dealing with dissertation stress

🎙️ The 3 STRUGGLES You’re Bound To Face

(And how to deal with them…)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) and Ethar Al-Saraf (PhD) | April 2024

Writing a dissertation or thesis is no small task – just ask any ABD . The academic research journey is one filled with trials and tribulations, especially for new researchers. In this episode, we dive into the familiar challenges that daunt new and first-time researchers embarking on their dissertation or thesis journey.

If you’re currently working on a dissertation or thesis, don’t forget to download our free tried and trusted template to help you along your journey!

Episode Summary

————————————-

Struggle 1: Difficulties with Advisors and Supervisors

One of the most common hurdles you might encounter is navigating the relationship with your research advisor or supervisor. Many students report mismatches in expectations and a perceived lack of support.

To smooth these potential rough patches, we recommend establishing clear role definitions and expectations right from your initial meeting. In practical terms, this usually means having a frank discussion with your advisor about what you can expect from them and what they are looking for from you. This type of proactive communication helps prevent misunderstandings and sets a solid foundation for the relationship.

Struggle 2: Isolation and Time Management in Research

Research can often feel like a solitary marathon. The quiet hours spent alone can lead to feelings of isolation and stress. However, it’s important to manage your time wisely and ensure you’re not just working hard but also working smart. To this end, it’s always useful to reach out to peers who share similar experiences or challenges. Building a community, even if it’s virtual, can provide significant emotional and intellectual support.

Additionally, integrating effective time management strategies, like the Pomodoro Technique, can help break your work into manageable segments, allowing for regular breaks to clear your mind and refresh your focus.

Struggle 3: Imposter Syndrome

Feeling like a fraud is a common thread among many scholars, particularly those new to conducting research. This phenomenon, known as imposter syndrome, can severely impact your confidence and productivity. It’s important to understand that this is a normal part of the academic experience.

To combat these feelings, we recommend that you embrace them as signs of your growth and ambition. Double-check your work, seek feedback, and remember that every researcher starts somewhere. You’re learning and improving, which is the real measure of progress.

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3 tips for managing thesis writing stress

9 August 2019

Writing your thesis can be a stressful experience. Here, Dr Sonia Greenidge from UCL's Student Psychological and Counselling Services gives you her top tips to manage this stress.

The process of writing your thesis is a long one and the stress that can build up over this period of time can lead to writer's block and worryingly long periods of unproductiveness. Here are my top three tips to help you lower your stress levels allowing you to progress with your thesis.

Break it down

Rather than thinking that you have to dedicate lengthy periods each day to writing up, a helpful method to manage the stress of thesis writing is to break the day into small bite-sized pieces. Even if you dedicate a whole day to your write up, this should still be broken down into bite-sized periods.

Make sure that alongside your work times you also schedule in some break times. For example, work for 45 minutes and then break for 15 minutes, continue this until breaking for lunch for an hour then continue the 45-minute work and 15-minute break routine.

Be specific

Assign a specific task to do for each study period. Having a clear idea of what you are doing can alleviate the ‘so much to do, how am I going to do it?!’ stress. For example, plan to specifically ‘finish discussion paragraph on self-reflection’ not generally ‘write some more of the discussion’.

Assigning specific things to do in your break times can also help manage the stress that comes from feeling you have so much to do and so little time to do it all. Have a break for checking emails, a break for making calls, a break for making lunch etc. This way you still get all your 'life admin' done alongside getting that all important thesis written up!

Free writing

Experiencing writer’s block and feeling that you are not progressing as you would like to can be a huge trigger for stress. With free writing, you write whatever comes to mind on a topic without stopping to censor or make corrections.

Do this for a while until you feel yourself in the flow and then…keep going! You will probably have a lot of useful material from your free writing time that you can go back and tidy up later.

Dr Sonia Greenidge, UCL Student Psychological and Counselling Services (SPCS)

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Dissertation Strategies

What this handout is about.

This handout suggests strategies for developing healthy writing habits during your dissertation journey. These habits can help you maintain your writing momentum, overcome anxiety and procrastination, and foster wellbeing during one of the most challenging times in graduate school.

Tackling a giant project

Because dissertations are, of course, big projects, it’s no surprise that planning, writing, and revising one can pose some challenges! It can help to think of your dissertation as an expanded version of a long essay: at the end of the day, it is simply another piece of writing. You’ve written your way this far into your degree, so you’ve got the skills! You’ll develop a great deal of expertise on your topic, but you may still be a novice with this genre and writing at this length. Remember to give yourself some grace throughout the project. As you begin, it’s helpful to consider two overarching strategies throughout the process.

First, take stock of how you learn and your own writing processes. What strategies have worked and have not worked for you? Why? What kind of learner and writer are you? Capitalize on what’s working and experiment with new strategies when something’s not working. Keep in mind that trying out new strategies can take some trial-and-error, and it’s okay if a new strategy that you try doesn’t work for you. Consider why it may not have been the best for you, and use that reflection to consider other strategies that might be helpful to you.

Second, break the project into manageable chunks. At every stage of the process, try to identify specific tasks, set small, feasible goals, and have clear, concrete strategies for achieving each goal. Small victories can help you establish and maintain the momentum you need to keep yourself going.

Below, we discuss some possible strategies to keep you moving forward in the dissertation process.

Pre-dissertation planning strategies

Get familiar with the Graduate School’s Thesis and Dissertation Resources .

Create a template that’s properly formatted. The Grad School offers workshops on formatting in Word for PC and formatting in Word for Mac . There are online templates for LaTeX users, but if you use a template, save your work where you can recover it if the template has corrruption issues.

Learn how to use a citation-manager and a synthesis matrix to keep track of all of your source information.

Skim other dissertations from your department, program, and advisor. Enlist the help of a librarian or ask your advisor for a list of recent graduates whose work you can look up. Seeing what other people have done to earn their PhD can make the project much less abstract and daunting. A concrete sense of expectations will help you envision and plan. When you know what you’ll be doing, try to find a dissertation from your department that is similar enough that you can use it as a reference model when you run into concerns about formatting, structure, level of detail, etc.

Think carefully about your committee . Ideally, you’ll be able to select a group of people who work well with you and with each other. Consult with your advisor about who might be good collaborators for your project and who might not be the best fit. Consider what classes you’ve taken and how you “vibe” with those professors or those you’ve met outside of class. Try to learn what you can about how they’ve worked with other students. Ask about feedback style, turnaround time, level of involvement, etc., and imagine how that would work for you.

Sketch out a sensible drafting order for your project. Be open to writing chapters in “the wrong order” if it makes sense to start somewhere other than the beginning. You could begin with the section that seems easiest for you to write to gain momentum.

Design a productivity alliance with your advisor . Talk with them about potential projects and a reasonable timeline. Discuss how you’ll work together to keep your work moving forward. You might discuss having a standing meeting to discuss ideas or drafts or issues (bi-weekly? monthly?), your advisor’s preferences for drafts (rough? polished?), your preferences for what you’d like feedback on (early or late drafts?), reasonable turnaround time for feedback (a week? two?), and anything else you can think of to enter the collaboration mindfully.

Design a productivity alliance with your colleagues . Dissertation writing can be lonely, but writing with friends, meeting for updates over your beverage of choice, and scheduling non-working social times can help you maintain healthy energy. See our tips on accountability strategies for ideas to support each other.

Productivity strategies

Write when you’re most productive. When do you have the most energy? Focus? Creativity? When are you most able to concentrate, either because of your body rhythms or because there are fewer demands on your time? Once you determine the hours that are most productive for you (you may need to experiment at first), try to schedule those hours for dissertation work. See the collection of time management tools and planning calendars on the Learning Center’s Tips & Tools page to help you think through the possibilities. If at all possible, plan your work schedule, errands and chores so that you reserve your productive hours for the dissertation.

Put your writing time firmly on your calendar . Guard your writing time diligently. You’ll probably be invited to do other things during your productive writing times, but do your absolute best to say no and to offer alternatives. No one would hold it against you if you said no because you’re teaching a class at that time—and you wouldn’t feel guilty about saying no. Cultivating the same hard, guilt-free boundaries around your writing time will allow you preserve the time you need to get this thing done!

Develop habits that foster balance . You’ll have to work very hard to get this dissertation finished, but you can do that without sacrificing your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Think about how you can structure your work hours most efficiently so that you have time for a healthy non-work life. It can be something as small as limiting the time you spend chatting with fellow students to a few minutes instead of treating the office or lab as a space for extensive socializing. Also see above for protecting your time.

Write in spaces where you can be productive. Figure out where you work well and plan to be there during your dissertation work hours. Do you get more done on campus or at home? Do you prefer quiet and solitude, like in a library carrel? Do you prefer the buzz of background noise, like in a coffee shop? Are you aware of the UNC Libraries’ list of places to study ? If you get “stuck,” don’t be afraid to try a change of scenery. The variety may be just enough to get your brain going again.

Work where you feel comfortable . Wherever you work, make sure you have whatever lighting, furniture, and accessories you need to keep your posture and health in good order. The University Health and Safety office offers guidelines for healthy computer work . You’re more likely to spend time working in a space that doesn’t physically hurt you. Also consider how you could make your work space as inviting as possible. Some people find that it helps to have pictures of family and friends on their desk—sort of a silent “cheering section.” Some people work well with neutral colors around them, and others prefer bright colors that perk up the space. Some people like to put inspirational quotations in their workspace or encouraging notes from friends and family. You might try reconfiguring your work space to find a décor that helps you be productive.

