If you don't have trouble writing generally, would it help to write as if you were explaining your research on a forum somewhere or writing an email to a colleague? You could get the ideas down in this way and then revise the style later if it needs to be more academic.

I felt like that for the longest time, it was awful. How much have you written so far and how much is left to do? If you don't finish in 4 years are you sure there's no possibility of getting more time? I know they're clamping down on people taking too long but it's better for your institution to have you finish in a little over 4 years than to fail. If it's not possible to have more time, could you formally suspend your studies for a few months and come back to pick up the remaining time later? You could be working on the thesis all the while.

Have you tried doing other things, besides writing, to help break through the mental block? I found breaking down my argument into a list of steps helped me organise my thoughts and see the bigger picture. Also talking to a voice recorder was easier than staring at a screen.

Couldn't agree more, Marasp. Well put. I've had the selfish label thrown at me by my sister before and it's pretty upsetting - and self-righteous - although at least she was open. Silent judgements from friends and family can be just as damaging.

Great topic. Childfree, yes. Happily, yes, for the most part. Relationships have come and gone and time has passed and here I am! The downsides - social isolation from most of peer group, and people thinking you're a bit "strange" - are not good reasons to have children. Fortunately I have quite a few friends in the same position, and I have this mad notion that life is full of possibilities and just don’t see kids as part of that. Although sometimes I do wonder "what if", I'll admit.

Know that everyone goes through the same stage, and break the writing into very tiny chunks so that you can tick things off your to-do list. It's hard, the sustained effort and the reward a long way off, but you know you'll do it so try to stop torturing yourself.

I love your response, wowzers. I’m more of a Penny as well :-)

I recently started a job and was introduced to everyone as a PhD student and it did no favours - initially my colleagues thought that I thought I was cleverer than them, and now that they’ve realised I’m not I think they feel superior, haha (“she didn’t even know the answer to x!”).

In general though I’ve found that telling people I’m “a researcher at the university” tends to get a more neutral response and we can move on to talk about something else.

I would strongly recommend the Society for Editors and Proofreaders if you want "tried and tested" and "professional". This is the professional body for proofreaders and editors in the UK and filters out a lot of the people who think "I can spot typos" and set themselves up as proofreaders with little or no proper training. You can search the SfEP directory here:

I had almost exactly the same experience and it can feel pretty soul-destroying. Take a break and some deep breaths, go back to the comments in a couple of days and make a list of what needs to be done. It might not feel like it just now but the perseverance that brought you this far will keep you going a while longer and it's better to iron out these issues now than have them crop up in the viva.

I was equally surprised and confused by some negative feedback from my supervisor at a late stage when I had worked hard and thought I was on the right track, but in retrospect I can see that the thesis is so much better as a result. Also when I saw my sup face-to-face shortly after this - I'd even been questioning whether I was "good enough" to continue the PhD - I realised that she was generally happy with the quality of the thesis and I'd taken her comments much more negatively than she'd intended.

Good luck at the doctor's and be honest about how you've been feeling. Let us know how you get on.

It’s very common to feel depressed and/or isolated during your PhD, just have a look at some of the threads on here. It’s absolutely not some kind of personal failure. You’re under extra pressure being an international student and your university hasn’t provided appropriate support, so no wonder you’re feeling like this! Some observations/suggestions:

- You won’t be the first or the last student to cause a blip in the department’s statistics and there are FAR more important things in life. It’s a shame your supervisor doesn’t seem to realise this.
- If the university doesn’t have an appropriate counselling service, can you try your doctor? It's always good to get advice and another perspective.
- If going home turns out not to be an option, could a friend or family member come and visit you for a while?
- Stop depriving yourself of entertainment and nice things, it’s not doing you any good. Treat yourself to something that will make you feel better even if just in the short term.
- Keep talking to your roommate, she sounds very kind.

I have been in the place you describe and it’s very difficult place to be. It will get better but you’ll need to find the strength to take some action.

First get yourself to a doctor and see what their advice is - and take it. You could also take yourself to your university’s counselling service if it has one and explain your situation. I am sure that their advice will be that you need to prioritise your own welfare over everything else. If it's possible for you to suspend your studies for a while (I think most UK institutions allow this) then that might be a good solution for you. You can then go to your supervisor with a plan and with the backing of your GP/counsellor. If she thinks badly of you for being depressed then that’s her issue and it’s completely unacceptable - but she might not react in the way you think, especially if she sees that you recognise the problem and are doing something about it.

Would careful use of correction fluid or a Tipp-Ex strip not do the job?

Most of us have been or will be in your position, grizzle, juggling corrections with earning money and family and other commitments once our studentships have run out. It's really hard and it costs us all.

Yes, supervisors have a duty, but students also have a duty to do what they can to succeed - it's your PhD at the end of the day. I know of a number of students who have been in your position and found help from other academics, with or without their supervisor's approval.

I find it surprising that you had just one supervisor - I think many institutions' policy is to have two, for a number of reasons including sabbaticals.

I agree with Eska. I doubt Elflick cares about being cool or is expecting special treatment because she has PhD (?) It often takes time to get a decent postdoc, so why not spend it travelling if you can afford it? Time out at the end of all that work sounds like a great idea.

I don’t have Charmaz’s book to hand and didn't explain myself very well. If you’ve read it several times you’ll have a much better understanding than me and her approach was something I drew on rather than followed to the letter. My reading was that theoretical coding is about looking for relationships between the categories, coding families help to identify the relationships, and the overall goal is refinement and analytic sense.