Basically lived at the WAC during my first PhD and gave the interviews I conducted to it. Quite horrified to learn this, given I was forming a research plan that would take me back - now seems not possible to do…. cstonline.net/is-the-bbc-a...

Today I offer a reminder of the word ‘forswunk’ (13th century): exhausted from too much work. To be ‘foreswunk’ (my own version) is to be exhausted before you even begin.

Looks a good session and tbh opportunities for greater qualitative-research-conduct explorations like this in general would be great, but £380 for non-students and £320 for students to attend?!! What?!!! active-qualitative-analysis.eventschedule.com/activating-q...

Going to the other university in York today! Looking forward to participating in the ‘Lived Experience’ session opening the ‘Advances in the Sociology of Mental Health’ Symposium. … Also 5 travels, I am now officially conferenced-out (which is a thing, I think!) for 2025…! #AcademicSky

Wrote this on the train home from Metascience. Can’t quite believe this one needed saying, but I really think that if conversations about research integrity and open science don’t take academic bullying seriously, we’ll keep perpetuating the same system that science reform was trying to change.

#WSPD25 After all the years living with suicide loss, you can come to see all the messaging today is about ‘talk, talk, talk’ when we’re in a world wherein real listening (hearing) skills are in short supply. It’s not that you don’t support the cause, but bereavement suicide realities can…

With World Suicide Prevention Day coming up on Wednesday, a note that a lot of companies have popped up selling hoodies etc with heartwarming messages & claim to be working in suicide prevention - please look closely before ordering. If they're not naming charity partners, don't trust them!

School return day. Tbh I never really line up with those comedy sketches that suggest parents yearn for and are ecstatic about this day…

A mighty fine book! ‘Hold Fast: Motherhood, My Autistic Daughter and Me’ by Catherine Simpson.

“Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI” www.bbc.com/news/article...

A trip home always seems to bring forth something new of my brother’s that I’ve not previously encountered, even after all this time … I picked up his MA thesis this time, and flippin’ eckerslike did he think and write… I’d like to talk to him right now about ‘Lived Experience’… #AcademicSky

“I’ve just been published and I feel…” patthomson.net/2025/08/21/i... #AcademicSky

'It is simply not possible to lose the number of academic staff that the sector has lost over the past two years and for providers to not be in breach of contract – promises have either been broken, or the contract itself gives a university too wide a discretion to vary....' 1/5

“What? I sunbathin’.” #SundaySummerTimes

Want to help improve mental health in academia? We are looking for bloggers for our November and December slots. You can submit a pitch here and learn more about the process: voicesofacademia.com/contact-2/

My brother Martin’s birthday . “It’s all fine to say, “Time will heal everything, this too shall pass away…”—and things like that when you are not involved, but when you are there is no passage of time, people do not forget and you are in the middle of something that does not change.” (Steinbeck)

Back to work after annual leave’s end tomorrow….Brought to a close blissfully. #AcademicSky

Great artice ‘The Pain of Perfectionism’ www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

I have done some updates to @vicclarke.bsky.social and my thematic analysis website - including adding the recent genAI and qual talk... access issues should be fully resolved! www.thematicanalysis.net/talks-about-...

Steinbeck reading; scrumptious breakfast; Seaton Sluice sand and sea and (very, very) Special People. Happy birthday to me! ❤️🎂

As the close of my annual leave starts to present on my horizon, today has been a day of skill sharing - I went to my daughter’s School of Gaming and she got taught how to crosstitch an avocado…. Usefulness-questionable; Connection-fully experienced #Generations #MotherDaughter #MeetInTheMiddle

Summer HE institution staff survey for 2025, 'focusing on the quality of your work, your experience of change, and the degree of alignment between your values and your experience at work.' It's intended to capture things individual institutional surveys miss & to try to build a (4) national picture.

It’s my brother’s birthday in a little over a week so am in the depths of ‘build up to it’ feelings. Was nice to visit the remnant of the Sycamore Gap tree today. Never will feel the same as ash-scatter day and all the visits after but it was nice to touch the bark again. #SuicideLoss #Siblings

Gift in the garden this morning 🪶

“How can we as academics endure? How can we nurture a sociological life in increasingly hostile environments? It’s essential that we have the means to theorise & evidence better ways of understanding one another.” Iris Pissaride & @juliettephd.bsky.social introduce our new issue buff.ly/y8o76RY

Attempting during leave to undo the damage of one academic year in order to be a bit stronger for the next…!