Elicit helpful feedback from various people at various stages . You might be tempted to keep your writing to yourself until you think it’s brilliant, but you can lower the stakes tremendously if you make eliciting feedback a regular part of your writing process. Your friends can feel like a safer audience for ideas or drafts in their early stages. Someone outside your department may provide interesting perspectives from their discipline that spark your own thinking. See this handout on getting feedback for productive moments for feedback, the value of different kinds of feedback providers, and strategies for eliciting what’s most helpful to you. Make this a recurring part of your writing process. Schedule it to help you hit deadlines.

Change the writing task . When you don’t feel like writing, you can do something different or you can do something differently. Make a list of all the little things you need to do for a given section of the dissertation, no matter how small. Choose a task based on your energy level. Work on Grad School requirements: reformat margins, work on bibliography, and all that. Work on your acknowledgements. Remember all the people who have helped you and the great ideas they’ve helped you develop. You may feel more like working afterward. Write a part of your dissertation as a letter or email to a good friend who would care. Sometimes setting aside the academic prose and just writing it to a buddy can be liberating and help you get the ideas out there. You can make it sound smart later. Free-write about why you’re stuck, and perhaps even about how sick and tired you are of your dissertation/advisor/committee/etc. Venting can sometimes get you past the emotions of writer’s block and move you toward creative solutions. Open a separate document and write your thoughts on various things you’ve read. These may or may note be coherent, connected ideas, and they may or may not make it into your dissertation. They’re just notes that allow you to think things through and/or note what you want to revisit later, so it’s perfectly fine to have mistakes, weird organization, etc. Just let your mind wander on paper.

Develop habits that foster productivity and may help you develop a productive writing model for post-dissertation writing . Since dissertations are very long projects, cultivating habits that will help support your work is important. You might check out Helen Sword’s work on behavioral, artisanal, social, and emotional habits to help you get a sense of where you are in your current habits. You might try developing “rituals” of work that could help you get more done. Lighting incense, brewing a pot of a particular kind of tea, pulling out a favorite pen, and other ritualistic behaviors can signal your brain that “it is time to get down to business.” You can critically think about your work methods—not only about what you like to do, but also what actually helps you be productive. You may LOVE to listen to your favorite band while you write, for example, but if you wind up playing air guitar half the time instead of writing, it isn’t a habit worth keeping.

The point is, figure out what works for you and try to do it consistently. Your productive habits will reinforce themselves over time. If you find yourself in a situation, however, that doesn’t match your preferences, don’t let it stop you from working on your dissertation. Try to be flexible and open to experimenting. You might find some new favorites!

Motivational strategies

Schedule a regular activity with other people that involves your dissertation. Set up a coworking date with your accountability buddies so you can sit and write together. Organize a chapter swap. Make regular appointments with your advisor. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something that you’ll feel good about showing up for–and will make you feel good about showing up for others.

Try writing in sprints . Many writers have discovered that the “Pomodoro technique” (writing for 25 minutes and taking a 5 minute break) boosts their productivity by helping them set small writing goals, focus intently for short periods, and give their brains frequent rests. See how one dissertation writer describes it in this blog post on the Pomodoro technique .

Quit while you’re ahead . Sometimes it helps to stop for the day when you’re on a roll. If you’ve got a great idea that you’re developing and you know where you want to go next, write “Next, I want to introduce x, y, and z and explain how they’re related—they all have the same characteristics of 1 and 2, and that clinches my theory of Q.” Then save the file and turn off the computer, or put down the notepad. When you come back tomorrow, you will already know what to say next–and all that will be left is to say it. Hopefully, the momentum will carry you forward.

Write your dissertation in single-space . When you need a boost, double space it and be impressed with how many pages you’ve written.

Set feasible goals–and celebrate the achievements! Setting and achieving smaller, more reasonable goals ( SMART goals ) gives you success, and that success can motivate you to focus on the next small step…and the next one.

Give yourself rewards along the way . When you meet a writing goal, reward yourself with something you normally wouldn’t have or do–this can be anything that will make you feel good about your accomplishment.

Make the act of writing be its own reward . For example, if you love a particular coffee drink from your favorite shop, save it as a special drink to enjoy during your writing time.

Try giving yourself “pre-wards” —positive experiences that help you feel refreshed and recharged for the next time you write. You don’t have to “earn” these with prior work, but you do have to commit to doing the work afterward.

Commit to doing something you don’t want to do if you don’t achieve your goal. Some people find themselves motivated to work harder when there’s a negative incentive. What would you most like to avoid? Watching a movie you hate? Donating to a cause you don’t support? Whatever it is, how can you ensure enforcement? Who can help you stay accountable?

Affective strategies

Build your confidence . It is not uncommon to feel “imposter phenomenon” during the course of writing your dissertation. If you start to feel this way, it can help to take a few minutes to remember every success you’ve had along the way. You’ve earned your place, and people have confidence in you for good reasons. It’s also helpful to remember that every one of the brilliant people around you is experiencing the same lack of confidence because you’re all in a new context with new tasks and new expectations. You’re not supposed to have it all figured out. You’re supposed to have uncertainties and questions and things to learn. Remember that they wouldn’t have accepted you to the program if they weren’t confident that you’d succeed. See our self-scripting handout for strategies to turn these affirmations into a self-script that you repeat whenever you’re experiencing doubts or other negative thoughts. You can do it!

Appreciate your successes . Not meeting a goal isn’t a failure–and it certainly doesn’t make you a failure. It’s an opportunity to figure out why you didn’t meet the goal. It might simply be that the goal wasn’t achievable in the first place. See the SMART goal handout and think through what you can adjust. Even if you meant to write 1500 words, focus on the success of writing 250 or 500 words that you didn’t have before.

Remember your “why.” There are a whole host of reasons why someone might decide to pursue a PhD, both personally and professionally. Reflecting on what is motivating to you can rekindle your sense of purpose and direction.

Get outside support . Sometimes it can be really helpful to get an outside perspective on your work and anxieties as a way of grounding yourself. Participating in groups like the Dissertation Support group through CAPS and the Dissertation Boot Camp can help you see that you’re not alone in the challenges. You might also choose to form your own writing support group with colleagues inside or outside your department.

Understand and manage your procrastination . When you’re writing a long dissertation, it can be easy to procrastinate! For instance, you might put off writing because the house “isn’t clean enough” or because you’re not in the right “space” (mentally or physically) to write, so you put off writing until the house is cleaned and everything is in its right place. You may have other ways of procrastinating. It can be helpful to be self-aware of when you’re procrastinating and to consider why you are procrastinating. It may be that you’re anxious about writing the perfect draft, for example, in which case you might consider: how can I focus on writing something that just makes progress as opposed to being “perfect”? There are lots of different ways of managing procrastination; one way is to make a schedule of all the things you already have to do (when you absolutely can’t write) to help you visualize those chunks of time when you can. See this handout on procrastination for more strategies and tools for managing procrastination.

Your topic, your advisor, and your committee: Making them work for you

By the time you’ve reached this stage, you have probably already defended a dissertation proposal, chosen an advisor, and begun working with a committee. Sometimes, however, those three elements can prove to be major external sources of frustration. So how can you manage them to help yourself be as productive as possible?

Managing your topic

Remember that your topic is not carved in stone . The research and writing plan suggested in your dissertation proposal was your best vision of the project at that time, but topics evolve as the research and writing progress. You might need to tweak your research question a bit to reduce or adjust the scope, you might pare down certain parts of the project or add others. You can discuss your thoughts on these adjustments with your advisor at your check ins.

Think about variables that could be cut down and how changes would affect the length, depth, breadth, and scholarly value of your study. Could you cut one or two experiments, case studies, regions, years, theorists, or chapters and still make a valuable contribution or, even more simply, just finish?

Talk to your advisor about any changes you might make . They may be quite sympathetic to your desire to shorten an unwieldy project and may offer suggestions.

Look at other dissertations from your department to get a sense of what the chapters should look like. Reverse-outline a few chapters so you can see if there’s a pattern of typical components and how information is sequenced. These can serve as models for your own dissertation. See this video on reverse outlining to see the technique.

Managing your advisor

Embrace your evolving status . At this stage in your graduate career, you should expect to assume some independence. By the time you finish your project, you will know more about your subject than your committee does. The student/teacher relationship you have with your advisor will necessarily change as you take this big step toward becoming their colleague.

Revisit the alliance . If the interaction with your advisor isn’t matching the original agreement or the original plan isn’t working as well as it could, schedule a conversation to revisit and redesign your working relationship in a way that could work for both of you.

Be specific in your feedback requests . Tell your advisor what kind of feedback would be most helpful to you. Sometimes an advisor can be giving unhelpful or discouraging feedback without realizing it. They might make extensive sentence-level edits when you really need conceptual feedback, or vice-versa, if you only ask generally for feedback. Letting your advisor know, very specifically, what kinds of responses will be helpful to you at different stages of the writing process can help your advisor know how to help you.

Don’t hide . Advisors can be most helpful if they know what you are working on, what problems you are experiencing, and what progress you have made. If you haven’t made the progress you were hoping for, it only makes it worse if you avoid talking to them. You rob yourself of their expertise and support, and you might start a spiral of guilt, shame, and avoidance. Even if it’s difficult, it may be better to be candid about your struggles.

Talk to other students who have the same advisor . You may find that they have developed strategies for working with your advisor that could help you communicate more effectively with them.

If you have recurring problems communicating with your advisor , you can make a change. You could change advisors completely, but a less dramatic option might be to find another committee member who might be willing to serve as a “secondary advisor” and give you the kinds of feedback and support that you may need.

Managing your committee

Design the alliance . Talk with your committee members about how much they’d like to be involved in your writing process, whether they’d like to see chapter drafts or the complete draft, how frequently they’d like to meet (or not), etc. Your advisor can guide you on how committees usually work, but think carefully about how you’d like the relationship to function too.

