Wellness & Equity as Collective Care Frameworks For Graduate Student Wellbeing
The notion of “wellness” as it pertains to university contexts has taken on a problematic valence over the years. Owing to the increasing neoliberalization of academia, wellness has been increasingly tied to pop psychology, self-care spending, pizza parties, and other “self-actualizing” capitalistic practices. By virtue of the precarious nature of their status and labour, graduate students in the university are especially susceptible to experiences of overwork, exploitation, burnout, poor well-being, and existential harm, with studies showing that nearly 40% of graduate students globally experienced symptoms of anxiety, depression, or suicide ideation.
