I’m Giulietta, or Giu for short, and my pronouns are they/them. I’m a third-year PhD student at CSM, writing a thesis on transgender experiences of allyship in the UK hospitality industry (working title). As much as I love academia and studying for my PhD, it has not been without its challenges. Between juggling my PhD research, working part-time, and late-diagnosed autism, I often find myself overwhelmed and exhausted.
I’m prone to worrying about being behind schedule, producing work that’s good enough, and making a meaningful contribution to not just my field, but my community too. These anxieties can be debilitating at times, leaving me feeling burnt out and demotivated. I’ve learned – the hard way – that prioritising my mental health and wellbeing during this journey is essential. One thing that generally helps with these things is finding a hobby.
My dear readers – let me introduce you to the world of HEMA.
HEMA stands for Historical European Martial Arts, which if you don’t know what it is – essentially, it’s sword fighting, although we use other weapons too! Personally, I love daggers, because stabbing is very fun (but only with consent, blunt weapons, and protective equipment – be safe everyone). It’s also sometimes called Historical Fencing, or WMA (Western Martial Arts).
I discovered HEMA over a year ago, and it has changed my life in so many ways. Not only has it provided an opportunity to meet new people and make friends (many of whom are also PhD students!), but it’s also given me a sense of accomplishment and confidence. It’s taught me to trust myself, prioritise my health, and value self-care. In the past year, it’s helped me transition from a state of chronic stress to one of relative balance. Plus, doing presentations seems a lot less scary when you’re used to defending yourself against a longsword coming towards your head.
At the end of 2023, I was not in a good place mentally, but the care and support of the other members of my HEMA club is what encouraged me to consider my health over my productivity – and I made the decision to take my PhD from full time study to part time study. The logistics of this change was somewhat stressful in itself, but I’m now more relaxed and in a much better headspace than I was last autumn.
The friends I’ve made through HEMA showed me that even in the chaos of doing a PhD, there’s always time to find joy and fulfilment outside of academia. You don’t need to take up something quite as violent sword fighting to find good friends or experience these benefits – any hobby or activity that gets you moving, talking to others, and feeling supported will do – but I will say that swords are very cool. I also specify something that gets you moving, because exercise has a lot of benefits – but I think you would all get bored if I started listing all of them, but I will say for me I wanted a form of exercise that could keep my mind occupied and was genuinely fun to do. Luckily, if you’re based in Cardiff like me there’s plenty of opportunities to try different activities, from the ice rink, HEMA clubs, a local Morris dancing group, rock climbing, and I believe there’s even some places that teach circus skills. If you’re someone who gets stuck in your head a lot, take a look at what opportunities are around you and try something new. Maybe you’ll hate it, but maybe you’ll find somewhere you feel like you belong.
As PhD students, it’s easy for us to feel isolated and alone in our struggles. But I want to encourage anyone else dealing with the stress of completing a PhD to seek out exciting experiences and connect with other people. Whether it’s HEMA or something else entirely, having a community of like-minded people can make all the difference in your journey to help you remember that you’re not alone, and that there’s always hope for finding a way forward.