Keep in regular contact with your committee , even if they don’t want to see your work until it has been approved by your advisor. Let them know about fellowships you receive, fruitful research excursions, the directions your thinking is taking, and the plans you have for completion. In short, keep them aware that you are working hard and making progress. Also, look for other ways to get facetime with your committee even if it’s not a one-on-one meeting. Things like speaking with them at department events, going to colloquiums or other events they organize and/or attend regularly can help you develop a relationship that could lead to other introductions and collaborations as your career progresses.

Share your struggles . Too often, we only talk to our professors when we’re making progress and hide from them the rest of the time. If you share your frustrations or setbacks with a knowledgeable committee member, they might offer some very helpful suggestions for overcoming the obstacles you face—after all, your committee members have all written major research projects before, and they have probably solved similar problems in their own work.

Stay true to yourself . Sometimes, you just don’t entirely gel with your committee, but that’s okay. It’s important not to get too hung up on how your committee does (or doesn’t) relate to you. Keep your eye on the finish line and keep moving forward.

Helpful websites:

Graduate School Diversity Initiatives : Groups and events to support the success of students identifying with an affinity group.

Graduate School Career Well : Extensive professional development resources related to writing, research, networking, job search, etc.

CAPS Therapy Groups : CAPS offers a variety of support groups, including a dissertation support group.

Advice on Research and Writing : Lots of links on writing, public speaking, dissertation management, burnout, and more.

How to be a Good Graduate Student: Marie DesJardins’ essay talks about several phases of the graduate experience, including the dissertation. She discusses some helpful hints for staying motivated and doing consistent work.

Preparing Future Faculty : This page, a joint project of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Council of Graduate Schools, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, explains the Preparing Future Faculty Programs and includes links and suggestions that may help graduate students and their advisors think constructively about the process of graduate education as a step toward faculty responsibilities.

Dissertation Tips : Kjell Erik Rudestam, Ph.D. and Rae Newton, Ph.D., authors of Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process.

The ABD Survival Guide Newsletter : Information about the ABD Survival Guide newsletter (which is free) and other services from E-Coach (many of which are not free).

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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10 Effective Stress Management Tips for Ph.D. Students

Did you embark on a PhD with a preconceived notion that it’s going to be a stressful journey? If your answer to that was a resounding yes, then you are not alone and definitely not wrong about it either! Sailing through a PhD can be quite daunting. As revealed by a survey conducted by  Nature , over 36% of the total researchers seek help for anxiety or depression related to their PhD. Although these results come from a small sample of around 6300 PhD students worldwide, the results are significant enough to address the prevalence of mental health issues in academia. Stress management is imperative for a smoother and tension-free research outcome.

With passing years, the stress levels among PhD students is worsening. Much has been spoken and written about how to overhaul the system and help students in their battle of coping with stress. However, in reality, the advice to PhD students is just a concept that’s heard and read about.

This article will guide PhD students and will discuss various factors that trigger stress levels at different stages in the life of a researcher. The tips for new PhD students will help them to combat stress and preserve your mental health.

Factors Causing Stress and Depression in PhD Students

Stress management of next generation researchers needs a systematic approach . However, before finding solutions, knowing the root cause is necessary to avoid similar situations in the future.

1. Growing Competition in Your Field

Students often get intimidated by the ongoing research in their field and compare the progress and status of their work with other researchers’ work.

2. Work Overload

Excessive work pressure and relentless overtime working induces anxiety and increases stress levels amongst PhD students.

3. Role Ambiguity

It is often seen that a candidate is unaware about their role in the study and what the supervisor or the Principal Investigator (P.I.) expects out of them as a peer.

4. Physiological Factors

While embarking on a PhD., students often take time to adapt to the physiological changes that come along. Dealing with physical health issues diverts your mind from focusing on your research work.

5. Behavioral Approach

Researchers tend to follow a fixed framework to complete their experiments. When unexpected results are derived, finding an alternative solution to obtain conclusions and scheduling a proper action plan encroaches the minds of a PhD student.

6. Performance Pressure

Most Ph.D students also work while pursuing their research. Hence, maintaining regular attendance, achieving goals, keeping the grades high, and completing assignments while adhering to deadlines can take a toll on their mental health.

7. Relationship with Supervisor

Working in isolation will not take you a long way. Not maintaining a healthy work-relationship with your supervisor affects the research outcome and by extension affects your mental health.

Tips for PhD Students to Overcome Anxiety

The solution to the  rising stress levels and mental health issues  faced by PhD researchers does not solely lie in the institutions providing on-campus mental-health support. Furthermore, it also does not depend on the institutions providing training for supervisors to deal with their group of students in coping with the stress. It also lies in understanding that stress is a consequence of an excessive focus on measuring performance. In addition, other entities such as the funders, academic institutions, journals, and publishers must also take responsibility of the mental health of researchers in a way that is feasible and within their limits.

The late nights and early mornings spent within four walls while completing your PhD, juggling between work and study, papers to publish, supervisors to please, and perhaps also living up to your family’s expectations takes a toll on you.These are some common instances where most Ph.D students are taken aback and left clueless.

The first step in fixing the problem is acknowledging it!

1. Finding an Credible Supervisor

As your supervisor is someone who will guide you throughout your program and help you face challenges, it is imperative to select your supervisor carefully. This process of identifying an incredible supervisor could get difficult and leave you confused. But a trick to deal with this is identifying a supervisor who is supportive, actively working in your field, has a strong publication record, and can give you sufficient time for mentoring.

2. Find the Right Research Funding Body

High rates of stress and depression arises at this stage of your PhD Strategizing your path into  choosing the right funding body for your research  is very important. Focus on maximizing the value of your research rather than just looking for monetary support.

3. Time Management

As a researcher, the key to a  stress-free research workflow is effective time management . Prioritize your tasks and plan your day based on the same. Set realistic and achievable goals. Do not overwhelm yourself with too many tasks to be done on a single day. Online project management tools such as Asana, Trello, ProofHub, etc. will help you to be on the top of your tasks.

4. Maintain a Healthy and Professional Supervisor‒Student Relationship

Finding yourself alone is quite normal for most people. Try building new connections with your colleagues and be affable to everyone. Maintaining a healthy and professional supervisor-student relationship is critical for the success of any research work.  Good communication will give you and the supervisor a clearer picture of your work. Share your honest concerns with your colleagues and supervisor in the most respectful way. If there is minimal response, reach out to the mental health team of your institution to resolve any conflicts amicably.

5. Presenting Negative or In-conclusive Results

There’s nothing to be ashamed of if your experiment does not deliver the expected results. Honest presentation of results is what makes you an ethical and respected researcher in the community,  irrespective of the results being positive, negative, or mixed . Compare your results and review them using tables or charts for effective presentation.

6. Writing Your Thesis

Here’s when you are one step closer to completing your PhD! The journey from here on is only uphill. So don’t push yourself back now. Start with planning your writing activities with a fresh mind. Furthermore, define sections of your thesis and focus on one section at a time. Don’t bother yourself with editing and formatting of the thesis. Complete the writing part first. Work on editing and finally  proofreading  your article to refurbish it in the next stage.

7. Select the Right Journal

Now that the writing process is completed, there’s no looking back from here. But the threat of falling prey to predatory journals cannot be unseen. Make this process easier by finding a journal that is related to your discipline. Consider the impact factor of the journal. Use journal finder tools such as  Enago’s Open Access Journal Finder , Elsevier Journal Finder , Springer Journal Suggester, Manuscript Matcher Tool in Web of Science Master List, etc. Once you have a list of journals, check their aims and scope to ensure your article fits their criteria.

Stress Management Tips for PhD Students and Early Career Researchers

Researchers must understand that completing their PhD is a part of their life and that it will come to an end someday. Whilst pursuing PhD  neglecting your mental health will eventually affect your research outcomes  in future. Therefore, stress management is very crucial to preserve your mental health and lead a peaceful life.

Follow these tips to maintain a work­‒life balance and preserve your mental health:

1. Acknowledging the Problem

We often deny that our mental health is affected by an external factor. It is important to understand what is bothering you and keeping you from achieving your goals. Therefore, once you are aware of the cause, accept it and work in a way to combat it.

2. Talk About the Problem

Being negligent and keeping those bothersome thoughts to yourself will only worsen the situation. Talk about your concerns with people who would care about it and help you deal with your anxiety.

3. Improve Your Organizational Skills

Your  key to successfully completing your PhD  is by managing your tasks efficiently without over-committing. Hence, maintaining a balance between professional and personal work is crucial.

4. Social Involvement

Engage yourself in social activities to keep your mind from spiraling in the pool of negative thoughts. Additionally, join groups that are not related to your domain. Learn to make connections with new people and get to know them better.

5. Rekindle Long Lost Hobbies

Get that old sketch book you left in the groove! Reembrace hobbies you haven’t been able to catch up with for a really long time. In addition, engage in fun activities or games that make you happy.

6. Practice Mindfulness

Try the 2-step exercise called “ The Mindful Pause ”. In this, you pause before or during a stressor and attentively breathe for 15 seconds, followed by one question for yourself — how might I use one of my character strengths right now? Take positive action with any character strength that pops up.

7. Meditate as a Relaxation Response

Spare 10-20 minutes a day, preferably in the morning to meditate. This involves silent repetition of a word, sound, or phrase while sitting quietly with a good posture and eyes closed.

8. Get Involved in Any Form of Physical Activity

Implement any form of physical activity in your daily routine to improve your cognitive and physical abilities. Consequently, the release of endorphins whilst exercising acts as a catalyst in keeping your spirits high.

