I been suffering depression. My PhD work has really declined in the past few months. I have a letter from my doctor to give to my supervisor.

I don't know if I should give it too him. It's not the sort of thing you'd tell your employer is it? And what is going to think I expect from it. He can hardly make my PhD easier. I'm just afraid he will expect less of me or give me less tasks to do, or think I'm not up to teaching.

I'm not sure what good will come of telling him?

Don't know exactly but I would certainly only tell him if you think he is going to be sensitive.

Other than that I hope you don't get so down that you HAVE to tell him.
Hope it works out.

I would do it. You could see about getting a retrospective absence from your PhD i.e. the university could mark down the last 3 months as you being off sick. Then you could take some time off right now as well, then come back in a month or so? Only if you think any of that would help obviously. What do you want to happen - what's your main concerns about it?

I mainly just want him to know I am not being lazy but I think it will open a whole can of worms :-(

I would tell him. If it has been affecting your work he needs to know. And then you need to work out a way forward.

A temporary leave of absence would be one option, to give you time to get some treatment (either counselling or medication, or both - what treatment are you getting?) and for it to take effect. For that, depending on your funding source, you may need medical evidence - like your letter.

And if your supervisor knows about it he can discuss with you what you think would help take your PhD forward, given the medical diagnosis.

I agree, you should tell your supervisor, and you should definitely give him the note from your doctor - it's evidence that supports you incase some idiot should think you're making it up (I know from experience that some people can be complete idiots when it comes to mental health problems). It's worth remembering that under the old Disability Discrimination Act (I haven't got up to date with the new equality one yet) that depression was considered to be a disability. Which it is. I've had trouble with depression since I was 17 including some really dark periods, and no amount of "Think happy thoughts", however well meant, can alleviate the effect it has on your ability to live your life on a day to day basis - you become dis-abled.

You said that you're worried about being given less work to do. Yes, that might be a concern with regards to your degree BUT you also need to give yourself (mind and body) the chance to get better.

Should you tell your supervisor? It's never easy telling someone you have depression, but I would suggest that you do. My supervisor can tell when things are going well for me, and yes, he does lessen my work slightly but I am grateful that he does because the stress of trying to get a load of work done when just getting up in the morning is a major task puts you in a downward spiral. Be fair to yourself. And it is also being fair to your supervisor - if he's decent bloke his concern will be for your health and the ways in which he can support you (re: workload) whilst you get yourself better.

I hope you feel better soon.

(sorry if this is a bit garbled - my depression has got a bit better since I've been home for Easter, but I have to go back to uni tomorrow and I really don't want to).

Sally,

You really do need to talk to your supervisor. I have had very difficult conversations with mine in the past (e.g. having to tell my ex-supervisor that I hated the topic and wanted to change supervisors), and I put it off for so long. They will be much more understanding than you expect. The worse bit is putting it off and making yourself stressed about it, which is only going to make you feel worse.

If you are worried about how to say it, then perhaps send an email prior to meeting up, saying that you have been having personal problems which you would like to discuss. At least this way they will be prepared to talk to you about sensitive issues and will set aside more time than usual.

Good luck, and do not worry. I am sure that many people will go through a similar thing. :-)

Hey Sally! I would definitely give him the note, or if you are worried about giving it to him perhaps you could speak to your PhD chairperson or director of PhD studies? I have bipolar and my supervisors (and chairperson) are both aware of it- I find it helps if I'm not very well to be able to just let them know things are a bit difficult so that they are aware that I might not be working as quickly or to the same standard as normal. It does take the pressure off a bit, because I'm always so conscientious that I beat myself up a lot if I get it into my head that my supervisors think my work isn't as good as normal etc. Personally, even if I'm not good I still go into work but if I'm not up to writing or testing then I do something that requires less thought, such as entering data, filing, photocopying, updating my references in endnote...you get the drift. I suppose I'm lucky on one hand because I'm doing a PhD in clinical psychology, so at least my sups know what bipolar is and what sort of problems it might cause, but most people these days should be a bit more informed about depression than in years gone by. If it really is awkward then perhaps just send an email explaining. Hope you sort it out and are getting help. Best, KB

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Hello SallyD,

I'm sorry that you're going through a difficult time.