Hi I'm new here. I'm in the first year of my PhD (just started in September) and though I'm highly motivated I feel like I haven't progressed very quickly in my first couple of months, progress has been slow and my focus has been lacking.

I've suffered from mental health issues since childhood and a recent relationship breakdown has triggered a particularly difficult period for me where I've suffered regular panic attacks. My dilemma is whether or not to disclose this to my supervisor or anyone else at the university. I don't want to be stigmatised or be TOO open about my personal issues but I also don't want my supervisor believing that my current work pace is my usual pace. I'm also aware that by informing somebody at the university then I'm protecting myself if problems do occur in the future.

You can probably tell that I'm leaning towards telling my supervisor but I'm anxious over how to bring it up. In an email? supervision meeting? seperate meeting?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. :-)

Just my opinion - I think it is the right option to tell your supervisor so long as you feel that they will respond well to it. This will obviously depend on your supervisor. I would definitely tell them in person rather than via email so you can talk with one another about the issues that may result. I would either tell them in a quiet supervision meeting or in a separate meeting, again this depends on the personality of your supervisor. If they are very formal then organise a separate meeting.

It would be worthwhile getting it on the record in some way at the uni but I'm not sure what the best way would be.

Be very clear in what the limitations that your illness can impose are. Be clear about the the fact that it is not severely limiting all the time and that you still feel you would be capable of completing the PhD.

Hope that helps - it's just what I would do in your situation.

Hi Grumpy Mule, I'm going to present a different perspective-which is that at this point in time, I don't think I would disclose all of this to my supervisor or the University. You are only two months into the PhD and probably won't get a real focus for a while, as in many PhD's the first 6 months is spent sorting out your topic and plan of action. So you have to be open to a lot of things and only after you have read, trawled through mega information, or watched cells grow (whatever it is) for a while, do you get enough material to start getting a focus and for things to begin to make a little bit of sense.

You are being way too hard on yourself and expecting (probably because like most of us-you were a top notch undergrad and used to excelling and pleasing your lecturers) to be on top of your game immediately. To provide an analogy, a new Phd student is the equivalent of a year 6 student in primary school (who was at the top of the pack and leader of their school) going into Year 7 in Highschool and all of a sudden realising that they are right at the bottom of the pile.

It is a similar transition and as equally unsettling for many students. So give yourself a break for a little while. Panic attacks, and depression is hard as well, but don't disclose this yet to your supervisor. They probably don't think that you are anything other than a brand new student who like all of us, have gone or are going through a transition stage into PhD candidate and then into base-level researcher.

Maybe you will want to tell your supervisor later, if things do get hard, but when you do, you will have developed a (hopefully) good relationship with them and they will use this disclosure to support you-if you need it. I'm not for hiding things like this-but I would be wary of disclosing too much too soon, when it might not be necessary and what you are going through now, might abate, once you are a little further into the doctorate and more settled. Hope things seem a bit brighter very soon.

I can understand that you want to protect yourself if problems arise in the future, I'd suggest linking in with the university's mental health support services, that way you can show (if you ever have to) that you are taking action to deal with your issues. As for whether or not to tell your supervisor, I really don't know, every supervisor (like every person) is different, and their reactions to this kind of news--whether they support or stigmatise--are different too.

Thanks very much for your comments and advice, it really helped me to look at the situation from different angles.

I actually had a meeting with my supervisor later that day and as I'd missed a training workshop and a postponed a supervision meeting due to health problems, my supervisor actually asked if everything was ok with my health. I took the opportunity to tell him there and then that I've had mental health difficulties since childhood and that I am just coming out of a bad period. He was very supportive and I think I've done what I felt was best. He told me that he was confident in my abilities and wouldn't have appointed me if he felt otherwise.

What I failed to mention in my original post is that my supervisor was also my head of department at undergraduate level and so is aware of my capabilities. I was awarded several academic awards from my first year onwards and he was the person who presented me with these. I think I would have been more cautious in telling him if I hadn't had any previous contact with him.

Thanks again for your helpful comments.
:-)

Thanks very much for your comments and advice, it really helped me to look at the situation from different angles.

I actually had a meeting with my supervisor later that day and as I'd missed a training workshop and a postponed a supervision meeting due to health problems, my supervisor actually asked if everything was ok with my health. I took the opportunity to tell him there and then that I've had mental health difficulties since childhood and that I am just coming out of a bad period. He was very supportive and I think I've done what I felt was best. He told me that he was confident in my abilities and wouldn't have appointed me if he felt otherwise.

What I failed to mention in my original post is that my supervisor was also my head of department at undergraduate level and so is aware of my capabilities. I was awarded several academic awards from my first year onwards and he was the person who presented me with these. I think I would have been more cautious in telling him if I hadn't had any previous contact with him.

Thanks again for your helpful comments.
:-)

Glad to hear it went well with your supervisor. I've had a few mental health problems as well (quite minor - occasional panic attacks and high anxiety levels) and am in the second year of my PhD. I told my supervisor about this last December - probably when I was at about the same stage as you are. She also supervised my MSc (although not my BSc) so had already known me a year. Looking back, I'm glad I told her, I think it's good to 'get these things out in the open' sometimes, although (even though she's tried to be understanding) I don't think she understands some of the things I'm finding difficult at the moment (I have a disability as well, which I've disclosed to her)... So, I know how difficult it can be and I think you did the right thing. And other people are right, the first term of a PhD is hard anyway and I think it's completely natural to feel like you don't know what you're doing at times. I really hope things go well for you.

Glad it worked out OK. People are much more informed about mental health issues these days, thank goodness.