9. Be Grateful

Acknowledge and appreciate the gift of life. Unleash your gratitude for being able to fulfil your dreams. Furthermore, remember every positive thing that has ever happened to you and express gratitude for having made things possible.

How often have you been stressed out while pursuing your PhD? Have you ever followed any stress management tricks? What are your thoughts on these advices to PhD students? What was your move in coping with stress associated to your research? Has maintaining proper work-life balance been easy for you? Let us know about your and your colleagues’ experiences in combating stress in the comments section below!

I have faced stress and maintaining balance in my life. Working full-time while pursuing a Ph.D. full-time with a family has been challenging thus far. I am going to try utilizing these tips to see how they help.

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Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

PhD Burnout: Managing Energy, Stress, Anxiety & Your Mental Health

PhDs are renowned for being stressful and when you add a global pandemic into the mix it’s no surprise that many students are struggling with their mental health. Unfortunately this can often lead to PhD fatigue which may eventually lead to burnout.

In this post we’ll explore what academic burnout is and how it comes about, then discuss some tips I picked up for managing mental health during my own PhD.

Please note that I am by no means an expert in this area. I’ve worked in seven different labs before, during and after my PhD so I have a fair idea of research stress but even so, I don’t have all the answers.

If you’re feeling burnt out or depressed and finding the pressure too much, please reach out to friends and family or give the Samaritans a call to talk things through.

Note – This post, and its follow on about maintaining PhD motivation were inspired by a reader who asked for recommendations on dealing with PhD fatigue. I love hearing from all of you, so if you have any ideas for topics which you, or others, could find useful please do let me know either in the comments section below or by getting in contact . Or just pop me a message to say hi. 🙂

This post is part of my PhD mindset series, you can check out the full series below:

• PhD Burnout: Managing Energy, Stress, Anxiety & Your Mental Health (this part!)
• PhD Motivation: How to Stay Driven From Cover Letter to Completion
• How to Stop Procrastinating and Start Studying

What is PhD Burnout?

Whenever I’ve gone anywhere near social media relating to PhDs I see overwhelmed PhD students who are some combination of overwhelmed, de-energised or depressed.

Specifically I often see Americans talking about the importance of talking through their PhD difficulties with a therapist, which I find a little alarming. It’s great to seek help but even better to avoid the need in the first place.

Sadly, none of this is unusual. As this survey shows, depression is common for PhD students and of note: at higher levels than for working professionals.

All of these feelings can be connected to academic burnout.

The World Health Organisation classifies burnout as a syndrome with symptoms of:

– Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; – Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; – Reduced professional efficacy. Symptoms of burnout as classified by the WHO. Source .

This often leads to students falling completely out of love with the topic they decided to spend years of their life researching!

The pandemic has added extra pressures and constraints which can make it even more difficult to have a well balanced and positive PhD experience. Therefore it is more important than ever to take care of yourself, so that not only can you continue to make progress in your project but also ensure you stay healthy.

What are the Stages of Burnout?

Psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North developed a 12 stage model of burnout. The following graphic by The Present Psychologist does a great job at conveying each of these.

I don’t know about you, but I can personally identify with several of the stages and it’s scary to see how they can potentially lead down a path to complete mental and physical burnout. I also think it’s interesting that neglecting needs (stage 3) happens so early on. If you check in with yourself regularly you can hopefully halt your burnout journey at that point.

PhDs can be tough but burnout isn’t an inevitability. Here are a few suggestions for how you can look after your mental health and avoid academic burnout.

Overcoming PhD Burnout

Manage your energy levels, maintaining energy levels day to day.

• Eat well and eat regularly. Try to avoid nutritionless high sugar foods which can play havoc with your energy levels. Instead aim for low GI food . Maybe I’m just getting old but I really do recommend eating some fruit and veg. My favourite book of 2021, How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reduce Disease , is well worth a read. Not a fan of veggies? Either disguise them or at least eat some fruit such as apples and bananas. Sliced apple with some peanut butter is a delicious and nutritious low GI snack. Check out my series of posts on cooking nutritious meals on a budget.
• Get enough sleep. It doesn’t take PhD-level research to realise that you need to rest properly if you want to avoid becoming exhausted! How much sleep someone needs to feel well-rested varies person to person, so I won’t prescribe that you get a specific amount, but 6-9 hours is the range typically recommended. Personally, I take getting enough sleep very seriously and try to get a minimum of 8 hours.

A side note on caffeine consumption: Do PhD students need caffeine to survive?

In a word, no!

Although a culture of caffeine consumption goes hand in hand with intense work, PhD students certainly don’t need caffeine to survive. How do I know? I didn’t have any at all during my own PhD. In fact, I wrote a whole post about it .

By all means consume as much caffeine as you want, just know that it doesn’t have to be a prerequisite for successfully completing a PhD.

Maintaining energy throughout your whole PhD

• Pace yourself. As I mention later in the post I strongly recommend treating your PhD like a normal full-time job. This means only working 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Doing so could help realign your stress, anxiety and depression levels with comparatively less-depressed professional workers . There will of course be times when this isn’t possible and you’ll need to work longer hours to make a certain deadline. But working long hours should not be the norm. It’s good to try and balance the workload as best you can across the whole of your PhD. For instance, I often encourage people to start writing papers earlier than they think as these can later become chapters in your thesis. It’s things like this that can help you avoid excess stress in your final year.
• Take time off to recharge. All work and no play makes for an exhausted PhD student! Make the most of opportunities to get involved with extracurricular activities (often at a discount!). I wrote a whole post about making the most of opportunities during your PhD . PhD students should have time for a social life, again I’ve written about that . Also give yourself permission to take time-off day to day for self care, whether that’s to go for a walk in nature, meet friends or binge-watch a show on Netflix. Even within a single working day I often find I’m far more efficient when I break up my work into chunks and allow myself to take time off in-between. This is also a good way to avoid procrastination!

Reduce Stress and Anxiety

During your PhD there will inevitably be times of stress. Your experiments may not be going as planned, deadlines may be coming up fast or you may find yourself pushed too far outside of your comfort zone. But if you manage your response well you’ll hopefully be able to avoid PhD burnout. I’ll say it again: stress does not need to lead to burnout!

Everyone is unique in terms of what works for them so I’d recommend writing down a list of what you find helpful when you feel stressed, anxious or sad and then you can refer to it when you next experience that feeling.

I’ve created a mental health reminders print-out to refer to when times get tough. It’s available now in the resources library (subscribe for free to get the password!).

Below are a few general suggestions to avoid PhD burnout which work for me and you may find helpful.

• Exercise. When you’re feeling down it can be tough to motivate yourself to go and exercise but I always feel much better for it afterwards. When we exercise it helps our body to adapt at dealing with stress, so getting into a good habit can work wonders for both your mental and physical health. Why not see if your uni has any unusual sports or activities you could try? I tried scuba diving and surfing while at Imperial! But remember, exercise doesn’t need to be difficult. It could just involve going for a walk around the block at lunch or taking the stairs rather than the lift.
• Cook / Bake. I appreciate that for many people cooking can be anything but relaxing, so if you don’t enjoy the pressure of cooking an actual meal perhaps give baking a go. Personally I really enjoy putting a podcast on and making food. Pinterest and Youtube can be great visual places to find new recipes.
• Let your mind relax. Switching off is a skill and I’ve found meditation a great way to help clear my mind. It’s amazing how noticeably different I can feel afterwards, having not previously been aware of how many thoughts were buzzing around! Yoga can also be another good way to relax and be present in the moment. My partner and I have been working our way through 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene on Youtube and I’d recommend it as a good way to ease yourself in. As well as being great for your mind, yoga also ticks the box for exercise!
• Read a book. I’ve previously written about the benefits of reading fiction * and I still believe it’s one of the best ways to relax. Reading allows you to immerse yourself in a different world and it’s a great way to entertain yourself during a commute.

* Wondering how I got something published in Science ? Read my guide here .

Talk It Through

• Meet with your supervisor. Don’t suffer in silence, if you’re finding yourself struggling or burned out raise this with your supervisor and they should be able to work with you to find ways to reduce the pressure. This may involve you taking some time off, delegating some of your workload, suggesting an alternative course of action or signposting you to services your university offers.

Also remember that facing PhD-related challenges can be common. I wrote a whole post about mine in case you want to cheer yourself up! We can’t control everything we encounter, but we can control our response.

A free self-care checklist is also now available in the resources library , providing ideas to stay healthy and avoid PhD burnout.

Top Tips for Avoiding PhD Burnout

On top of everything we’ve covered in the sections above, here are a few overarching tips which I think could help you to avoid PhD burnout:

• Work sensible hours . You shouldn’t feel under pressure from your supervisor or anyone else to be pulling crazy hours on a regular basis. Even if you adore your project it isn’t healthy to be forfeiting other aspects of your life such as food, sleep and friends. As a starting point I suggest treating your PhD as a 9-5 job. About a year into my PhD I shared how many hours I was working .
• Reduce your use of social media. If you feel like social media could be having a negative impact on your mental health, why not try having a break from it?
• Do things outside of your PhD . Bonus points if this includes spending time outdoors, getting exercise or spending time with friends. Basically, make sure the PhD isn’t the only thing occupying both your mental and physical ife.
• Regularly check in on how you’re feeling. If you wait until you’re truly burnt out before seeking help, it is likely to take you a long time to recover and you may even feel that dropping out is your only option. While that can be a completely valid choice I would strongly suggest to check in with yourself on a regular basis and speak to someone early on (be that your supervisor, or a friend or family member) if you find yourself struggling.

I really hope that this post has been useful for you. Nothing is more important than your mental health and PhD burnout can really disrupt that. If you’ve got any comments or suggestions which you think other PhD scholars could find useful please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

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Strategies for coping with dissertation stress.

