Although there generally is a higher incidence of depression amongst PhD students, like with any 'career choice' which is high pressured and demanding, I really wouldn't start worrying about personally experiencing depression whilst doing a PhD. We're all different people, each with our own 'baggage', and this is what makes a PhD such a personal journey and all relative. I've had my ups and downs with my own PhD, a combination of life circumstances at the time coupled with the demands of doing a PhD.
If you're passionate about research and your subject, plus a capable student (you must be to be offered the opportunity!), I don't think you'll have any serious problems. Oh, and the quality of supervision, work and family commitments can all be confounding factors - as can personal resolve and stamina. You'll rarely, if ever, work 12 hours a day for 7 days a week - maybe just a bit at write up. I think those contented, smiley faces of the PhD students in your department should go some way to reassuring you. Good luck with it all!

Like Ady, I had most of my data collection done by the third year. I'd made really good progress, but I think I came a bit unstuck when I tired to get two papers in publication during write up - one systematic literature review and a research paper. It knocked my progress back and I did experience a bit of burn out. If I'd have left the papers till after, I would have finished within 3 years. However, it did generally go like clock work and there's not really anything I would change.

I may try and catch it on 4od, when I've finished with all the documentaries. TBH, it sounds absolutely crap and not at all reflective of what it was like back at university when I was a young un. I spent most of my time lost and sitting in the wrong lecture theatres wondering when the lecturer was going to start talking about pharmacology.

Similar to how universities are considering shorter degree courses (by removing holiday periods), plans are under way for the introduction of a shorter PhD course. I was pretty surprised to hear this and personally I don't know how you can get 3 years of research done and write up within the space of 2 years. If only I was starting my PhD course around 2013! :-s

http://tiny.cc/1vaur

Hi Keenbean, it was really like that for me as well (and I'm a bloke!) - I'm so glad this forum is anonymous. I think a PhD really is an emotional roller coaster at times. I remember the highs of presenting at conferences, getting my papers accepted and receiving praise from my supervisors. But I also remember the all of the lows, which I'm quite embarrassed to think about (this forum really, really helped me with those). It's strange in a way, because as protracted as it seems now, it ends so quickly, you get through your viva and then you feel sort of numb. So, there's really nothing different about how you're feel at the moment and I think most people on this forum go through the same thing.

It has your university insignia, you name, what you've been awarded (so Dr of Philosophy) and then the year. There's one on this page from the University of Oxford for someone called Dr Ron: http://www.dr-ronlaura.com/about.html

An excellent post by Badhaircut there :-) I know exactly how you feel. I've been there before (after my first degree) and I'm sort of where you are now. Like you, I'm doing corrections and searching for work. I've had one interview (which I'm waiting to hear from) and have another two potentially lined up. We have joined the ranks of post-graduates in the UK who struggle to find work on completion. There are specialist recruitment agencies for PhD grads if you search around on the net, and Vitae have an excellent careers section for PhD graduates that you might want to check out. I'm glad you that you recognise exactly why you would be valuable employee, with skills far in advance of graduates, and you need to market this in your CV if you're looking for a non-academic career. Employers are starting to recognise the value of PhD graduates. Things are a bit crazy with universities at the moment (particularly with the cuts), if you want an academic career, but I think (ever the optimist) that things will settle down over time. Never see your PhD as a waste; it's a qualification that only a fraction of the population have and it can help differentiate you from all those thousands of graduates out there with their firsts, 2.1s and Masters. I would recommend that you see you ex-uni's careers service to see how they can help. And don't forget, that for job interviews that are far away and expensive to get to, your jobcentre can meet your travel costs (even pay for you a suit (though it's usually by the famous designer George of Asda) and provide you with money to cover your costs until you get your first wage).
Try not to feel too down about your situation, and if you're feeling suicidal then please seek help. You might think there's no light at the end of the tunnel, but this time next month you really could be in a job that you enjoy and suits your skills. Even if you have to take a call centre job to make ends meet, you can still search for your ideal job in the interim and then take a sick day off to go to the interview. Like with originally gaining your PhD, if there's something you really, really want, then you can make it happen.
:-)

Well, I just checked mine on the off-chance that it might have been reviewed by now...nope. Meh.

Generally, what I've found is that if a paper is likely to be accepted by a journal (with/without corrections), it can take a lot longer than advertised for you to hear about it. I have a paper at the moment, and it's taking ages because I have to wait for them to find 2 peer reviewers and then for these reviewers to actually provide feedback.

Hi Keenbean, sorry to hear that you're feeling a bit rubbish about work at the moment. It's a difficult business writing papers for publication, more so when your supervisor happens to be very well published and to have extremely high expectations of you. Just remember that you're an apprentice, learning the whole process of research. You already have papers published and this speaks volumes about your ability - you have the capacity. I can't see why your supervisor is going to be really disappointed with you. It might seem like you are making lots of mistakes (I did, with my first paper), but if it's something you've never really done before then it's bound to happen while you find your feet. All you can do is look at the feedback she gives you and take from there, build on it. For one paper that I wrote, and I had no idea how to do it, I looked at the styles of papers that were similar to my subject area and tried to emulate their format. It proved to be a successful way of learning how to write the paper in the end. I remember feeling just like you do now, drowning in constructive criticism and believing that it was a bad reflection of my abilities - but really it was just to help me learn how to improve and I did - just like you will/are.
Be careful with how much you drink and the reasons for it. I have personal experience of people who have used alcohol to deal with stress and pressure and know exactly what it can do - it can be a dangerous path to tread (sorry if that makes me sound like a patronising nanny). Best wishes.:-)

Well done, Fredsmith. I can relate to how you must have felt and know how good it feels to finally submit - enjoy the feeling.:-)

Mediators? Mediatory?

Many congratulations, Dr. Littlemissworry!

I can only really echo what the some of the other posters have said. From my limited experience of lecturing to first and second years, they only really want to get one thing out of lectures: the answers to the exam questions. Essentially, if something is not in the exam, they don't want to know. And I'm not levelling that at young students, as I've also had similar experiences with some mature students. I got told to not take things personally by other, established members of my department. After all, as has already been said, a lot of students expect to be spoon-fed, like many of them were doing their A Levels and GCSEs. They should be reminded that they are reading for a degree, and are moving from being dependent learners to independent learners. How much individual support and attention can they expect when you have to teach 90 of them at the same time? I can understand your frustration.

You can do it, Sneaks! You're on the last leg of the marathon.