Hey all! I am guilty of signing up to this thread and then never actually got going on it, but am going to start now! My deadline is September, and I have a lot of writing to do! I still have 3 empirical papers to write and my intro and discussion, but I am completely through with testing and entering data so am hoping to submit on time. My sup wants all 3 empirical papers submitted for publication by May (big gulp) so that hopefully by the time I get to my viva (prob December) they will have been accepted or at least we'll have feedback on them from reviewers that will be helpful. Am more than a little unconvinced they will be accepted by then because my last 4 papers have all been 'revise and re-submits', although 3 have now been accepted and should hear about the 4th one soon. So I will be glad just to have feedback on them! Am jealous of all those folk who are nearer the finish line than me!

Hope you're managing okay with the bipolar Pink, mine has been a little ill-behaved over the last few weeks, mainly due to changes in medication and that particular row with my sup and following mayhem on here! Not good for my head!

Best all, KB

Hi everyone.

Had a few days off because spss was getting me down. But today I had another go at an analysis chapter and I managed to get my 500 words done!!!
First time in ages.

Let's hope I can do the same tomorrow and for the rest of the week. (up)

Thanks Dunni, that really helps. I *know* with the rational part of my brain that I will actually finish, and that I can't be that far away, but the other, currently panicky, part of my brain is in total fear that I will never finish.

I cant believe that your 3rd sup hasn't gotten back to you yet! Hope the wait is not too much longer!

Good job patience on having a break, and coming back and getting 500 words down. Sometimes a few days away can have a massive impact on the process.

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been around for few days. I really had to take some time out as the writing was getting to me. I took 2.5 days off, with nothing but chilling. It's also given me the time to accept that I am going through the depressive stage of my bipolar. I just need to not expect so much output as before.

KeanBean - thank you for your support on the bipolar. Sorry to hear that your meds are playing up... no one can blame you for being up and down with all you've had to deal with in the last few weeks! I am not medicated, which drives my GP crazy. My thought was that I had enough to deal with my own head, without medication 'playing up' my head also!

My dilemma now though is whether to carry on for another 4 months dispite the depression, or to take a break. The thought of adding another three months to my PhD kills me though.

Dunni - I can't believe your 3rd sup hasn't read your thesis either! Do you think your 3rd sup would be able to add much more to the thesis? Is it really worth waiting for someone like that?

fm - I know exactly how you feel, I am at that stage too, not knowing how these rough chapters are going to go toether into one big thesis. I think Dunni's advice is really helpful though, and I am going to start keeping a list of tasks that I need to get done to turn them into a thesis!

Hi Pink

good to hear from you :-)

I have relatives in my husband's family who are bi-polar so I have a sense of how tough it is, though I imagine unless you have been through it yourself, people don't fully understand. I have seen what two of my sisters in law and a brother in law have gone through over the years and it is hard, and they weren't doing a PhD. Don't do anything hasty but just try to hang on in there. We are all behind here in this thread and on the forum in general. Hopefully your supvs are supportive as well.

Take things easy

A:-)

Hey Ady, thank you for your support, I really appriciate it :)

I can't really do the 'woe is me doing a PhD with bipolar' because it was my choice to do a PhD (allbeit I didn't know about the bipolar when I started). No one forced me to do the PhD. It is frustrating though, as things were going so well with the thesis. I just want a break from bipolar, just enough to finish this darn work!

I will stick with it for the moment. Maybe not be so hard onlyself, and go from the 2000 words per day target to 1000 or even 500. On the other hand, I am scared that I am not going to get everything done on time.

http://3monththesis.com/top-10-tips-for-fast-thesis-writing/
some of these might help and other pages on the website.
good luck

Hey Pink, I know what you mean about just needing a break from it, the whole thing can just be so tiresome. You're really brave trying to manage it without meds...after 9 hospitalisations and lots of ECT and dozens of meds, I can't imagine trying to manage it without. I only stopped being hospitalised a few years ago when we found a medication that worked, although sometimes I wonder whether they are doing more damage than good to be honest. I will have to come off my meds to have children ina few years and that thought terrifies me... have you ever been on meds? Anyway, you are right- just do your best and don't give yourself a hard time right now. If you are managing to get up each day and just do a little bit on your thesis then you're doing grand- don't put too much pressure on yourself. Best, KB

Sacha - thank you for the link, but I can't seem to get to the page... would you awfully mind double checking the URL for me please?