The dissertation is typically the largest independent research and writing project a doctoral candidate has ever undertaken. Completing the dissertation successfully is an enormous and exciting achievement, but before the pride of accomplishment is yours to relish, first come many months and even years of heavy demands on your intellect, time, and energy. Illustrating the effects of these demands, the attrition rate for doctoral programs can range from 40% to 60% (Cosgrove, 2019).

Furthermore, researchers have found that online doctoral programs can have even higher dropout rates (Ruud, Saclarides, George-Jackson, & Lubienski, 2018). Given these alarmingly high attrition rates, strategies that help to support your persistence through the hard times while completing your dissertation are very important to consider if you want to be one of the successful candidates in your program.

Keeping in mind the core, driving motivation for completing the dissertation can help with maintaining persistence for many doctoral candidates (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). But, obtaining support from others is often a vital ingredient for promoting retention and degree completion (Berry, 2017; Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). Cultivating relationships through which you can access such support is an important early step in preparing yourself to weather the challenges that lie ahead of you in the dissertation process.

In our blog, we focus often on the technical challenges of completing the dissertation, such as selecting a research problem, developing an aligned methodology, writing to scholarly standards, and conducting data analysis. But, in addition to mastering these technical elements, getting through to the finish line with your dissertation is also about managing stressors and keeping your life and mental health on track. Finding the right type of support to get through all of this is just as important as learning how to complete APA editing and conduct statistical analysis .

The research literature documents several specific types of stressors that are important to consider and plan for as you embark on your dissertation journey, and this article will review a few of these along with suggestions to help you think about ways to support yourself optimally when the going gets tough. In a general sense, the struggle to maintain balance across demands from school, work, and personal life is a common challenge that can lead to attrition in doctoral students (Martinez, Ordu, Della Sala, & McFarlane, 2013). Feeling as though you’re in over your head in terms of the research process is another commonly cited reason doctoral candidates have given for leaving (or thinking about leaving) their programs (Pyhältö, Toom, Stubb, & Lonka, 2012). Falling behind schedule and feeling unsupported by the dissertation committee have also been reported as common precursors to attrition (Barry, Woods, Warnecke, Stirling, & Martin, 2018; Hunter & Devine, 2016).

In the course of our dissertation consulting with doctoral candidates, we often hear from our clients these same feelings of being lost, unsupported, and stretched too thin. A good dissertation coach will help you through not only the technical difficulties but also the psychological challenges of completing the dissertation. So, to face these challenges head-on, we suggest that you recognize in advance the specific types of stressors you are likely to experience with your dissertation and then think about what might help you to get through these challenges successfully. With this understanding of the potential trials to come, you can then plan ahead so that you’re ready to handle these effectively should they arise.

Struggling to Maintain Your School-Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is a term drawn from the organizational psychology literature that refers to a state where we’re able to reasonably manage the demands of both work and our non-work lives. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have equal time for work and non-work activities, but that you feel that you’re able to “keep up” with both of these major spheres of adult life without collapsing from exhaustion or having a nervous breakdown. The same sort of balance is important for doctoral candidates, whether you are working full-time on your doctoral studies or juggling school, work, and even family all at once. This juggling act can be draining over an extended period, and in fact, doctoral candidates who were considering leaving their programs often reported that feelings of exhaustion and stress were at the root of these feelings (Pyhältö et al., 2012).

In the face heavy demands in multiple major life arenas, doctoral students expressed that it was important to make deliberate efforts to manage their time to maintain school-work-life balance (Martinez et al., 2013). Many of us are not accustomed to scheduling our personal time, but this type of forethought and planned structure will definitely help when taking on such a time-intensive project as a dissertation. Instead of simply planning to work on the dissertation “in your spare time,” it is important to schedule out blocks of time in advance to devote to research, writing, and editing to keep your dissertation moving forward. Our dissertation consulting clients have also shared that scheduling fun activities and relaxation time in advance can help with managing stress as well, as it ensures that you find the time for yourself in the midst of all this hard work.

In spite of these best-laid plans, however, doctoral candidates expressed that they often had to shift their priorities quickly to accommodate the unplanned needs that popped up in their lives while working on their dissertations (Martinez et al., 2013). One doctoral candidate referred to this as the “tyranny of the urgent” as she described her efforts to manage her constantly changing priorities (Martinez et al., 2013, p. 46). Urgent demands from work or personal life sometimes require that you work at a hectic pace or back-burner your dissertation.

Feeling Like You Just Don’t Get It

Another major area of stress for doctoral candidates is that, having never conducted a study of their own design before, many feel lost and confused as they sort through the collection of decisions they face when starting the prospectus and dissertation proposal. Identifying a research problem and gap in the literature can be daunting the first time you try it. Understanding the different applications of quantitative versus qualitative research methods can be very confusing at first, and aligning the problem with the right methodology can be extremely difficult when you’re just learning how.

On top of the sheer difficulty of learning how to conduct scholarly research, the self-directed nature of the dissertation process can definitely contribute to feelings of being in over your head. Doctoral candidates reported that, in contrast to the more structured coursework leading up to their research projects, the dissertation was largely unstructured and required that they make tough decisions and develop core competencies independently (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). Deciding on a topic, planning an aligned methodology, and developing scholarly writing skills in self-directed manner (i.e., without any outside help) was often reported as the most challenging aspect of earning a doctoral degree (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012).

The self-directed nature of the dissertation adds a particular level of challenge, as you need to be able to independently locate and review resources to guide your development of your research topic and methodology. For example, if you are planning a qualitative research and analysis approach, you need to locate authoritative sources on qualitative research methods, read these, and then weave the ideas from these sources into your written rationale for use of your chosen method. Peers, committee members, and even a good old-fashioned Google search can often help you to identify relevant sources. Many doctoral candidates also turn to a professional dissertation coach for additional support to fully develop their understanding of the complex concepts and processes involved in conducting a study.

Once the proposal has been developed and approved, then doctoral candidates must move through the steps of collecting data and analyzing it, which is often the first time many have engaged in this process. Analyzing data can be extremely challenging for the novice researcher. Qualitative analysis can be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of data to be managed along with the need to master qualitative analysis software such as NVivo. Statistical analysis can also be a very confusing process from start to finish, as reflected by one doctoral candidate’s succinct summation, “I hate statistics!” (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012, p. 208).

Many of you probably resonate with this perspective, and fortunately for you, being a professional statistician is not anywhere in the job description of the doctoral candidate. In fact, even seasoned researchers often turn to specialists when it comes to data analysis! So, if there is a faculty member at your university you can lean on for statistical consulting , or if you have a peer who has conducted qualitative analysis and can help light the way for you, reaching out to these sources of support can do wonders. In our provision of dissertation assistance, we also routinely offer guidance and assistance with both statistical analysis and qualitative analysis to doctoral candidates who need additional support to get through this very challenging segment of their studies.

Identifying and then leaning on appropriate sources of support will definitely help you to feel less “lost” with your dissertation, which will then help to alleviate stress and anxiety. Managing such distress will ultimately be very important for promoting your persistence through to degree completion. Illustrating this point, Pyhältö et al. (2012) found that doctoral candidates who were considering leaving their programs often cited high levels of anxiety and stress related to their dissertations.

The demands of the dissertation can make you feel as though you’re pushing up against your own limitations. Whether those limitations lie in areas like writing, completion of qualitative or statistical analysis, or even editing and formatting, without appropriate support, the anxiety and stress this induces has influenced many doctoral candidates to give up. So, with this in mind, we suggest that you plan ahead, find appropriate supports, and hang in there!

Falling Behind in Your Schedule

The demands of working on a project that is challenging both in terms of intellectual demands and sheer size can often lead to falling behind in the planned schedule for completing the dissertation. This can be very stressful for a number of reasons. Given that every term you are enrolled requires payment of tuition, the longer the dissertation process stretches out, the more you end up paying in full for the doctoral degree. The expense factor can be very stressful, and the feelings of failure to live up to your chair and committee’s expectations regarding academic progress certainly don’t help either. In extreme cases, falling behind in the dissertation schedule can result in candidates pushing up against the time limit imposed by the university program for completing the study. This can mean failure to obtain the degree or having to restart the process, bringing additional work, stress, and of course, cost.

Staying on a reasonable schedule is important for many reasons, but of particular importance is that mental health can actually suffer as the result of falling behind. Doctoral candidates who were behind schedule with their studies reported psychological stress, high anxiety, and even depression symptoms (Barry et al., 2018). When you’re facing a lengthy period of dissertation research that you know will be this challenging, it will definitely help to plan ahead so that you’re ready to take steps to effectively cope with threats to your psychological health. According the transactional model of stress and coping, coping strategies can be either problem-focused or emotion-focused (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Choosing the most effective type of coping strategy hinges upon sizing up the nature of the stressor that lies in front of you.

When the stressor you’re facing is something that you have control over, then problem-focused coping is ideal. Problem-focused coping refers to actions that help you to solve the underlying problem that is causing you stress. One such underlying problem that doctoral candidates reported often was finding the time to work on the dissertation (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). In this case, a problem-focused coping approach would involve taking proactive steps to free up time to devote to your dissertation. You might schedule weekly play dates for the kids so that you have reliable, distraction-free time for research, writing, and editing. You might use a few vacation days from work to free up several hours of time to devote to writing your literature review or completing your statistical or qualitative analysis after data collection.

