Brain Matter Chatter (BMC)

Anxiety & anger series with Rob Hicks, PART II: practicing mindfulness.
In this three-part series, Niveen (@nivful) and Julia (@juliasunstrum) chat with Rob Hicks, a PhD Candidate in Kinesiology & Neuroscience at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada), about his experience in Academia with gender stereotypes and mental health, expressing emotions other than anger, and panic attack/anxiety triggers and what to look out for. Rob details his personal story of becoming a new parent in graduate school while managing his mental health and provides invaluable advice for (really) everyone, including men, parents, and Academics.
Resources:
⇢The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Information Resource Center
⇢ Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCheck out this series where Niveen & Julia continue the conversation with Rob Hicks in the Anxiety & Anger Series:
↬ Part I: gender stereotypes - men’s mental health
↬ Part II: practicing mindfulness
↬ Part III: becoming a parent in Academia
Connect with Rob Hicks:
↬ Instagram: @neurosnacks
↬ Twitter: @_robhicks
↬ Website
↬ Rob's article: Men, we need to #GetReal about our mental health

September is National Suicide Prevention Month to address suicide, its causes, awareness around it, and its prevention. We want to bring awareness and remind individuals that you are loved and you matter to the world.Health Hotlines:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
↬ The Lifeline provides 24-hour, toll-free, and confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to connect with a skilled, trained counsellor at a crisis centre in your area.
↬ Support is available in English and Spanish and via live chat

Crisis Text Line
↬ Text HELLO to 741741 for free and confidential support 24 hours a day throughout the U.S.

Disaster Distress Hotline
↬ People affected by any disaster or tragedy can call this helpline, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to receive immediate counselling.
↬ Call or text 1-800-985-5990 to connect with a trained professional from the closest crisis counselling centre within the network.
Recent episodes can be found at www.songsuwo.ca/brainmatterchatter
↬ Ep 5: Anxiety, Social Isolation & Returning to "Normal" w/Dr. David Dozois
Listen on any podcast platform + follow us on Twitter + Instagram @BrainMatterChat !

In part one of a two part series, Hayley (Host) and Olivia (Co-Host) discuss the health benefits of exercise, including the ability of exercise to boost mood. They delve into some of the neuroscience behind exercise’s beneficial impact on mood, and touch on tips for staying active as graduate students.

Academic women & family planning ft. Dr. Kasey Van Hedger & Dr. Alex Levine
In this episode, Niveen (@nivful), Hayley (@hayleyrcshanks) and Kyla (@kylaaalee) chat with Drs. Alex Levine and Kasey Van Hedger, both who completed PhDs in STEM and currently work at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON, Canada. We discuss their experiences in Academia with family planning and get two unique perspectives. Kasey and Alex detail their personal stories of how they got to their positions today, how family planning did, or did not, affect their trajectory, and provide invaluable advice for Professional women, including Academics, who are considering building a family.
Connect with Alex Levine, PhD ↬ Twitter: @AlexTLev / IG: @alextlevConnect with Kasey Van Hedger, PhD ↬ Twitter: @kvanhedger / IG: @kvanhedger
Mentioned this episode:
↬ BMC ep 6- Anxiety & anger series with Rob Hicks:
- Part I: gender stereotypes - men’s mental health
- Part II: practicing mindfulness
- Part III: becoming a parent in Academia
↬ Dr. Harriet de Wit Lab - research on the physiological, mood-altering & behavioral effects of drugs in healthy humans (Chicago, IL, USA)
↬ Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude Lab - research using psychophysical and neuroimaging methods such as fMRI and EEG to study the neural basis of hearing (Western University, London, ON, CA)
↬ Dr. Penny MacDonald Lab - research on the neural bases of cognitive processes in patients with basal ganglia dysfunction, such as Parkinson’s disease, using functional neuroimaging techniques (Western University, London, ON, CA)
↬ #MomAdemia
Recent episodes can be found at www.songsuwo.ca/brainmatterchatter↬ Ep 7: Mental Health in South Asian Communities with Ishita Aggarwal
Listen on any podcast platform + follow us on Twitter + Instagram @BrainMatterChat

TW: sexual harassment, power dynamics, trauma
There is an old joke amongst Eastern Asian immigrants: If we bring home a test score of 99, our dads will ask: where’s the other point? Due to various myths, stereotypes, and barriers, including the model minority myth and the bamboo ceiling, navigating the academic world, especially in STEM, with an Eastern Asian identity can sometimes feel complicated.
In this episode, Dr. Kay Tye (@kaymtye), a neuroscientist and professor at UC San Diego, joins Kyla Lee (@kylaaalee) and Olivia Ghosh-Swaby (@ogoshhsw) in a conversation discussing the unique experience of being Eastern Asian in academia.
Dr. Tye and Kyla talk about the stereotypes that apply to them as people of Asian descent, from their perceived personalities to their expected aptitudes in STEM fields, and share how they navigated (and still do!) the complicated paradoxical melting pot that is their identities, straddling the line between belonging and “forever foreigner.”

In this episode, Ruby (@Ruby__Malik), and Julia (@juliasunstrum) chat with Andrea Hayward, Senior Associate at CACTUS Mental Health. We discuss the results of a recent global survey conducted on the state of mental health in academia. The survey included over 13 000 respondents in 169 countries. Andrea highlights common themes that impact the mental health of researchers and academics, including work-life balance, guilt to be productive, long work hours, and safety in the work environment.
Connect with Andrea Hayward ↬ Twitter: @AndieAitch
Mention in this Episode:

• Global Mental Health Survey Reports
• Cactus Mental Health Initiative Twitter Page
• R Voice by researcher.life
• Cactus Communication YouTube Channel