thanks for the compliment. :-) am to enjoy my free time now.

oh no... i can't work without glasses! maybe you should take it easy and renew your energy levels before the glasses come. am doing some neck exercises while watching tv and typing. lol. talk about multitasking..

all the best Sneaks!

thanks everyone.. sorry some of you have been through this terrible pain. your suggestions are really good. walminski and sue -i think this is stress related. am looking into neck exercises. i would love to go to the gym, but funds are low.:-( @aloha - what do chiropractors do? (i know i could google but am tired of doing research. lol.) what exercises did they tell you to do? @sneaks - your methods sound really good. a copy holder is something i must get. that will also help my eyes. am tired of squinting. i do a lot of walking. maybe i could dance a bit. any neck moves?8-) am definitely getting a heat cushion, then deep heat if that doesn't work. my pillows are low budget and are definitely part of the problem! will buy new ones in the weekend.

thanks again people. will let you know how i get on with each suggestion.:-)

freedom!!!!! i've submitted anyway.. because of overwhelming neck pain. i didn't finish the footnotes, but i told myself it was decent enough to go.

have a productive day Sneaks and everyone else..

yesterday i managed to read only 2 chapters. today i have to hand in, so i need to proofread the other 3, but i have to finish some footnotes. therefore i'll prioritise the footnotes because i have read this work before and thought it was ok.. :-(.

I will do that as follows:

11.45am -12.45pm - complete footnotes in Ch.5
12.45pm - 1.45pm - correct numbering in Ch. 3 and that section in Ch.4
1.45pm - 2pm - copy and paste Ch. 6 onto thesis and email supervisor.

2pm - freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!8-) although I'll be working on other things, they're not as STRESSFUL as this PhD. am taking two weeks off writing up. i'll only do some reading.. other non-phd stuff and possibly mindmapping for the remaining 2 chapters when i feel so guilty. lol. am so happy.. but not yet. have to make it happen now.

Hello everyone,

Hope you're all well. I'm just a bit concerned by the fact that my neck has been aching a lot lately and i mean A LOT! Sometimes I just have to stop working to deal with it. A couple of friends reckon its stress, some have mentioned that these symptoms could lead to hysteria! The interesting this is that when am doing other stressful activities such as mundane jobs, my neck doesn't ache. But when I start thinking about writing up, it all begins again. I have considered jogging to let off steam but decided against it because I get so tired after jogging that am unable to work on my thesis.

Is anyone experiencing this kind of pain or aware of someone who has experienced it? Is it something serious that could lead to high blood pressure or a nervous breakdown? I'm not about to die for my PhD as much as am passionate about my research! There's more to life... like being a suburban housewife and avoiding neck pain when reading journals and writing papers.

Your thoughts?

today's plan. to proofread my entire thesis so far - 5 chapters and submit to my supervisor by three o'clock.

1 chapter an hour.

9.30 am - 11.30 am - Ch. 5
11.30am - 12.30pm - Ch. 4
1pm - 2pm -Ch.1 &2
2pm -3pm - Ch. 3

3pm - email it to sup. rush off to office and print a copy for proofreading.

Hey guys,

I feel like i've talked about so many things in my thesis and now I have to mention them all in my discussion chapter. I feel like the 10000 words available is just not enough!

Has anyone experienced this kind of thing?

Is it wrong to ask my supervisor for help on structure at this point?

Sue - are you only comparing in your last chapter or discussing frameworks as well? Am considering going it alone and just spending a week structuring the chapter before I start writing again. Perhaps I need to read more as well :-( to connect the concepts better?

Please advise.

you just described how i feel. only difference is i last saw my supervisor in May!

keep calm and try to work out a structure.. i keep saying to myself, keep calm.. and that helps maintain my sanity. in my case its because i promised to hand in a complete thesis.. am planning to do so on Monday and nothing is working!!!

but anyway.. keep calm..

we'll be fine..:-)

i for one did it for the title.

am not about to spend the rest of my life being called MRS!

now that's my reason. hate it or love it!

[quote]Quote From cleverclogs:

In our office of five phd students, two of them openly and proudly admitted they were just there "because i want to be called a doctor"

This is so pathetic. Beyond pathetic. The very thought that someone could be motivated to do something for 4 years for a reason so selfish, ignoble and ignorant makes me quite angry.

congratulations Heifer!

thanks guys, reading your posts brought tears to my eyes.. :$

i definitely feel better. :-)

its great that am not the only one who has to deal with this sort of thing all the time. it just disappoints me that they can't see how hard am trying. but then at my age i wonder why i allow pressure from them to affect me. it also astounds me how i can loose all faith in them at the slightest provocation, particularly when it comes to making nasty comments on my phd.

hugs to everyone. :-)

we'll get through this together. (up)

sometimes family can be so unsupportive.

i was just speaking to my mum when she asked when i was finishing ' that thing am writing.' i said feb. she went like: 'i thought you were finishing this month?!' i always tell her the next month because they just don't get how hard it is and keep nagging. fair enough i've done 4 years and am onto my fifth aiming for 4.5 does not mean am inadequate.

i feel so low.. somebody lift me up.

i know this is not meant to get me down and am supposed to understand she's not that educated and only means well, but.. am only human. it doesn't help that am relying on them for finances in the final writing up stages, which i plan to pay back when i start working.

i feel like they really regret having me in the first place. :-( probably extreme, but that is just how i feel.. and sadly, i feel like that at 27.:-(

ok.. i've got it off my chest now.:-)

in my case i just decided i wanted my life back in 2010. so i set a date to submit by December 2009 and as i went along i have revised it to February because more needs to be done to improve the draft. mind you i had to start my thesis again from the start after my third year due to supervisory issues. it has taken me just over a year to do everything again - literature review methodology etc. after getting the basics which i now have, i think it will take three months to improve my argument.

i would say three months since you already have something written down and then extend if you can't meet it. the decision has to come from you based on how long you want to be a phd student. in my opinion, you need to be more independent. you know how long you need to write what you need to write - assuming there were no obstacles. just take some time and make a time table and get on with it. the harsh reality is that no one cares how long you remain a phd student, your supervisor included. only you care. so you might as well be your own boss. decide your fate and go for it!

all the best.