Sorry to appear from nowhere on this forum and then be bombarding you all with my problems. This relates to my previous post about missing a deadline today. Part of the reason for this is that I didn't take the deadline as seriously as I should have done but my progress has also been hampered by physical symptoms related to stress - I painful neck / jaw (?!) and terrible insomnia.

Because I knew I was definitely going to miss my deadline today I didn't sleep at all last night and when I phoned my mum (a nurse who graduated with a PhD two years ago) she told me to go to my GP. I've now been given a low dose of diazepam to help me get back into normal sleep patterns.

How do you cope with stress and do you think I should tell my supervisors about this?

I should add the psychologically I feel fine about my project - very happy and positive on the whole which is why I find these physical symptoms bewildering. I've faced countless stressful situations in the past (in my professional career) and never experienced anything like this.

I'm sure it'll be much better when I've got more of my thesis written and it doesn't seem like such I huge task. In the meantime, I don't want my supervisors to lose faith in my ability to complete the project, so maybe I should keep it to myself?

I know what you mean. I have had days of extreme stress (no insomnia but a lot of crying and anxiety attacks incl. trouble breathing and heart race etc.) I didn’t take any medication; I am a bit scared of drugs. The symptoms were sporadic but I had decided that if they persisted for a longer period (1week) I would do something about it). This was also my way of coping with it, giving myself a deadline for getting better. As far as telling the supervisors I would suggest you wait a bit. See if it is just a bad couple of days. But if your stress and symptoms persist over a longer time then talk to them. They should know what you are going through otherwise they will keep demanding more and more and may get more and more stressed and get into a really vicious circle. All the best.

I don't think you should tell your supervisors just yet. I made a mistake of telling my supervisor every single problem I have had and while I thought that's because we had a good close relationship, I only ended up being perceived as a difficult student. Supervisors are not really there for emotional support.

Is there someone else you can talk to about it - a student manager or someone like that? They would have to keep it in confidence, but if it later becomes a problem they can back up your story of how long the stress has been going on. That way your superisors will know that you're not trying to cause trouble or get preferential treatment, and that in fact you've been trying NOT to cause a fuss.

Thanks for your advice. However, before I got the most recent replies I did put it in my e-mail yesterday and now I really wish I hadn't! I usually just keep things to myself, so I feel really exposed and not at all relieved to have told them. I'm in my third year and I've never had problems before so I'm hoping they'll just see this is a blip if I submit my writing by Friday and explain at my tutorial in three weeks. In a way it's had the opposite effect to the one I had hoped for because now I feel like everything I submit will have to be near-perfect and I'll have to hide any problems. It made so much sense yesterday when I was minus a night's sleep and my head was completely fuzzy. Oh well...

Hi, I don't know If this is of any help to you at the moment, but I was really stressed this year (first year of PhD + in a strange country + my boyfriend struggling to get a job here, so both of us were living off my humble studentship) and what seemed to help me most, was going to the gym :) Physical exercise takes your mind off trouble and gives your mind a surge of 'happiness' hormones.

It works very well for me... and If you do it in the evening, you are bound to fall into a deep slumber!

Hi Betty,
I don't think insomnia is an uncommon side effect to a PhD! I suffer from it when I'm going through particulary stressful times (when is it not stressful doing a PhD though, eh?!). A few sleeping tablets to help get you back into a sleep routine is helpful(but obviously, not too often!), and if you feel you can give yourself the time, take a day off to do something completely unrelated to your work. I go shopping, for lunch with non-work related friends, or out for a few drinks, anything to make me feel "normal" again. It's too easy to get caught up in the stress of a PhD and even just a day away from it can really help. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks for your advice... I do feel a lot better having slept for two nights in a row thanks to the tablets & things seem so much worse when you're sleep-deprived.

I would tell your supervisor if your stress was affecting your work, but that is all you need to tell him/her. Then, I would go and speak to a student counsellor to deal with your anxiety.