Resources for academic staff
While Sunflowerful’s blog posts are in development, feel free to check out the blog posts I’ve written while I was working in academia - they allowed me to process some of my most difficult experiences and find meaning in them. Pouring my struggles on paper and translating them into key takeaways and supportive and validating words that are widely available to my peers across the world was my way of digging gold.
The themes center around well-being in academia through the eyes of a struggling PhD, but the challenges and coping mechanisms described can apply to any knowledge-based high-achievement and high-pressure environments beyond the academic community.
Click on the title to read more on the page of the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship division page where the original texts were published.
In this blog post, I reflect on why mental health and well-being deserve to be central—not just side conversations—within the PhD experience and academic life more broadly. As part of a new series for the Entrepreneurship scholarly community of the Academy of Management, I share personal experiences and observations about the quiet (and sometimes not-so-quiet) distress that can accompany the high expectations and time-sensitive demands many of us face as junior scholars. I talk about the importance of naming what we feel, dismantling the stigma around mental health, and learning how to cope in healthier, more sustainable ways—whether that’s through better boundaries, shifting our inner narratives, or simply reaching out. I also share what burnout taught me, and why it’s not weakness to pause, listen to your body, and choose kindness toward yourself over constant striving. My hope with this piece—and this whole series—is to make more space for honesty, community, and everyday care in our professional lives.
In this blog post, my dear friend and fellow PhD candidate Sai Kalvapalle and I open up a conversation we’ve been having for a long time—about mental health and well-being in academia. We wrote it from a place of honesty and care, reflecting on the pressures of performance, perfectionism, and trying to constantly meet expectations while also holding onto our own humanity. We share seven reflections that have helped us pause, realign with what matters, and create space for more compassion—towards ourselves and one another. This piece is also a tribute to our community, and a gentle call to care more deeply and openly for each other. If you’ve ever felt stretched, isolated, or quietly overwhelmed in your academic or professional journey, I hope this resonates and helps you feel a little less alone.
In this blog post, I wanted to step back and create space for the voices of fellow PhD candidates by organizing and sharing insights from panel discussions on well-being during the PhD journey. What emerged was a deeply honest, sometimes raw, and incredibly validating reflection on the emotional ups and downs we face as junior scholars—covering everything from perfectionism, rejection, and burnout, to identity, control, and the complex realities of being an international academic. Each panelist offered not just personal stories of challenge, but also the wisdom they’ve gained through coping—whether through community, movement, perspective, or rest. These conversations reminded me that healing and growth often begin with sharing, and that creating open, safe spaces can make us all feel a little less alone. I hope this post helps you feel seen in your own journey—and maybe inspires you to care for your well-being with the same devotion you give to your work.
In this post, I reflect on the emotional reality of navigating the academic job market—particularly the toll it can take on our well-being when we’re caught in a cycle of constant output, pressure, and perfectionism. I share lessons from my own experience, which was unexpectedly interrupted by burnout, and offer a framework I’ve used since—what I call the green, orange, and red zones—to help recognize when stress is quietly building toward overwhelm. Through this lens, I explore how tuning into our physical, mental, and emotional signals can help us make healthier choices before we hit that red zone. I also write about how self-doubt, isolation, and catastrophizing can cloud the process, and why it’s so important to remember our agency, our intuition, and our values—especially when the pressure is high. My hope is that this reflection helps others prepare for the job market not just with strategy, but with compassion, clarity, and care for their whole self.
As I prepare to close this chapter of my PhD journey, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve truly learned over these past six years—and it goes far beyond research. In this post, I share five deeply personal takeaways that shaped both my professional and personal growth: from honoring the creative process of writing, to practicing self-compassion, slowing down, staying true to my values, and—perhaps most importantly—putting my needs first. These lessons didn’t come easy; they were hard-won through moments of burnout, self-doubt, and the constant push to “do more.” But in that space, I discovered the power of presence, boundaries, and building a life that’s guided by inner alignment rather than outer pressure. My hope is that something in these reflections speaks to you, wherever you are in your own journey, and reminds you to care for yourself as deeply as you care about your work.