This is so helpful, thank you. I ended up in a similar position and haven't seen my supervisors for around 2 years. I was funded so I think you're right, that it's probably the case that I'll have to hand the raw data back. They have my full thesis draft with graphs etc and most of my data already, it's really the potential future contact from them I can't face.

I'll take these notes with me to my meeting tomorrow and hopefully be able to agree something similar to your friend. Thank you so much.

Thanks for your reply. Thankfully I don't need a reference from them!

My main reason for not wanting to hand it over is that I don't want to be contacted by them going forward, e.g. if they want to publish any of my work. Keen to just move on.

Hi everyone,

I've decided to leave my PhD, and I'm so happy to be out of what was a toxic situation for my health. I'm looking for advice on whether I have to hand over all of my data to my old supervisors.

I don't want to stay in academia, I really just want to leave all of this behind me. My relationship with my supervisor broke down a long time ago and I don't want there to be any need for contact going forward.

Any advice would be very appreciated. I have an appointment with the students advice service on Monday to talk this through, too.

Thanks so much for your reply. Even the thought of getting her feedback by email feels difficult and is really worrying me. I thought I would be able to manage it this way, at least not having to meet with her is good, but in the last few days I’ve become more worried that the continuing contact by email is going to be a constant source of stress and worry over the next 6-10 months and I’m not sure I can deal with it. I just wish there was another path I could follow

I’m hoping to get some advice about my PhD, as I’m finding it hard to see a way forward.

I’ve struggled in the last year and a half with physical health issues, it was really hard to get my practical work done in the lab, but I have finally got there. My relationship with my supervisor has become more and more difficult- I’ve posted here before, she has not been understanding about my health issues or my struggles with anxiety, and the situation between us has become really bad. I’ve tried reaching out for support to my thesis committee chair and postgraduate director, but they have become increasingly frustrated, saying I just need to keep my head down and get on with it, that I should just accept my supervisor is difficult and deal with it.

I have tried to do this, but every meeting I was having with her drove me closer to quitting my PhD and I was feeling very low. I managed to get through my lab work by having my meetings with her suspended, but this has been difficult too as I haven’t had any supervisory support.

I contacted the independent advice centre at my students union, who helped me find an academic to have regular meetings with throughout writing up. I was feeling more positive about getting back into enjoying my PhD without the issues with my supervisor, until this week.

I had another meeting with my thesis committee chair, and he is very insistent that I keep in email contact with my supervisor so I can get her feedback on my thesis drafts. She has asked for my lab notes and data as well as dates for sending her my drafts. I understand her feedback would be really useful, but the thought of any contact with her upsets me and I feel so much dread even considering it- recent emails from her have been confrontational and passive aggressive and she has consistently ignored me in the office.

I really don’t know what to do.

Last year I took time off due to illness, and I had many issues with my supervisor when I returned (I posted on this forum in December). I was on the verge on quitting, but after advice here I decided to keep going and finish my work early (my funding ends November 2019, I hope to be finished lab work by Dec 2018). I was able to keep some distance from my supervisor, and was feeling good about getting to the end.

Unfortunately I've been having more health issues in the last couple of months, I'm back and forward to the doctors and on waiting list to see a specialist, but it's likely that I'll be waiting a while before I get a diagnosis /treatment (at least one month after three months on the list). I'm struggling with fatigue and stomach issues which are made worse by stress. I want to keep going at work and my doctor is happy for me to do so in a flexible way.

I have tried to be open with my supervisor but it has been difficult. She has been focusing on the negative side and is not supportive of my plans to finish my PhD early. I asked my doctor to write her a letter hoping that this would help, and at first she seemed to be supportive, suggesting I could work from home and do half days. However in the last week everything has become really bad again. I've had several emails from her questioning my ability to get things done and last week she pushed me into disclosing my health issues to our group.

I met with the head of postgraduate studies, and he advised me to set up a meeting to discuss my concerns. I emailed to do this, trying to address some concerns in the meantime, and I have received a long, confrontational reply suggesting I am being too sensitive and basically questioning all of my decisions. I'm really unsure about what to do, I feel very uncomfortable about our meeting tomorrow.

I've just started the 3rd year of my 4 year PhD, and I had to take a couple of months off for an illness recently. I've never had an issue with my supervisor before, but since I returned to work she has been unwelcoming and not supportive, and it almost feels like I'm being punished for being ill. I've been shouted at and told I'm not going to finish my work on time despite being given extra time to account for the time I took off. Every meeting in the first few weeks after getting back ended with me in tears, and I have become more anxious than I have ever been. Our meetings have improved in the last week or so, but it still feels like a bad work environment and I'm struggling with it.

When I've tried talking to my supervisor about stress and anxiety she basically says that everyone is stressed, she's stressed and she's still working. This makes me feel like I can't confide in her about how I'm feeling, and I feel physically awful right now and I'm really struggling to motivate myself to go into work or even to work at home. I feel anxious about going in and sometimes even worse when I'm there. I've been seeing the university counsellor, but it hasn't helped much and they only provide a limited number of sessions.

At the moment I feel on the verge of leaving as I can't see how to make the situation better. I have been passionate about my research topic up until now, but I'm finding it hard to get myself back into it. When I try and think of it from the outside I don't want to give up on my work and I want to finish what I started, but I really want things to go back to normal and be happy at work again. Any advice would be really appreciated.