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Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:33 am  |
Help 
I spent the first year doing nothing and now I'm in a state....I have soooo much work to do, it's awful.
And it's not just the quantity of work....it's the expectations that my Supervisor's think I can produce a work of art...but I can't! My degree was soooo easy compared the demands of the PhD....it's a real nightmare 
I know some of you guys have done PhD's and was wondering if the experience was just as horrible for you as well? |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:15 am |
| I think it's always stressful no matter what level. Deep breaths and get to work naughty Yazzy |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:40 am |
...I'm in the last 4 months of my degree and trying to get my research project up and running for my dissertation. The stress from my first year is like nothing compared to this, so I can imagine what a PhD is like!
What are you doing it in? My degree is social sciences with an emphasis on the social construction of learning difficulties and social exclusion (hence the odd political aside that occasionally lands me in hot water!  )
Be interesting to hear what others are studying as well ...Maybe we can offer some moral support  |
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my new jewellery website:www.gentle-medusa.com |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:55 am |
Liz I am not studying for anything but you know you have my full moral support. Hope all is looking better this week  |
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50, happy reluma user started 16.6.12 original formula. PMD user. started LouLou's ageless regime. |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:39 am |
Yazzy,
No PhD for my, but all my courses are kicking my ass this semester. Don't get accounting...Math is just hard...and statistics is a pain in the ass, but at least it's open book.
Everytime I go to do accounting I end up having a crying fit for about half an hour....I don't know why, but it just hasn't clicked for me yet. |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:48 am |
| I think studying is like child birth....you can't put the pain off, you just have to go through it. Then, there's the memory loss, which makes you forget exactly how traumatic the experience is and you register for another course |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 12:30 pm |
| LOL at that! does that mean that pacing yourself with the reading is a bit like going to yoga classes...it makes that final push easier when the time comes? If so, I am in for one hell of a long and painful labour! |
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my new jewellery website:www.gentle-medusa.com |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 12:45 pm |
Yes that sounds about right....but the problem is that I one of those women that didn't even realise that they were pregnant until half-way through their pregnancy  |
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Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:03 pm |
hee hee...girl on my course, last summer I thought wow her boobs look good, this term she brings a baby in! she was 5 1/2 months pregnant before she found out and gave birth early in the summer hols To her it was like being preggers for 10 weeks!
And before you ask, no...she is pretty slender! |
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my new jewellery website:www.gentle-medusa.com |
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Mabsy
Moderator
 
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 9644
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Sat Jan 29, 2005 6:20 pm |
Yazzy,
It's very easy to fall into a trap of not doing much when it comes to the PhD. There isn't much structure, not many deadlines (except for conferences etc) and if you are finding something difficult you tend to lose motivation and tell yourself that you'll solve it tomorrow .... and then we all know what happens - tomorrow becomes six months from now. I think most people struggle with the differences bewteen what was expected of them in undergrad/honours and what is suddenly expected of them - not just in terms of amount of work but also in terms of levels of self-motivation and innovation of ideas.
I dare say that I think what you are feeling right now, most PhD students go through. Either because they have done no work due to motivation levels that dropped off, or because the work they have done simply lead them to a dead end and they have to back track. I think the levels of stress and feelings of helplessness are also impacted by the TYPE of supervisor you have and the relationship between you (and how well THEY remember THEIR time as a PhD student! ).
The bottom line is that you're not the only one who feels like this and you WILL get through it and produce the required work to get you past the line! Good luck with it! |
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Sat Jan 29, 2005 8:39 pm |
| Yazzy - I fully understand your feeling. The last 6 months in my PhD life was no life. But, I think you will find that student life is the most enjoyable and memorable. |
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Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:05 am |
Thanks for the support, guys. I think that I feel quite a bit of pressure at the moment. I know that a bit of pressure is a good kick up the back-side to get some work done....but I feel like there's way too much pressure at the moment.
The one good thing about my supervisor's is that they always meet up with me regularly . . .but they're just tooooo academic and their entire life is work....so I feel like such a Homer Simpson in front of them 
Plus....all this pressure has made me break out with spots |
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Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:06 pm |
Hi Yazzy
Oh dear, you are all stressed up and it's showing up in your skin. ( I can identify with that - mine is like a little land mine now - I am all stressed up due to my father's illness)
Coming back to your stress ...When the task is just so huge, it seems insurmountable and you just would not know where to start.