Even when you regularly devote time to working on your dissertation, another frustrating experience that can cause you to fall behind is failure to obtain approval on specific sections of the work. Many of our clients describe going through round after round of revisions and editing on specific areas of their proposals or dissertations, only to receive yet another collection of critical comments from their committees. In this situation, enlisting the aid of dissertation assistance professionals can be a great problem-focused strategy for troubleshooting aspects of the study that are becoming sticking points. Resolving these areas of setback more efficiently will help to get you back on track with your dissertation timeline, which will definitely relieve some stress.

As mentioned previously, problem-focused coping is optimal when the stressor you’re facing is one that you actually have some control over. But, what about those stressors that we cannot control? In these cases, emotion-focused coping is the way to go. Emotion-focused coping refers to actions you take that just help you to feel better, even though the underlying stressor might remain present.

Although problem-focused strategies to keep on schedule with the dissertation were endorsed by doctoral candidates, many also shared that taking time for their own enjoyment and relaxation was important for maintaining their well-being (Martinez et al., 2013). So, if you’ve taken all of the steps possible to stay on schedule but still fall a bit behind, try to work in some self-care and relaxation to boost your spirits. This might just give you the strength to keeping pushing forward!

Feeling Unsupported by Your Chair or Committee

Given the many challenges of completing the dissertation, your chair and committee are essential supports for guiding you through this process from start to finish. Developing a research topic and aligned methodology, writing a literature review, conducting your qualitative or statistical analysis, and interpreting your findings are all major steps in the dissertation process that require clear and constructive guidance from your committee members. When committees fail to guide and help you appropriately, the feelings of being lost and confused we discussed previously are only exacerbated. When committee guidance is unclear or sends you in different directions depending on which committee member is giving you feedback, the potential for falling behind schedule and/or throwing your life out of balance is heightened as well.

If you’re recognizing your own experiences here, you’re not alone. In fact, Spaulding and Rockinson-Szapkiw (2012) found that difficulties communicating productively with or meeting the divergent expectations of their different committee members were commonly reported problems among doctoral candidates. Doctoral candidates also shared a common frustration over having to rework their dissertations after they thought they had everything just right, all because their committee members kept changing their minds about what they wanted (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012).

In our dissertation consulting experience, we hear about these types of experiences so often, and having a teammate in the process who can help you cope with difficult committees can be enormously helpful. Importantly, Hunter and Devine (2016) found that doctoral candidates who reported lower perceived levels of supervisor and department support also reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave their programs. So, whether you reach out to peers or professional dissertation consultants (or both), we hope that you seek out support if you’re faced with a committee that is running you ragged. Don’t give up!

Final Thoughts

The prestige of a doctoral degree comes with tons of hard work and dogged persistence. When describing the factors that boosted their persistence, doctoral candidates commonly reported that support systems had a very positive influence (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). These support systems might vary from one doctoral candidate to the next, depending on the nature of your peer group and formal supports. Notably, online doctoral candidates agreed that supportive relationships with peers were important, but some with very busy work schedules expressed difficulty forming supportive social relationships with peers (Berry, 2017).

Considering all of the above findings, we can see that there is no “one size fits all” support system for getting through the dissertation. Some doctoral candidates rely heavily on peers in their cohorts to help them through the hard times, some have fabulous committees, and some call in the professionals when dissertation assistance is needed. A support system comprised of all of these can also be particularly helpful. But, the main lesson to keep in mind is that supporting yourself to manage the various stressors that arise during the dissertation will help give you the strength to persist through to the finish line. We’re here as your teammate should you need us, and to celebrate your successes along the way!

• Barry, K. M., Woods, M., Warnecke, E., Stirling, C., & Martin, A. (2018). Psychological health of doctoral candidates, study-related challenges and perceived performance.  Higher Education Research & Development, 37 (3), 468-483. doi:10.1080/07294360.2018.1425979
• Berry, S. (2017). Student support networks in online doctoral programs: Exploring nested communities.  International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 12 , 33-48. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=ed-facarticles
• Cosgrove, P. B. (2019). The nature of success in doctoral education: The roles of the student, the advisor, and goals. In  Self-Directed Learning Strategies in Adult Educational Contexts  (pp. 90-109). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
• Hunter, K. H., & Devine, K. (2016). Doctoral students’ emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave academia. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11, 35-61. Retrieved from http://ijds.org/Volume11/IJDSv11p035-061Hunter2198.pdf
• Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping . New York, NY: Springer.
• Martinez, E., Ordu, C., Della Sala, M. R., & McFarlane, A. (2013). Striving to obtain a school-work-life balance: The full-time doctoral student.  International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 8, 39-59. Retrieved from http://informingscience.com/ijds/Volume8/IJDSv8p039-059Martinez0375.pdf
• Pyhältö, K., Toom, A., Stubb, J., & Lonka, K. (2012). Challenges of becoming a scholar: A study of doctoral students’ problems and well-being.  ISRN Education, 2012, 1-12. doi:10.5402/2012/934941
• Ruud, C. M., Saclarides, E. S., George-Jackson, C. E., & Lubienski, S. T. (2018). Tipping points: Doctoral students and consideration of departure. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 20 (3), 286–307. doi:10.1177/1521025116666082
• Spaulding, L. S., & Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. J. (2012). Hearing their voices: Factors doctoral candidates attribute to their persistence.  International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 7 (1), 199-219. Retrieved from http://informingscience.com/ijds/Volume7/IJDSv7p199-219Spaulding334.pdf

Five Tips for Managing Stress while Writing a Dissertation

Writing a dissertation can be a long, challenging, and stressful process that demands dedication, hard work, and, most importantly, self-care. Neglecting your mental health while writing a dissertation can have serious consequences. It’s essential to prioritize it to ensure a positive outcome. In this blog, we will discuss five tips to care for your mental health while writing a dissertation.

Tip 1: Create and Stick to a Routine

Establishing a routine is crucial in maintaining good mental health while writing a dissertation. A routine can help you manage stress and increase productivity by providing structure and predictability in your life (Gladding, 2020). Creating a routine can involve setting a schedule for writing, taking breaks, engaging in physical exercise, and practicing self-care. By adhering to a routine, you can reduce stress, increase focus, and improve your overall well-being.

Tip 2: Set Realistic Goals and Expectations

The pressure to succeed can be high when writing a dissertation. It’s essential to set realistic goals and expectations for yourself. Unrealistic expectations can increase stress and negatively impact mental health (American Psychological Association, n.d.). By breaking down your work into manageable steps and setting realistic goals, you can reduce stress and increase the chances of success. Remember that success is not defined by one outcome, and taking care of your mental health should be a top priority.

Tip 3: Engage in Self-Care

Self-care is crucial in maintaining good mental health while writing a dissertation. Self-care activities promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being and can include exercise, sleep, healthy eating, and taking breaks (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Engaging in physical exercise can help reduce stress, improve focus, and increase overall well-being, while self-care activities can promote relaxation and provide a mental break from the demands of writing a dissertation.

Tip 4: Build a Support Network

Feeling isolated and lonely while writing a dissertation can have a negative impact on mental health. To counteract these feelings, it’s essential to connect with others and build a support network. This can include friends, family, peers in your academic field, or campus resources such as counseling services or student organizations (Gladding, 2020). Having a support network can provide emotional support, help you navigate the challenges of writing a dissertation, and improve your overall well-being.

Tip 5: Seek Help if Needed

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or struggling with mental health issues, it’s essential to seek help. This can include talking to a friend or family member, reaching out to campus resources, or seeking professional counseling (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Remember, campus resources for mental health care are often either free for students or offered at a reduced cost compared to those in private practice. Seeking help is a sign of strength and can be a critical step towards improving your mental health and well-being while writing a dissertation.

In conclusion, writing a dissertation can be a long and challenging process, and it’s essential to prioritize your mental health while working on it. By following these tips, including creating a routine, setting realistic goals, engaging in physical exercise and self-care, connecting with others, and seeking help if needed, you can reduce stress, increase resilience, and improve your chances of success. Remember, taking care of your mental health should be a top priority, and seeking help is a sign of strength.

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Stress in America. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/

Gladding, S. T. (2020). Mental Health and Wellness in College and Beyond. Pearson.

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• Dealing With PhD Stress The Right Way: Advice From 3 PhD Graduates

Do you know who gets the PhD? The person who perseveres. And dealing with the stress is one key factor that you must overcome in order to successfully graduate. You may experience one (or a combination) of the following during your PhD and at different stages of your graduate career ( and are signs to look for and not ignore ):

• Constantly feeling you can’t work hard enough
• Feeling overwhelmed by the workload
• Feeling like you are not working to your true ability
• Inability to focus
• Feeling like nothing you do has any impact, and that you have no control
• Feeling that even easy things have become difficult
• Constant fear of failure
• Feeling like you don’t belong in a PhD program, and that you will be “found out”
• Physical or mental exhaustion

Whatever you have experienced up until this point whether you are in your first, second, third, fourth of fifth years and beyond-You know what’s crazy? In many ways, these feelings are “normal .” If they weren’t, it wouldn’t be much of a PhD. Or at least you’re not taking it “serious” enough (at least from what I was told and programmed to believe as a graduate student).

The point is that many PhDs may experience similar pain points and stress, but many will handle it in different ways-as the reason to start, endure, and finish a PhD is entirely individualistic. But this certainly does not mean you should ignore the warning signs  if the stress becomes overwhelming, as graduate school depression and anxiety is very serious.  You’re not alone , so don’t be afraid to seek help from a counselor, family, or friends.

What you have to keep in mind is that once you defend, these feelings that you are experiencing now will fade into the background . They become a thing of the past. Yes, it is hard to get through but remember it is only temporary .

