Dear all,

I am about 25 days away from "the submission deadline". There is no way I can finish it on time and I have reached a point where I don't feel I could finish it even if given an extension. I have been to the doctor with symptoms of depression and they have offered to sign me off. Have repeatedly tried to bring up the fact that I'm feeling depressed with my supervisor over the last six months, but have generally been told that its "normal" to feel like this by him and other colleagues. During my last supervision meeting I tried to say that I am going to have difficulty submitting on time, but was urged to submit on time because it "looks bad for the department". Needless to day I'm under a lot of pressure from family and (well meaning) friends who think that its crazy to just "not submit", but I've just had enough.

Do you know anyone how has quit like this/failed to submit? Did they recover from it? Any advice on how to handle this?

Runner

Hello, sorry to hear about your situation.
Are you 100% sure you want to leave it? What about if you had a three or six month extension with a medical certificate? A cert from the doctor saying you've been unable to work and need to have the immediate pressure of the deadline lifted should enable an extension. Or perhaps you really need a break, because you sound pretty overwhelmed. In this case, with a med cert again, you might be able to take a few months off to gather yourself and then resume studies with an extension of a few months.

If your supervisor still thinks it's possible for you to submit in under a month, then you must be quite close to finishing, in which case maybe you just need a break and some extra time. If you wanted to do this, it sounds like you'll have to state it very clearly to your supervisor - "I have been unwell, suffering from depression, and have not been able to work propertly, I've been to the doctor, and I will not be able to submit on time..."

Either way, there's more to life than getting a phd so you can recover from this no matter what you choose. Good luck, hang in there.

======= Date Modified 06 Sep 2011 11:57:34 =======
Hi Runner,

Wow, I can really relate to your post!!

SUBMISSION

I had to submit by the 30th of September, no questions asked (I was an ESRC student), but I knew by the beginning of September 2010,  I was by no means finished. September 2010 was pure hell for me. I knew my PhD was not up to scratch and I was 100% convinced they would fail it outright. I worked non stop, was very unhappy, tearful, depressed, plagued with suicidal thoughts, gaining weight, emotional outbursts, panic attacks, you name it.

Knowing that my PhD was unfinished, my supervisory team and department contacted the chief PhD convenor of the university and requested an extension. He quickly denied this request and I was forced to submit on the 30th of September. In the end, I had no choice but to submit by the 30th of September. My supervisors said if I did not submit by the 30th of September, I would risk leaving without a degree. I printed my 'thesis' off, took a taxi to my university (60 miles away!) and submitted on the 30th of September before 5pm.

I told my superviors that I was quitting days before the submission. Like you, I just had enough of my thesis and I couldn't bare to look at it anymore. Every bit of me was screaming at me to just stop and walk away, but after some desperate begging (not joking!) from my loved ones, I submitted on the 30th of September.

At the time of my submission, as my supervisors had not yet found my PhD examiners, I was allowed to work on my thesis after submission, whilst my supervisors contacted potential examiners. So, on the system, I officially submitted my thesis on the 30th of Sept (I had to physically submit my thesis in hand), but my university 'looked away' whilst I finished parts of my thesis. I was given just over a week to make some additional corrections. Once they found examiners, I returned to the university with a much improved draft and then went through the stress of binding etc. I'm just wondering if this is a potential option for you?

Also, a fellow PhD friend of mine who started the same time as me had to submit by the 30th of September, but due to pregnancy and a baby, she was allowed a sixth month extension on her submission date. However, she was not an ESRC student so she did not have the same pressures placed on her to submit. There are cases where universities grant extensions for submitting a thesis.....

Focusing on the good parts of my thesis helped me remain calm and stamp out my extremely negative views. Perhaps getting someone with fresh eyes to give you some positive feedback? Is this something you could do?

I buried my head in the sand during the final few weeks leading up to submission which was completely the wrong thing to do. Contact your supervisors immediately....if you haven't already done so.

VIVA

After a nightmare of waiting around for my viva date, I had a lovely viva and they were extremely complimentary about my thesis- much to my astonishment. After spending the past 4 odd years fearing the worst (MPhil or outright fail) I managed to obtain the resubmission/major corrections viva option I desperately wanted- and I was delighted!!! I know a resubmission option is viewed by some as a fail, but I saw it as an acheivement as I knew it could have been MUCH MUCH worse if they failed me outright or failed me with an MPhil.

I'm still working on my thesis post viva, but I got through it- just. Please feel free to send any PMs or ask any questions if this helps at all.

Please take care of yourself xxxx

======= Date Modified 06 Sep 2011 11:46:25 =======
duplicate

Hey Runner. Really sorry to hear you're having difficulties. I guess it is normal to feel stressed at this time, but clinical depression is really debilitating, and definitely should not be a 'normal' feature of a PhD. I would definitely look into taking some time out to get yourself better and then decide whether you want to continue. To be honest, you sound so close to the end that if you could just get over the hurdle of feeling so rubbish, you might finish it quite easily without taking too much longer. If your doc is willing to sign you off then the department should really not be able to argue about it. Is the submission deadline for the end of your 3rd or 4th year? The other thing to bear in mind is that if you are very close to finishing, a few errors in the submission will not affect your final result. If you could get it to a good standard by the deadline you could just submit it on time to the best of your ability anyway, and just be aware of the things that might need changing that your examiners will probably bring up. Personally, I would take a bit of time out and look after yourself! Pineapple has got to be the most inspiring person on here in terms of perseverence and a great result :) Best, KB

Hi Runner26, I am sorry to hear about your health issues and that you are stressed. I think the first think which you will have to do is to talk to your supervisors and take a long enough break!! I don't know if you are going to be finishing your 3rd year or 4th year by the end of this month. If it is the third year you can always go on to 'submission pending' status and take time to write your thesis. Don't give up - you are extremely close to the 'finish' line. Each project is different and it is definitely impossible for all the PhD students in a department to submit dot on time. All the best (up)