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#DiggingWhileDepressed: A Call for Mental Health Awareness in Archaeology

Fitzpatrick, Alexandra L.
Publication Date
2019-09
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Keywords
Depression, Archaeology, Mental Wellbeing
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(c) 2019 The Author.
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Yes
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openAccess
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Life Sciences Publications
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Abstract
During the excavation season in 2018, I experienced a depressive episode on site and struggled to maintain productivity with the rest of my team. I felt like I wasn't a "real" archaeologist, and turned to Twitter to vent about my situation using the hashtag #DiggingWhileDepressed. To my surprise, others used the hashtag to express their own feelings about mental wellness (or lack thereof) in archaeology. Now that discussion has started, this paper will propose the next steps for our discipline to tackle this pertinent issue. By challenging the toxic masculinity and ableism inherent in the way we view archaeological labour, I will posit tangible ways in which we, as archaeologists, can support each other on and off the field.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10454/19019
Version
Accepted manuscript
Citation
Fitzpatrick AL (2019) #DiggingWhileDepressed: A Call for Mental Health Awareness in Archaeology. Public Archaeology Twitter Conference. PATC3.
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Conference paper
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