Nice to find this forum. I'm a 4th year PhD student in seismology in the US and am stuck in the PhD-blues big time! Just wondering how you all got through it... The only things that have helped so far are Queen, White Russians, and chocolate...

Is there a different forum for PhD-blues or is this one ok to post to?

Oops... too much liquor tonight... Posted this on the "postgrad life" board ...

[ I suppose I could have read more of the forum before posting... I was just so excited to find it! ]

Try taking long showers/swimming or just do something crazy to pump up your adrenaline that may help.

I think if I was working on something for longer than 3 years I would get the blues too! Don't white russians make you feel worse? Go abseiling!

Sara - Postgrad Life is intended for just such posts - The PhDs section is really for people looking for PhDs.

have a no-strings-attached encounter with a colleague or supervisor. that should help you get over the blues

hmmm... the no-strings-attached "encounter" sounds fun :)

Oh I'm becoming more and more jealous of the rest of the world for PhD only being 3 years long... The white russians help for when it's 11pm and I'm too wound up on work-chaos to even pretend to relax before sleeping... What's abseiling?

And thanks for moving this post to the right section.

Abseiling is when you use a rope to lower yourself off tall structures - buildings or cliffs or whatever takes your fancy! Definitely guaranteed to get your adrenaline running and give you a much needed buzz to do your work. So how long have you got left to go? Good luck with your work. What's your project on? It sounds like an interesting topic to work on.

Hi Sara, if it makes you feel any better it's very common for people in the UK to take longer than 3 years...although academic staff get a bit twitchy towards the end of your 4th year! ;o)

abseiling - i'll have to rember that one!

i attempt to characterize the orientation and magnitude of mantle flow beneath the mariana subduction zone by looking at shear wave splitting. ;) (aka, i study earthquakes near guam) what do all of you study?

this week is characterized by doing one thing, realizing that one tiny thing was wrong, fix it, redo it, realizing another thing is wrong, fix it, redo it.... one of those weeks where you think you'll never get it and that you're not cut out for it... know what i mean??

keepin' on keepin' on :)

Sounds like i got it all coming. SCARY

Seeing as you hate labs, you are gonna be in for hell!! I cannot believe you chose a PhD being that fussy about labs

I mean, how about some flexibility on your part???

a phd is all about flexibility. i hate labs cos i cant get n e work done.

I wasn't sure who the "labs" comment was directed towards... I don't work in a lab at all! Oh well.

The main point is that getting all the way through a PhD is T.O.U.G.H. and lots of us need little pep talks sometimes. From those who have already finished, they all say they had the PhD blues but they got thru it and that each and every one of us will get through it too.

It's just nice to know none of us are alone and we all struggle at some point!