Mental Illness in Application for Neuroscience PhD

[Smarties16]

So a little background:

I was diagnosed with MDD (major depressive disorder) in high school during a time when I tried to hurt myself, failed my courses senior year and was not allowed to graduate with my high school class. It was a difficult time and it changed how I handle everyday since.

However, I am so proud of admitting this to people because I then finished my high school degree the same summer, was still able to attend a high ranked college with merit and ended up with a 3.7 gpa in college and a 4.0 in Neuroscience. I have struggled ever since high school and have had to hide my illness from friends, professors, coworkers and supervisors.

I work in a lab and have off days still. I have had to be aware of myself and know the signs. I have learned how I must deal with my mind and body differently than others and I am not afraid to seek the help of a professional when needed.

I do not need to talk about mental illness in my graduate applications, instead I want to. I want to explain my interest in learning and memory and psychiatric illness. I want to explain why I am so dedicated to studying the brain and how it functions. I am committed to disproving the stereotype of mental illness through my research.

One day I hope that depression and anxiety can be seen as any other bodily illness like a heart condition, asthma or any other medical condition that makes it a little harder to function everyday.

I am just scared admissions boards will find some way to use it against me. I fear being seen as someone with depression not who I am, which is someone who hasn’t given up on her dreams just because my brain works a little differently…

So… should I mention it in my personal statement?

[nanotechnology]

I would be very careful about this. This paper highlights that discussing personal mental health as a motivation can often be a kiss of death for a graduate school application: http://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

[Rollout]

No. Do not.

[mademoiselle2308]

No! Absolutely not!

I do think, though, that you can definitely talk about how strongly you feel about the importance of mental health and that you hope to destigmatize (not sure if that’s a word) mental health disorders by demonstrating the underlying biology of these diseases. Without explaining how mental health directly related to you, you can certainly craft a compelling personal statement with these ideas. Good luck!!

[juillet]

Noooooooooooooooo.

I was going to link you to Appleby & Appleby, but I see that nanotech has already one that. In it, Appleby & Appleby include a discussion of discussions of personal mental health as one of the kisses of death:

The discussion of a personal mental health problem is likely to decrease an applicant’s chances of acceptance into a program. Examples of this particular KOD in a personal statement included comments such as “showing evidence of untreated mental illness,” “emotional instability,” and seeking graduate training “to better understand one’s own problems or problems in one’s family.” More specifically, one respondent stated that a KOD may occur “when students highlight how they were drawn to graduate study because of significant personal problems or trauma. Graduate school is an academic/career path, not a personal treatment or intervention for problems."

As you have noted, talking about mental illness as your driving factor gives off the wrong impression.

Stick to discussing your interest in research and building a career in that area.