You are soooo not the only one. Everyone has days, or even months, like this. You can do this! Is your supervisor supportive?Hi all. I've seen a few other people on here mention they are doing PhDs so thought I would have an anonymous moan to people in the same boat. I'm finding everything so tough right now and everything I write is awful but I'm getting soo behind. Spent all day today on the couch after having a breakdown at 9am at my computer. I feel crap and pathetic and exhausted. Please say I'm not the only one who gets days like this
Thanks for your reply. Yes, my supervisor is very supportive, but I'm not really honest with them and I usually pretend everything is fine but I'm worried that its starting to show in my work that I'm not getting where I need to beYou are soooo not the only one. Everyone has days, or even months, like this. You can do this! Is your supervisor supportive?
I was like this. I told no one and managed to style it out and get by. Got PhD but ittook me an extra yr. To be fair I wouldn't change the fact it took me so long to complete but I wish I had suspended or taken a proper break of a few months instead of half heartedly getting by and feeling constant guilt.Thanks for your reply. Yes, my supervisor is very supportive, but I'm not really honest with them and I usually pretend everything is fine but I'm worried that its starting to show in my work that I'm not getting where I need to be
I did mine online because I had no proper research funds (just a uni studentship) and it was honestly fine, I don't think I would've learnt more from doing face to face or anything like that. What methods are you using? I did interviews on Teams if that reassures you at all! It's also quite handy because Teams has a built in record feature, and if you upload it into Microsoft Streams it also gives you a rough transcription immediately, so using online stuff does have its perks tooI’m worried about my methods as my recruitment and data collection are all online due to ‘Rona.
Sounds very similar to mine, I had a lot of theory and a lotttt of data. It was so daunting. Also in the medical sphere!Great tips @judgejohndeed
One of my supervisors says to write 500 words a day (some days more attainable than others) but it does help to write. Especially the methods, I’m constantly writing notes on my methods. More so now during Covid as the pandemic has changed my data collection and will form part of my reflexivity and positionality section.
My PhD is in medical sociology so it’s heavily theoretical as well as empirical. I really need to get on top of my references, I’ve let it slide as I find Endnote confusing
Yeah I do mine by hand 9 times out of 10. I just have a word document with my chapter headings and keep adding the references to it.Sounds very similar to mine, I had a lot of theory and a lotttt of data. It was so daunting. Also in the medical sphere!
They really push Endnote and the like but I hated it and in the end I just made an Excel spreadsheet, and did all my referencing manually. It's probably more stressful, but I felt like I trusted myself more than Endnote, which kept cocking up and then I had to correct it anyway.
I spent the first year and a half finalising my topic! I still don't know which direction some of my analyses will take and I'm going into my third year (of 3.5 years of funding) this summer.I’m so glad there’s a thread for this! I don’t know anyone else doing a phd and I kind of feel a bit isolated. I’m only in my first year but I’ve now got to the point where I feel I need to take some time out. I lost my grandfather a month ago and there’s been ongoing issues in my personal life. My supervisors have been amazingly supportive - I’ve been very open and honest about how bad my mental health has been. It’s now got to the point where I’m strongly considering taking a year out to secure myself financially and emotionally.
Did it take anyone else a lot longer than anticipated to develop their topic? It’s taken me until about a month ago to finally find a better direction to the one I had anticipated.
I really empathise, I absolutely hated this. It feels weirdly intimate giving up work for comment. If it helps, try to remember that you are not your work, they are just trying to help you fill in gaps now so that you don't fail your viva or end up with thousands of corrections. Also though, remember it is your work and if you really strongly disagree with something that is a judgement call, don't do it. At the end of the day you have to defend this, not them!I find I'm rubbish at dealing with feedback, looking at the comments and amendments on drafts of my chapters fills me with dread and makes me feel worthless.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?