“Are institutions really letting students down - or is the expectation placed on them part of the issue? And to what extent should the responsibility fall on universities in the first place?” #AcademicSky #StudentMentalHealth www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Spending this week in Aberystwyth, home of my undergrad uni experience. University wasn’t initially easy for me but by the end I loved it+it was hard to leave the Aber bubble (including my Commodore Cinema usherette job!!) it’s been lovely to return after 23 years…won’t leave it that long again 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Day one of the holidays and we’ve already moved from K Pop Demon Hunters super-fan to adoption of Lauren Cooper as a role model… aaaaahhlriiigght #AcademicMum

Annual leave afternoon of greatness, during which I shall undoubtedly question why I moved away from studying (and doing!) theatre and music….!

“The Department for Education (DfE) announced on Tuesday that lessons discussing suicide prevention would be compulsory in secondary schools from September 2026.” Good. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Met with my academic mentor this morning, a relationship started about 18months ago. She’s wonderful, thoughtful, practical; I leave meetings with a bit more clarity for the ensuing months until the next chat. All early career academics should have access to a mentor like this imo… #AcademicSky

Contributed a little bit to this BBC podcast on the Sycamore Gap felling (Episode 5). (What I wouldn’t give to talk Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with my brother Martin again right now). #SuicideLoss #Siblings www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Feeling a lot better (cooler!) after the haircut he was adamant he did not want…🐶❤️

Homeward-bound with a head full of thoughts (and ideas) after a really interesting conference and good, reflective conversations with kind people. Thank you #QMiP2025

Really great, fascinating presentations on psychological wellbeing of theatre actors (Jonathan Hashmonay) as well as self-diagnosis (Natalie Rodax) at this morning’s #QMiP2025 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

'People can hug the Sycamore Gap tree again' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“4. There is a sad irony that a document on writing hardly talks about how we might convey feelings, tension, excitement, lyricism, horror, fear, intrigue etc etc in writing. It's as if learning how to write is an exercise in being correct (or becoming more and more correct).”

Leeds plays a part in memories of my brother, given he was attending the university when I saw some of his growing difficulties. I hadn’t realised (associations with) the place would still affect me much. Post-conference meandering by the river is helping a place-relationship rebuild #SuicideLoss

Braun says no (yeah nah) to AI. That coding and analysis is a human endeavour. Coding should not be thought of as a laborious task that needs to be completed quickly and “free from bias”, but rather as a worthwhile, enjoyable, and creative experience, where we are the interpreters #qmip2025

I could get lost in shame at having become emotional/teary at the end of my presentation (v unexpected that’s not happened before!) but I’m not gonna! Big deal to talk about stuff connected with suicide loss in a busy room. Thanks to all who listened and subsequently chatted. #QMiP2025 #AcademicSky

First up we have @ginnybraun.bsky.social discussing the impact of Gen AI on qualitative research. Is this something we can ignore or do we need to develop a position on the use of Gen AI? Is AI our friend or not to be trusted? #qmip2025 @qmip.bsky.social

My 12-year-old is a gem. Being an academic mum is far from easy, by when support like this exists, it don’t half help! #AcademicSky

Final early start of this academic year. Looking forward to my first time attending the BPS Qualitative Methods in Psychology conference! #QMiP2025 #AcademicSky

Beware the lull-in-immediate-work-pressure days, for it is during those that memory resurgences do so occur… Rest moment required. #SiblingLoss #SuicideLoss

Sibling loss is often the grief that goes unseen. In my latest Substack, I share what it felt like to be the only sibling at a grief group after my brother’s suicide—and why I’m now giving away 6 copies of The Loss of a Lifetime. lisacooperellison.substack.com/p/when-your-... #siblingloss #giveaway

What my journal article writing/revising/crafting looks like… So near, yet so far…. What’s the word for how I currently feel of a Friday afternoon?.. um ‘exhaustificated’ perhaps works…! #AcademicSky

🧠 Parenthood in academia affects mental health – but not equally Academic mothers face a much higher risk of depression than fathers or non-mothers. Risk is greatest for those without support, or who are Black or have disabled children. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #SciComm #AcademicSky 🧪

From spending the evening yesterday being proud of my daughter’s first stage performance at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House to today talking trauma-informed pedagogies at the YSJ ‘Talk About Teaching’ conference… Being an academic and a tween-parent is a busy affair! #AcademicSky