KeanBean - I don't know going without meds is a brave or a foolish thing!! I've lost my car license because I won't take meds. I've never been on meds... I've always felt that, for me personally, it was better to learn to deal with the symptoms than to medicate it. I realise this is very unpopular view, and I certainly have nothing against people that find medication helpful and I'm very glad to hear that you have found that suits you :)
With regards to having to come off the meds, have you tried giving up sugar? I've found this has helped me tons in evening out my moods. Obviously, I still get the ups and downs (clearly!) but I find the highs aren't as high and the lows aren't as low. Hubby says I'm like a different person in how I react to 'situations'. I seriously suffered from giving up chocolate, but I've now found that small piece of dark choc is ok once in a while *phew*!

Hi Pink
It works for me but if you go to
http://3monththesis.com/
and type Fast Thesis in the search (top right) it's the last one on the list (or was for me ) it's called Top 10 tips for fast thesis writing.

thank you Sacha, managed to get it! the website is a good reading, thank you for taking your time out to get back to me about the link (up)

Pink, Well I reckon it's pretty damn brave! I think for me it's not a possiblity, as without meds I just can't get by in the real world. I have spent so much time in hospital and come so close to losing my life that I can't ever really see me managing for long without meds, even if I could get off them. I have tried a couple of times to come off them but both times ended up back in hospital, and at the moment I am not prepared to rock the boat whilst I write up my PhD. But I do admire your decision to try to learn to deal with it without- that takes guts! Bummer about your driving licence- I lost mine temporarily a few years ago cos the meds they put me on gave me seizures, and it was a pain in the bum losing my freedom like that. Luckily I have it back now, though I have to keep going through medical checks to make sure I'm fit to drive.

Sugar...now that's an interesting one, I'm a bit of a sugar junkie! And giving it up sounds like a nightmare, but I'm sure my health would benefit in many ways! I will give it some thought....

Best, KB

hi girls (do we still have the one man or are we back to all girls again?) how is everyone getting on this week? what are you guys writing?

This week I've decided to write a new chapter reporting on a pilot study that I did. I wasn't going to put this in, but I think it will justify a lot about why I did the things the way I did. So lots of video transcription and dipping my toes into qualitative stuff, which I'm not quite familar with!! I'm giving the chapter whole of this week and see where we are on sunday evening before deciding to put it in or leave it out. Seems like a bit risk to spend a whole week this close to the deadline!!

I also just watched this programme - it's both very inspirational for us PhD students, and also makes you feel better about any run ins you've ever had with your supervisor (with perhaps the exception of keanbean....) because her supervisor was a world class jack a**!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ry9jq/Beautiful_Minds_Jocelyn_Bell_Burnell/

It looks like a good series, can't wait for the next one.

KeanBean - please don't think that I was saying you should come off the meds, I don't! I think it's really good that you found a way to cope. Finding a coping mechanism is all that matters. I only suggested the sugar thing because I know you may have to come off the meds later. I do sometime wonder if life would be easier if I went on the meds!

Tusco was the lone male but he hasn't been around so it's pretty much an all girls thread!

Pink, I wrote my pilot up for publication (it's not published yet but fingers and all ten toes crossed that it might be one day!). I have a few references for pilot if you want them. There's actually very little written about the qualitative pilot so I really had to hunt for them. I can put the refs here if you're interested or email you the pdfs if you prefer but no worries if not.

A

Thank you so much Ady, you are so kind! I have PMed you :)