If you do an informational interview with a PhD 10 or 20 years out, they will carry nostalgic memories and certain stories with them like how they used to be in lab till 2 in the morning. But the fact of the matter is, they have moved on (they have a job, a family, and aren’t eating out of a soup can everyday). They don’t want to remember the feelings of doubt, stress, and pressure (although when you spend 5+ years of your life in grad school there are just some things you will never forget). But, that’s why when you tell them the stress you are going through in your PhD program, you will still get a reaction out of them because you are taking them back to their old grad school days and they have shared those same struggles/feelings at one point in time.

So, in order to capture these “feelings” in their right moment, I asked two of my UW-Madison friends who just recently received their PhDs to write some tips on how they kept their stress levels low and successfully defended their PhD.

If you haven’t already, check out my previous article on 10 Ways to Successfully Defend Your PhD . Due to overwhelming requests and emails asking for my defense video and for additional tips on how to keep stress levels low, I decided to write an additional article focusing just on the stress issue. And I have posted the link to my defense video below.

Some emails I have gotten recently are (they will remain anonymous):

I am approaching the end of my PhD cycle and becoming increasingly nervous and anxious about the public discussion of my thesis! It has been a very lonely and long walk! Would it be possible to watch the video of your PhD defense? Just read your “10 Ways To Successfully Defend Your PhD,” which I found both enjoyable and stimulating. You mention a video of your own defense. I’d love to see it, if you’re still happy to share it. If you’ve seen other good defenses on youtube or elsewhere and have any additional links, those too would be much appreciated. I read your blog in the title of “10 Ways to successfully defend your PhD”. I think it is very useful for me; however, I want to request an example video of a defense talk that you suggest in your blog. I have a plan to defend my thesis on next Thursday. I feel very nervous, and I think my presentation is too long (80 slides). Do you agree with me ?

**My PhD defense video can be viewed here:

Http://bit.ly/1sait7o.

For a quick recap, the top 10 highlights were as follows:

• Do not underestimate how long it takes to prepare your slides/talk and make sure you give multiple practice talks (and in terms of how many slides or how long your talk should be-you should have this figured out by giving your practice talks and getting feedback from others)
• Listen to other thesis defense talks
• Have your friends, labmates, and others drill you with questions
• Re-read over your entire thesis and write out your own list of questions
• Don’t let distractions get to you
• Get plenty of sleep, keep your diet in check, and take care of yourself
• Keep your cool and relax**
• Don’t focus on the after-party until you have actually reached the after-party
• Have a good structure
• Visualize yourself giving your defense each day and think about how good it will feel when it’s over

What I want to focus and expand on here in this article is #7: Keep your cool and relax . Your nerves are going to be running high and it may be hard to sleep at night. But the goal of this article is to help put your mind at ease. There may be some overlap here (with #1-10 above), but since PhD “stress” is deeply-rooted-it is important to look at the overall big picture and have multiple solutions/approaches.

Advice From PhD Graduate #1

Dr. Jamie Hadac had these words to say before we cut to the chase:

First, let me start off by saying congratulations! You have made it this far, now it’s time for the final push. Hopefully your thesis is in good working order and now you just need to prepare for the big day. I recently defended and I have some tips. In general, do whatever it takes to keep your confidence high and your stress low. I have divided these tips into two sections (8 Tips total), Professional and Personal.

Professional

• Practice, practice, practice ! Your talk will probably be a big source of stress. Try and practice in any way you can. I gave two talks to public audiences, (set up by a partnership through my university), two job talks, posters, and practice talks to lab mates. Of course you won’t always be giving the same talk as your defense talk, but you can gain a lot of insight for your Big Presentation. Things like timing, clarity, and other people’s critiques can be carried over from other talks. It will be a major confidence booster . The last thing you want to do at your defense is read word for word off your slides.
• Communicate with your thesis committee . Your defense should not be the first time you’ve talked to them since your last committee meeting. If you have committee members in close proximity, take some time to chat about your progress. They can provide a different perspective that you might not receive from your PI alone. Also, you can address their questions or concerns in a much more low-key environment. Be sure to ask how they want your thesis delivered: some prefer paper, others electronic.
• Think ‘Big Picture’. You now have to take your research in one little area and weave it into a greater body of knowledge. You will also be transitioning in to a new career or position. If anyone asks “so what?” you should have a solid and accessible answer. Your committee will see that you have thought about future directions for the lab, for your career, and for society. Show off the independence, perspective, and creativity you have cultivated.
• Be organized with dates and times . Chances are your graduate school has specific timelines for things like paperwork. Make sure you have done everything that needs to get done and clue your PI into these deadlines. Plug them into your phone if necessary. You don’t want to be messed up by an administrative technicality or forgetting to get a form.
• Make your healthcare a priority. I have some medical conditions that were exacerbated by stress. You are making major life changes, and it’s totally normal that they affect you on a physical level! I met with my primary care physician and we developed a strategy to make sure my health did not fall to the wayside during this time. Even if your health is fine, your insurance may cover things like massages or dental cleanings that will boost your confidence and reduce your stress.
• Clear your mind by moving your body . Your brain is probably doing a million things at once. Try and find an activity that lets you focus on one thing, like running, paddleboarding, or yoga. You may say you don’t have the time, but make the time . It will have profound affects on you physically and mentally .
• Banish negativity . You spend so much time thinking critically about experiments, data, and other people’s papers. Don’t let that carry over into being critical about yourself! Now is not the time to doubt or beat yourself up . Any time you have critical, confidence-ruining thoughts about yourself, write it down. Then write next to it why you are wrong or exaggerating. Then, if necessary, create solutions. If your mind says, “I’m terrible at public speaking, I can’t do it” remember you have spoken in public before, you aren’t terrible, and you have improved greatly in the last few years. Then, make some steps to get in some practice.
• You’ve done a lot of work, keep your energy high and stress low by getting a good night of sleep . Perhaps try going to bed 10 minutes earlier every night. By the end of the week you can get an extra hour in. Your brain needs it!

Advice From PhD Graduate #2

Dr. Nate Wlodarchak had these tips to share, focusing more on the earlier/during thesis writing stages:

The last two months before the defense were a challenge but they went fairly smooth despite many small road bumps. First, a little background: my PI is a new PI, so not very experienced in the process of matriculating students. That being the case, I didn’t have my PI to rely on to know what to do so I had to figure a lot of things out for myself. Having to talk to a lot of different people to figure this out was crucial, and communication was absolutely vital.

Sitting down to write the first time was a really daunting task . I looked at other people’s theses and thought how am I ever going to get to 200 pages ? I started by looking at my outline (from the 6 month meeting) and went from there. First, I had to find a place to write. Every time I went into lab I was asked so many questions and everyone needed so much help, I couldn’t get any work done. I also had to make a lot of figures, and making them on a laptop was just annoying, so the library wasn’t the best option for me either. I ended up doing most of my writing at home. It wasn’t as ideal but it worked pretty well.

The biggest problem was getting stressed whenever I wasn’t productive . I had to let that go and realize that some days are going to be more productive than others. I had mornings where I did a little bit, then goofed off all afternoon, but then was super-productive in the evening…even missing dinner. Forcing myself to stick to some arbitrary 9-5 schedule was stressful because if I wasn’t productive, my “relax time” wasn’t really relaxing. I had to sort of let the writing dictate the schedule. Obviously there were deadlines to meet, so sometimes I couldn’t afford that luxury, but when possible, it was a great stress reducer.

Of course during two months of writing, life happens too . I had weddings and family functions to attend as well as some other extracurricular activities. I found that these things reduced the stress level quite a bit, but needed to be planned for well so I didn’t have the writing monster always looming behind me. I also kept the important “life things” scheduled but made sure not to accept any extra responsibilities that would just add stress. Most importantly, if I didn’t keep some time for friends and socializing, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the stress down.

Sometimes stress is just out of your control though . Like when your PI gets you all of your corrections back three days after it was due to the committee and they blame you for it (despite the aforementioned PI having ample time to work on it). I was lucky enough to have a good support structure for those times, and don’t know what I would have done without them.

When all else failed, I took lots of walks, lots of bike rides, and sometimes just sat on the porch with a beer and watched the world pass by, remembering that in the big scheme of things life is just too short to waste time worrying .

Advice From PhD Graduate #3

Now I am going to add to the advice listed above. Based on the emails/requests that I have received on how to deal with the stress during a PhD (especially during those final weeks), my short answer (as cliche as it sounds) is that you must take each day at a time, but by all means- DO WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU . That is why you have 3 different people who have successfully defended their PhDs (included myself) providing you with advice and what worked for them. From this, I hope you can find your ‘personalized solution’ . Find out what that is and stick to it . I hope the advice so far has been useful. I will just add 3 additional tips:

2) If you are just a stressed out person by nature no matter what you do, and you are doing a combo of many of the things listed above (i.e. practicing your talk, getting sleep, getting exercise, eating right, keeping caffeine low, taking breaks, etc.), try a combo of magnesium and valerian root to calm your mood and help with night anxiety/insomnia.

3) Boost your confidence ! You’ve heard this before: Doing practice talks and getting feedback is the easiest way to feel like you are in control. The people who are the most nervous/anxious may also be the ones who haven’t spent enough time practicing/preparing.

I thought I would also add to this ‘theme’ of stress since there seems to be a link between stress and demotivation (becoming paralyzed, overwhelmed, fearful, feel like you’re going to have a nervous breakdown, too much to handle, etc.). Not only does stress weigh you down, but it can affect how you perform those final weeks leading up to your defense-the weeks that really count. Just to put it in perspective, here are the top 10 things that may be causing your demotivation :

• You’re demotivated by fear *
• You’re demotivated by setting the wrong goals
• You’re demotivated by lack of clarity about what you want
• You’re demotivated by a values-conflict
• You’re demotivated by lack of autonomy
• You’re demotivated by lack of a challenge  (or being “over-challenged”)
• You’re demotivated by grief
• You’re demotivated by loneliness *
• You’re demotivated by burn-out *
• You’re demotivated by what to do next (or you are distracted.. planning the PhD ‘after party’.. daydreaming)

The full context of these ’10 demotivators’ and how to keep the motivation is outside the scope of this article. But you can read some tips for how to get motivated again here . Additionally, some previous articles, such as 10 Ways to Be A Successful PhD Student and How To Win/Graduate Faster touch on motivation and how to graduate in a timely manner.

