PhD Brain Is Real. Recovery Matters.

I submitted my PhD: Moving psychoeducation and bibliotherapy from self-help to SHELF-care: A consideration of Brene Brown's books through the lenses of Gramsci's intellectualisms and Byrne's lived experience framework.

It is time to chill out. For months my world revolved around words, references, edits, arguments, formatting, proofreading and one question: Is this good enough?

People often congratulate you on submitting a PhD, and they should. It is an enormous achievement.

What they don't often talk about is what comes afterwards.

Exhaustion. Emptiness. 

Not just being tired, but a deep cognitive fatigue where your brain seems to have temporarily forgotten how to do ordinary life. It empties.

This week has provided plenty of evidence.

• I couldn't remember which day was rubbish collection day.
• I backed out of the driveway and collected the passenger side mirror on a pole that has been standing in exactly the same place all along.
• On Friday, I genuinely believed it was Tuesday.
• A colleague suggested an appointment in July. I replied, wondering why we needed to book a whole month ahead. He gently reminded me that it was already July and the appointment was actually next week. Monday...and today's Friday.

If you've ever completed a PhD, written a book, cared for a loved one through illness, or survived any prolonged period of intense concentration, you may recognise this feeling of emptiness.

Our minds are not machines.

After sustained effort they need recovery just as much as our other muscles do after a marathon.

That recovery is partly why I developed the SHELF-Care framework through my research into bibliotherapy.

Reading is not simply another task to complete. It can become a gentle way back to ourselves.

S is for Sharing stories and personal experiences.

H is for Hoping, and discovering that change is possible.

E is for Expressing empathy, both towards ourselves and towards others.

L is for Learning about ourselves, relationships and the human experience.

F is for fostering Friendships, because books often become bridges to meaningful conversations and connections.

When our brains are exhausted, we rarely need another productivity hack.

Sometimes we need a comfortable chair, a cup of tea, a good novel and permission to recover.

Recovery is not wasted time. It is part of the work.

If you're looking for a novel that beautifully embodies SHELF-Care, I recommend The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson. Read my book review here so you know how good The Wartime Book Club is.

My brief analysis of the book as bibliotherapy: Through ordinary people brought together by extraordinary circumstances, the novel explores the courage of sharing personal stories, finding hope in difficult times, developing empathy, learning about ourselves through literature, and building friendships that sustain us.

It is a wonderful reminder that reading can be much more than entertainment. Sometimes it is exactly the companion we need while finding our way back to ourselves.

👵🎓 Megan Bayliss
Mental health social work supervisor
Bibliotherapy researcher | PhD thesis submitted