty to keep the mental health of their students a priority. Success in graduate programs is multifaceted and shouldn't come at the cost of students' mental wellbeing. Originally posted at DrNirmitSheth.com: http://drnirmitsheth.com/grad-school-effect-on-mental-health/