Glowworm and Docinsanity, thank you so much for your helpful responses!!! I have never heard of imposter syndrome but reading about the 'symptoms' felt like a revelation. Like OMG I am not absolutely insane for feeling that way, there is actually an explanation for it and even more important I am not alone!!!

Also, reading my initial post also showed me how emotional some of my worries. I just need to create a bit of a distance to my feelings of being a failure. Fact is I am giving it my best. However, I will seek to speak to my supervisor about getting a second opinion. She really is not a specialist in that particular theory I study and it would help to get a second pair of eyes looking at my work.

Glowworm, how did you overcome your imposter syndrome? And what do you think caused it in the first place?

Thank you,
Leylani (and yes, I am a woman :) )

Hi all,

I'm at the end of the second year of my PhD and am seriously stressed about my PhD and even considering quitting.

I have now been studying for two years and got excellent feedback on my research proposals and passed all assignments with distinction so far. But I seriously doubt that what I have so far produced if of any value let alone what I am proposing with my research is actually correct. My supervisor pushed me to do my research project with a theory of a discipline I don't really understand. So I've tried my best to come up with hypotheses etc and they all "sound" good from a non-expert perspective but to be honest what I have created wouldn't stand the test of an expert. The problem is that my supervisor doesn't really have a clue herself and just keeps saying that it all sounds "interesting and good" so I should just "keep going". I am really stuck with my literature review and conceptual framework and am now about to start my field research knowing this is all not sound what I have produced. I feel like throwing the towel cause I am so worried this is all gonna get really bad once I have "real" experts in my viva. I only have this one supervisor and she doesn't want me to speak to someone else. She also rarely has time to meet me and I feel embarrassed to explain how I feel cause for the last two years I have done exactly what she said to keep going.

What should I do??? I feel like an idiot that gets all positive feedback and compliments without deserving it. I feel that anytime soon someone will expose that I'm no good at this and question what I have been up to for the last two years...

Please help.