Science 1 August 2014:
Vol. 345 no. 6196 p. 594
DOI: 10.1126/science.345.6196.594
Vol. 345 no. 6196 p. 594
DOI: 10.1126/science.345.6196.594
The stressed-out postdoc
After he defended his dissertation and moved to a new lab for his postdoc, Ian Street hoped his battles with anxiety and depression were over. He was happy about his successful defense, and a change of scenery seemed just what he needed. But a breakup with his girlfriend and the pressures of being a new postdoc brought back familiar feelings of sadness, isolation, and worry. When he was a graduate student, Street had access to an array of resources, from on-campus counseling to support groups. As a postdoc, however, he was no longer a tuition-paying student, so he was cut off from those sources of support.