Last month a therapist in training reached out and asked if I could write a post about how to survive grad school and of course, I couldn’t resist. My survival story is a bit of an outlier in that I was a new mom with a 7 month old who for complicated reasons decided to go to grad school. My survival strategy was my family and friends and I leaned on them heavily for babysitting, breaks, venting sessions and more.

I also relied heavily on my favourite comfort shows (Friends and Modern Family) because my anxiety needed to watch something with zero surprises and lets face it when you’re in grad school you need as many laughs as you can get.

While reflecting on my own experiences I thought why not reach out to my IG community and ask them their survival tips for grad school. A big thank you to everyone who responded (all IG handles and names are being shared with permission).

Without further ado here are some grad school survival tips from some seriously bad ass, smart and incredibly kind women:

“Hey, I have a tip I would love to share - I wish I knew this earlier on in grad school! Building a good support network!! Grad school can feel isolating, and having a group of friends, mentors, or even peers in your department can make a world of difference. Whether it’s for brainstorming ideas, sharing frustrations, or just taking a mental break, having people who “get it” is crucial!” - Nirvir Kaur

My advice to new grads: Grad school can be overwhelming, so it’s important to prioritize self-care and set boundaries early as burnout is real. Try your best to stay organized, but give yourself grace to adapt. Building a strong support system whether it be friends, mentors, and/or supervision can make all the difference. And don’t worry about having all the answers right away, growth happens outside your comfort zone. Keep showing up, keep learning, and you’ll get there! - Simran Sekhon @sitwithsim/@releaftherapyinc

“Hi! My tip: Grad school often requires a lot of self-reflection which can be enriching but also TIRING - take breaks to do things unrelated to therapy and that don’t require much thinking!” - Sukhneet Bains @sbainss

“When it gets overwhelming and it will, ground yourself in your purpose. Visualize the life you’re building. Every late night and sacrifice is a step toward the future you deserve — keep going” - Jagjjt Akali @jagjit_akali

“ Hi I'd love to share! For me it was doing something even once a week where I moved my body or gave it stillness. I started doing hot yoga at Oxygen and it helped so much especially since you end up spending so much time sitting and staring at the computer! Another tip is blue light filter glasses for all the hours you'll spend staring at your computer screen. It helped reduce my headaches!” - Meena @bumblebee.counselling

“My grad school survival tip - practice what you preach, and go to therapy, you can’t focus on learning and helping others heal if you haven’t worked on your own healing too. At least that was the case for me! So I might be an anomaly! Too many lessons learned in grad school that I wish I worked through before with a therapist.” - Kuljit Bhullar @attunedwellness

“My survival tip for grad school is to recognize that a lot of the content we learn may be personally triggering. It might be surprising how much this can occur and it is necessary to have your own mental health resources like a practitioner to unpack your past traumas, insecurities or unmet needs. Oftentimes learning about psychological modalities and approaches can open up a whole aspect to yourself that may need healing and support before you become this ally to others.” - Amrita Sandhu @therapycoveco

“ It's going to be hard, but you're going to get through it. Sometimes the things we want to achieve require sacrifice from other areas. I think it's important to go into a big chapter like this and understand that it is going to be a challenge and certain areas of your life may need to become lower in priority so you can focus on your studies. Most importantly, you as the person making these sacrifices need to be ok with it and see the bigger picture. Create a system & get organized. I think what saved me from the high levels of stress during my program was the system I created for myself. At the beginning of each new course I had steps I took to ensure that I was set up for success. I would read the course outline, note down deadlines, and pre plan when I was going to do readings, discussion posts and begin assignments.” - Jeevan Atwal @jeevanatwalcounselling

“Make time for your friendships and self-care!.” - Maya Bhogal @maya.bhogal

“Take time for yourself. Yes the papers and discussion posts and readings are important but so are you. You can’t help your clients if you’re not helping yourself.” - Gurpreet Nahal @gurpreetn_

“Making connections/friendships with peers. Going through grad school together and experiencing similar stresses can be challenging, but a strong support system can be incredibly beneficial. Kept me sane.” -Pavneet Sandhu @luxiacounselling

Grad school is hard, it will challenge you in ways you never imagined but the person you become as a result will be so worth it. The world needs your expertise. On your hardest days remember how many lives you are going to change.

I believe in you and I cannot wait to see your magic.

Love always,

Manjot