I think the whole area can be really confusing e.g. in the UK 'MD' is a PhD-type qualification for medical doctors, and surgeons are called Mr, even though they are medical doctors. Misunderstanding is almost inevitable.

I would suggest working along the lines suggested by Doodles: "It's a bit of a stretch but can you work on it into one of your hypotheses?" After four years most people would be thinking in a pretty linear fashion, so maybe take a break from it for a few days, and come back to it with a fresh mind ready to see things in a new perspective. No doubt you have already tried something like this, but if all else has failed it might be worth trying it again, possibly with the help of a couple of specific strategies e.g. Tony Buzan's 'po'. Might sound far fetched, but could be worth a try.

There are some good suggestions on a previous post on this topic http://www.postgraduateforum.com/thread-26896/

Follow the advice of your main supervisor. Try to be patient.

jobs.ac.uk and also look at the 'vacancies' page of hospitals or universities that are likely to have jobs of the kind you want.

I think we can all relate to this one :)

It sounds like they are saying that in an ideal world they would have liked 5-6 studies. However you have been ill due to stress, so they have had to revise down from an ideal scenario. Four studies sounds ok to me, though 5 or 6 would be better.

Become a lecturer, or a chartered hands-on (no pun intended) physiotherapist rather than a researcher?

With respect, the best person to answer this question is your supervisor.

You might not want to hear this, but withdrawing your paper is only going to reinforce your anxiety problem. Wowsers & Hazy Jane and Pjlu make good suggestions and unless you want your problem to continue, you should take some of the advice you asked for.

It sounds like your RA was happy to keep working with you, but that isn't possible now because of the lack of funding. Perhaps he didn't want to tell you straight out, because (a) he thought hoped to find another source of funding, or (b) he didn't want you getting stressed about it before your exams?

Lots of people work their way through their PhD. Have you considered suggesting to your RA that you do this, and asking whether he can help you find something e.g. some teaching or paid research work? Not ideal, but better than nothing.

I think wowsers & Hazy Jane make good suggestions. I would add that techniques of 'cognitive rehearsal' or 'positive visualisation' that are done in CBT or hypnotherapy can be very effective.

I tried to get my university to deal with this issue about 5 years ago. They told me back that there was no way that they could afford to help with childcare. If I asked them now - during our recession - I doubt that they would be able to offer anything more than they could before. Pretty hard to balance having a proper life and doing a PhD :(

If you are happy with Mendeley then stick with it. Imo of all the reference managers I have used Zotero is the most user friendly http://www.zotero.org/

Yes, looking up references is a very good idea.