I suggest that you break it down into smaller modules. Once you get one module done, you feel like you are getting somewhere and you will feel like doing more and your stress gets down as well. What I am trying to get at is Getting into a Virtuous Cycle rather than a Vicious one.
One thing at a time, stay cool, 
Jenny |
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Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:19 am |
| Yazzy wrote: |
Help
I spent the first year doing nothing and now I'm in a state....I have soooo much work to do, it's awful.
And it's not just the quantity of work....it's the expectations that my Supervisor's think I can produce a work of art...but I can't! My degree was soooo easy compared the demands of the PhD....it's a real nightmare
I know some of you guys have done PhD's and was wondering if the experience was just as horrible for you as well? |
Hey yazzy,
i can totally symnpathise with you as i handed in my thesis in october of last year (and still waiting for my reports to come back, but that's another story).
you just need to sit back a bit from the panic and think about what you can realistically achieve in a day, then do the same the next day and so on. try not to think too 'big picture' about it, but think about all the little tasks that lead to the thesis being completed.
for me, i found it helpful to make a list of everything i had done (like how much i had done for each chapter and so on) so i could feel good about what i had achieved.
also, feeling as though you are not good enough to be doing a phd is really common. i always had a fear that one day someone would knock and my office door to say ' what are you doing here? you're far too dumb', this feeling of inferiority is really common, esp among women i've noticed.
i guess you just have to remember that the best phd thesis is a finished one - and there is such a wide variety of them too, i've seen some total SHOCKERS that made me feel really good about my work!
in terms of the future, i'd suggest you start seeing a counsellor at the university (we had them provided free) just to talk over some of the issues, they'll be familiar with univeristy procedures so you won't have to explain everything, but will also provide a neutral ear for you to rant into. or maybe you could round up other phds and have an informal support group. i had both of these things and found them INCREDIBLY important to my mental health.
you're not the only one to ever feel like this and you won't be the last either so just try and relax and not panic too much, that's not really that productive (however if you do need to panic try and set a limit on it, so like 'after 5pm i will not feel panic anymore' or something like that).
okay, this is very rambly as i know exactly where you're coming from. just don't be afraid to ask for help.
Kiwigirl. |
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agnjideva
New Member
Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 7
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Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:48 pm |
Hi Jazzy,
It might be a bit too late for my input, but I have just read your post and it rang so close to home I need to write something. I have recently managed to finish masters (PhD in future) and the stress you write about is still to clear in my mind, especially the meetings (or conferences) with supervisor. I am not sure if your program requires you to have additional committee members (mine does), but my lot always come prepared for a show off (verbal academy style, since I am an immigrant) and never forgot to patronize.
My solution: move back home (granted the parental stress increased, but the financial stress disappeared), got myself a naturopathic doctor, and requested a woman as an external reader.
Quite a few posted replies had good recommendation for that dreaded moment when you find your thesis well formed in your mind and somehow it does not show up on the paper (at least that was my impression reading them). And whether you use them, or find your own solution, I wish you all the good luck you need.
take care,
agnjideva |
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Fri Feb 11, 2005 2:26 pm |
 Well done all your girls for furthering your education and committing yourself to al this hell. Best of luck to all of you.
I dont envy any of you. I left school and went straight to work, didnt even go to college. I hated school. Its only when you get older you realise they were your best years, however I think the eighties, teens to 20 years, were the best. I have soo many happy, drunken memories.  |
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Mabsy
Moderator
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 9644
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Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:48 pm |
| Cindi wrote: |
| however I think the eighties, teens to 20 years, were the best. I have soo many happy, drunken memories. |
Well I can't speak for Kiwigirl but I have to say that after the ~10 years I spent at uni I *do* have plenty of happy drunken memories as well It's not all just work, although the last leg of a PhD sure *does* suck! |
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Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:58 pm |
yep, i second that! my 10 years of varsity are pretty much the same - loads of drinking and loads of work and stress!
(Dr. sorry i have to put that in) Kiwigirl! |
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