Part of my (social science) phd is an analysis of the development of an instituion - which means mentioning a host of people who where instrumental in setting it up (e.g board of directors, steering groups, executive directors, etc, etc). my supervisor suggested that i should include biographical details of the various people involved in the main body of the text - but as I've struggled and failed to make any insightful comments on these people it seems a bit pointless having a chapter filled with endless biographies even though these are key people. i was just wanting to put everyone's biographies in an appendix...anybody else had/ having similar experience? What did you do? Thanks!

In the meantime, would you consider taking a, relatively, unstressful job (e.g. working in a shop)that would provide you with some money to keep you afloat and would also be less isolating than the PhD experience? Knowing that you can always return to the PhD at a later date might give you the space to enjoy the work - knowing that it won't be forever - and also help to pay your rent.

From your post, it sounds like returning to the PhD, in the near future, might not be the best option in terms of your long-term mental health. However, if you're funded, it might be worth finding out what's the longest period that you can take a suspension from studies before losing the funding.

What I got from it was the reminder that - after 3 years of thinking around one subject - on an unconscious level you know what you need/ want to write and have to find the space and trust to let that emerge onto the page - trusting that you don't need to force it but that it will arrive. A reminder, I suppose, that all the diversions - whether its this forum, horoscopes or endless tea-making - are part of the work of 'cooking' the words! Or maybe I've just reinterpreted the article to justify my endless and, unlike you, non-productive procrastinations

I came accross one article which was about the possible reasons for the ambivalent feelings that might surface towards the completion of a PhD - mainly, I suppose, to do with fears about the future and having to let go of this strange, all-consuming and utterly self-absorbing and privildeged PhD process. The article I referenced was about the psychological/ emotional blocks to writing - with some wonderful quotes from writers such as Virginia Woolf, Dylan Thomas and Ted Hughes.

Thank you for your replies, Olivia and Smilodon. After following your google search suggestion, Olivia, I found a useful and inspiring article written from a social scientific/ pyschoanalytic/ literary perspective - Smith, M. (2004)'Killing the Angel in a Room of One's Own. Being as Unconscious as Possible When Writing up Qualitative Research'- I shall try out the article's methods and report back if the longed-for writing flood-gates open!

I've got 2 months left of my funded phd, have got a fair amount of my thesis near-ish to completion and am intending, supported by my supervisor, to submit fairly near to the end-of-funding deadline. I had imagined that, at this stage, I would be utterly immersed and intensely focussed on writing. But I'm not. I'm still procrastinating like mad and getting work done in deeply uninspired -and uninspiring - dribs and drabs, not working particularly long hours and find I can very easily switch off from the PhD (though I am still engaged by my topic). I feel I should, and want and have the opportunity now to be completely immersed in writing but I'm not. Is/ has anyone else experiencing/ experienced this at the final 'writing-up' stage?