Mental Health

Science is amazing, but the research environment can be difficult.
We open space to share your personal mental health story (anonymously) and offer seminars and talks about mental health.
#youarenotalone

About us:

Our story began during a coffee break at the Mosbacher Kolloquium in 2023, where we suddenly found ourselves in a circle discussing mental health in academia. We all realized that while this topic was very important to all of us in our daily lives, we rarely came into contact with it through our universities. During this conversation, the Mental Health working group of the jGBM was born.

Our goal is to raise awareness about mental health and issues related to it in the context of academia and scientific research, as well as informing about tools and resources to improve our moods and lives. Of course, we are not in any form qualified to provide professional psychological help. But we provide talks and workshops about mental health topics as well as aiming to connect students and researchers with each other to discuss their personal experiences with mental health and learn from each other.

And most importantly, we would like to remind everyone: You are not alone!

Our projects

Future projects

Here we will announce our future projects!

Past projects

Zoom-Talk: “A fresh perspective on research productivity” – Dr. Sofia Mortensen

How do you stay productive as a scientist, without losing yourself in your work? In February 2026, we hosted a talk about “working smart, not hard” by Dr. Sofia Mortensen, a structural biologist. She provided helpful insights on how to keep a healthy balance between your science and your life, while also discussing practical tools with the listeners.

Zoom-Workshop: “SMART – set goals using mindfulness” – Dr. Jennifer Radwitz

Although many of us know how to improve our lives, setting realistic achievable goals can be tricky. Dr. Jennifer Radwitz, a scientist and mental health coach, introduced us to the SMART method during her workshop in November 2025. With her help, we applied the tools of the method to concrete goals in our lives and discussed individual motivations and challenges.

Interested? Reach out at: https://jennradwitz.de/

Zoom-Talk: “Imposter Phenomenon” – DragonFly Mental Health

Many academics struggle with the feeling of not truly belonging in their position, although they are highly qualified. This phenomenon, called Imposter Phenomenon, was presented to us in November 2024 by DragonFly Mental Health, a volunteer-based group promoting mental health in academia. A Dragonfly Ambassador guided listeners through research on the imposter phenomenon, as well as discussion about personal experiences and tips to become more confident about your place in science.

Interested? Reach out at: https://dragonflymentalhealth.org/

Zoom-Talk: “Dealing with stress” – Andrea Witthohn

Everyone is stressed sometimes, and everyone copes in a different way. In November 2023, psychologist Andrea Witthohn gave us an overview of different types of stress, what causes stress and how to incorporate tools for preventing stress and promoting mindfulness into your daily life.

Advent Calendar: Self-care

When the darker season and the academic year start in autumn, it’s easy to lose sight of self-care and moments to relax. Lucy from our team designed a simple self-care advent calendar for December, where you can follow along and pick self-care habits that resonate with you.

Check it out here or on instagram under: jgbm_mentalhealth

Stickers and stories: Awareness for Mental Health

As the Mental Health working group, we see it as our mission to raise awareness for mental issues or loneliness. Most importantly, we would like to show that no one is alone with their problems. As food for thought, Lucy designed a series of stickers for the outside world. Additionally, we collected experiences by anonymous students who share stories about their own mental health journeys.

Check out our stickers here or on instagram under: jgbm_mentalhealth

Wanna read our stories? Go to jgbm_mentalhealth

Wanna share a story? Fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4Gdf8gYdrMv6JcEDxVOdf8P8E5PEfpuL63tzgYjgHr-ffyw/viewform?usp=header