An autoethnographic study of the experiences of a physics student with psychiatric disabilities

This autoethnographic study intends to explore and understand the experiences of a physics student with psychiatric disabilities. I, the first author, reflect upon and analyze my experiences as an undergraduate physics student with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and inattentive attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In the data collection process, I gathered notes and journals written throughout my years as an undergraduate physics student and formulated a timeline of events and memories. Identifying themes from the data and utilizing an arts-based approach as part of the analysis, I investigated the experiences and challenges I encountered as a physics student related to my psychiatric disabilities. The resultant work considers the realities and complexities of earning a physics degree with psychiatric disabilities, explores the impact of student experiences on physics identity, sense of belonging, and perception of and relationship with physics, and calls for structural and cultural changes to physics programs to better support physics students with psychiatric disabilities.