Graduate School Can Have Terrible Effects on People's Mental Health: Ph.D. candidates suffer from anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation at astonishingly high rates.

PhD candidate social science checking in. Left academia to work in public sector. Still enrolled but only to pay down loans interest free.

Suffered: - two nervous breakdowns.
- bout of depersonalization that lasted 2.5 years - chronic depression - contemplated suicide - more than once - massive alcohol abuse - gained weight, lost weight, gained weight - socially isolated (still dealing with it) to pursue results - couldn’t afford proper mental health counseling to combat even one of these issues let alone the multitude

So, yeah. It applies to other disciplines. Other horror stories from students getting jacked on drugs and driving 100+ mph on the freeway hoping to die.

/r/science Thread Parent Link - theatlantic.com