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As many of you know, I study water and sanitation insecurity. I came to this work because I’ve always been interested in work that narrows the gap between the rich and the poor, work that protects marginalized and vulnerable communities. I’ve worked on water/energy poverty.
I would need to link you to all the amazing work that researchers of @hwise_rcn (Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network) are doing to catch you up, but just one element that came to my mind this week and that has larger implications for academia...
This past month I've been in extreme pain which has proven hard to manage. But I've also had to work. There is no way around it, no way to take time off. Why do I connect my health to the water and sanitation insecurity literature? Because there's a strong connection.
Workman and Ureksoy sciencedirect.com/science/articl… show how water insecurity increases psycho-emotional burden. You can look at the housing insecurity, financial insecurity, food insecurity literatures and the link is there: there are compounding negative effects when you feel insecure.
Academia is a professional field that breeds insecurity and where risk factors are compounded. Imagine you are a non-tenure-track (adjunct) faculty member having to string 4 courses to survive not knowing if you'll be rehired next semester. Your job insecurity adds to worries...
If there is a lot of discussion of issues of mental health and academia it's because multiple pressures compound to make already existing issues worse (including various forms of insecurities, and I'm not even talking emotional - housing, food, income). In my case, weird, I know
... part of what stressed me out was the uncertainty (insecurity) of not knowing if this pain would go away or if I would be able to manage it. But I'm expected to function 100% whether or not I'm in pain. Anyhow, my own research made me reflect on my current health state </fin>
Addendum: I'm much better and the pain ALMOST is now at manageable levels.
