Here's how you can find out whether you're suffering from regular sadness or depression

I’ve put together my list of top 10 tips for early career researchers and I’m going to share it here as promised. But first a disclaimer...I don’t know everything. This list is based on my experience in academia. I would love for others to add and augment. With that in mind....🧵

1: Decide what you want your LIFE to be. This career could consume you completely if you let it, but it won’t always love you. Focus on the other things in your life that bring you joy and fulfillment and cultivate those just as much as you cultivate your research career.

2: Decide what you want your CAREER to be. What are your values? What are you in this for? There will be hard times. But knowing your values and what success means to you can help guide you through them.

3: Decide whose opinions really matter to you. Mastery requires feedback and you will get a lot of it, some useful some less so. Identify the small circle of people you can really trust to give it to you straight. This includes forming a no committee.

4: People are people are people. Don’t be afraid to email someone about a postdoc or job or grant idea. We’ve all been there. Some people are not generous people. This is good information to have. Move on to other colleagues and mentors if you encounter these people.

I'm married to an Australian. I returned to Australia from the UK in October.

This is my experience of what happened to me when I arrived in the country during COVID.

I think it will help people understand how criminally bad our government's response has been. (a thread).

On arrival, passengers were escorted from the plane by armed police.

We were allocated a government-mandated hotel, and told to wait in a holding area.

Once processed we were led to a coach. Members of the Australian army lined the route to make sure no one tried to escape.

Once at the hotel we were taken off the coach one by one

An Australian police officer escorted me to my room, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I left it in any unauthorised circumstances for the next two weeks, I would be spending up to two years in an Australian prison.

During the next two weeks I was fed three times a day in polystyrene and with plastic cutlery. Below are some examples of the food. It was fine, but there was no control or choice.

After about eight days I was tested for COVID.

This was mandatory, and the first time I’d seen another human since the quarantine started.

Even though I was negative, I was told I could leave only once my 14 days of isolation were over.

How to Escape the Prison of Your Mind

// Thread //

O𝚋̲𝚜̲𝚎̲𝚛̲𝚟̲𝚎̲ Y𝚘̲𝚞̲𝚛̲ T𝚑̲𝚘̲𝚞̲𝚐̲𝚑̲𝚝̲𝚜̲

Your mind is a room and your thoughts are a window.

When you think it is as you look into your room of thoughts.

Pay attention to what goes on, learn your mental triggers. Pay attention to how you respond to situations

Continued..

Your thoughts are not always to be believed.

You thoughts come and go like a car going through a car wash.

One in, one out. Depending on how long you want to wash the car depends on how long the thought stays.

Observe your thoughts with no judgement

L𝚒̲𝚟̲𝚎̲ 𝚒̲𝚗̲ T𝚑̲𝚎̲ P𝚛̲𝚎̲𝚜̲𝚎̲𝚗̲𝚝̲

Understand where you are in your reality at all times

Think about the description of thing to the left of you:

-What color is it?
-What shape is it?
-How big is it?
-What is its function?
-Why is it built that way?

Continued..

Why is this healthy? Because it releases your thoughts into your present objective reality.

Knowing that you are there is a good way to stop thoughts because then you start to live. 👽