What I want to hit on is #1, #8, and #9, since they are the most relevant to PhD students. That isn’t to say that the other 7 points aren’t relevant or have some affect on you, but for the purposes of this article I have picked the tops ones.

Now you may be someone who is very motivated, but is just really stressed out. Or you may be someone who is lacking motivation and is stressed out. Or you may be someone who is highly motivated and has low stress (best-case scenario):

A) If you are very motivated and really stressed out, then you need to find ways to deal with your stress until you defend (see above).

B) If you are someone who is lacking motivation and is stressed out, you will benefit from the additional #1, #8, #9 tips.

C) If you are someone who is highly motivated and has low stress all the way up until your defense, then you’re lucky.

#1) If you are demotivated by fear find out what it is that is haunting you. Write it down. Go through each fear individually. Ask yourself where this thought or fear comes from . Fear can slow you down. It can make you feel lethargic.

If the fear you have is something like “I’m going give a poor thesis defense talk” why are you thinking this? Overcoming a certain fear isn’t exactly easy if it is something that has stuck with you for a long time. Do you know what my fear was? That I wouldn’t be able to answer the questions the audience or my thesis committee members were going to ask me. My fear was that I would embarrass myself and I would bomb a question .

Here is the bottom line: You know more about your project than anyone . This is 5-7 years of your life so you are the expert. If you have a fear then come up with a plan, break it into chunks, and come up with ways to boost your confidence.

When it comes to #8/#9 and dealing with PhD loneliness and burn-out..

If you are lonely/struggling with lack of social life, please read this article about Dealing with the Lack of Social Life in Graduate School , or Maintaining Relationships During Graduate School . Don’t be afraid to take breaks and get out there and be social to keep your sanity ! As Dr. Wlodarchak stated, during those two months of writing, life happens too. And you should let it happen. You will feel like someone locked you in a cave and you haven’t seen daylight for weeks. Once your thesis is handed in, that is a huge milestone but remember-it’s not over. But do whatever it takes to unwind, and keep the stress low-even if that means you go out for a night with your friends. Don’t feel guilty for doing this. Many PhD students shut out their social life/friends during those final weeks and months.

Remember at the beginning of this article I said, “What you have to keep in mind is that once you defend, these feelings that you are experiencing now will fade into the background . They become a thing of the past. Yes, it is hard to get through but remember it is only temporary? ” Therefore feeling burned out or lonely is also temporary . At least once you graduate, you’ll have more free time (hopefully) to make changes in your life and recoop certain ‘losses’ or put your time towards things you always wish you had (but couldn’t).. I can tell you for those who skip the post-doc and go directly into industry working a fulfilling job, this is the case (this will be a future post on the Post-PhD Life).

I myself experienced signs of burnout. But you have to learn to recognize it and fight it. And I pushed through. In fact, I was working a 20+ hour a week internship in industry while writing a thesis, doing paper revisions and experiments, and maintaining tissue culture. And that was for 7 months with 80+ hour weeks.  To this day, these are still the Top 10 Things that got me through and what helped me keep my motivation.

Overall- if you follow some of these tips to keep motivation levels high and your stress levels low, you will increase your chances of successfully defending your PhD and moving on to the next chapter of your life . And yes, the grass is greener on the other side. You will just have to find your own personalized solution to get you there.

 Further Reading:

An Anxious Mind

Tell the Negative Committee to Shut Up

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Dissertation Genius

Dealing with PhD Stress

April 8, 2016 by Dissertation Genius

The entire process of writing a PhD dissertation is a tedious one. From thinking of your research topic, coming up with a research question, and choosing a sample, to testing that sample, selecting a research method, doing a literature review, conducting the actual research, analyzing the results, and putting it all together, all this is not easy to do.

The Importance of Stress Management During PhD Dissertation Work

Compounding the stress of writing a PhD dissertation with the stress of daily life can be overwhelming for any doctoral student. The sad reality is that stress is a huge factor in many unsuccessful PhD dissertation attempts. The fact is that successful doctoral students are those that persevere and know how to deal with stress .

Avoidance as a Stress-Coping Mechanism is All-too Common Among Doctoral Students

When you are working on your doctorate (which is a long process), life will inevitably throws throw other stressors your way. This includes stressors related to financial issues, employment, taking care of family, and daily hassles. Therefore, the easy way out for many doctoral students is simply to postpone writing their next dissertation chapter or avoid conducting their research. This is fine when it’s done in moderation, as everyone needs a little down time to maintain their stamina. If you’re not careful, avoidance can become a primary coping mechanism for your stress and you don’t want that to happen.

But how do you go about dealing with the stress? And what are the best ways to manage it?

“To answer these questions, this article will first define stress. It will then give a list of warning signs for acute stress and, finally, it will offer practical solutions to manage your stress.”

Stressors and Stress – What are They?

To use a common definition, stressors are those people, places, events, or things that put pressure on you (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). These can range from dissertation tasks and financial distress to family and other relationship pressures.

Stress, on the other hand, is internal rather than external, and is a negative physical, mental, and emotional reaction to stressors (Lovallo, 1997). For instance, having an upcoming deadline for a dissertation chapter is a potential stressor that would likely cause stress, a physiological and emotional reaction inside a person who may react with pressure, anxiety, restlessness, etc.

Early Signs of Acute Stress

There are two types of signs for acute (serious) stress: emotional and behavioral.

Emotional Signs of Stress

• Apathy, sadness, not caring
• No longer finding pleasure in activities once found so
• Anxious, easily agitated, restless
• Argumentative, irritable, defensive, angry
• Mentally lazy, difficulty concentrating
• Avoidance of dealing with issues or problems

Behavioral Signs of Stress

• Behavioral avoidance, difficulty accepting things
• Neglecting normal responsibilities
• Compulsive behavior (e.g. indulging in things like overspending, sex, gambling, drugs, etc.)
• Poor caring of the self (in hygiene or appearance for example)
• Chronic tardiness and poor follow-through on tasks
• Legal and financial problems
• Aggressive impulses

Preventative Solutions to Stress Management

The best way to deal with stress is through preventative solutions allowing you to deal much more effectively with potential stressors. These solutions allow you to minimize the negative physiological traits of stress (therefore minimize psychological stress) when they arrive.

These preventative measures include:

• Structure & time management
• Prayer/Meditation
• Support Groups

Preventing Stress: Structure & Time Management

The key to effective structure and time management is to prioritize . When you’re inundated with tasks and the simple pressures of daily life (compounded with your dissertation), it can become difficult to differentiate between what’s important and what’s not.

Here, you may want to reassess your values to analyze what’s truly important to you. Is your PhD degree more important to you than a recent relationship for example? Once you work through your priorities, you can decide what is worth your time and what’s not. Then, based on this, you can develop a time-based schedule according to your priorities.

Preventing Stress: Prayer/Meditation

It first must be mentioned that prayer and meditation work, and are proven to work in minimizing stress (Horowitz, 2010; Hussain, 2010; Ren, Huang, & Zhang, 2013; Seaward, 2009). Regarding prayer, prayer does not need to be religion-affiliated. You don’t need to believe in a religion in order to believe that a power greater than yourself could help with solving your problems. A simple conversation asking for what you want is all that is necessary sometimes.

Furthermore, meditation is an excellent way of relieving stress. The important thing about meditation is to clear your mind of all those racing thoughts. To do this depends really on the person. Some people can achieve a meditative state (a clear mind) by being in a setting with complete silence. Others can achieve a meditative state while in in natural environments with the sounds of nature surrounding them.

If you’re not sure how to meditate, choose a relatively quiet setting and focus on just one particular sound, whether it’s the birds chirping, the wind blowing, the leaves rustling, the rain dropping, or even the fan turning, whatever it may be as long as you focus intensely on it and, thus, clear your mind. When you get used to achieving these meditative states, you will be absolutely amazed at how much more clear, effective, and logical your thinking will become.

Preventing Stress: Academic Support Groups

I define an academic support group broadly; it can include any setting with your peers where the general goal is to support and help one another achieve academic goals. The power of human support is therapeutic and effective. For you, support groups could be study groups, dissertation support groups, online forums, or discussion groups. You must try to take advantage of at least one of these. If you think you’re the only one going through the stress of writing a dissertation and dealing with other particular things in your life, you’re very wrong. You will find others who have gone through similar situations and have worked through them successfully. They can provide guidance, motivation, and a host of strategies to help you through your stress.

Preventing Stress: Exercise

Yes, you may have heard it a thousand times, but exercise as a tool of stress management is way too valuable not to mention. Moreover, doctoral students working on their dissertations tend to sit very long hours doing dissertation work. So they are guilty of shunning exercise. Habitual exercise, whether this means working out, jogging, aerobics, or just plain walking, increases the amounts of endorphins in your body which elevates your mood and energizes you. In addition, and this is absolutely vital, regular exercise decreases the amounts of cortisol in your body, which is the main chemical induced by stress.

Preventing Stress: Diet and Sleep

In addition to regular exercise, diet and sleep are absolutely vital for overall well-being, but especially for stress-prevention. Regarding diet, this means you must apply the well-known maxim “you are what you eat.” If you want your body to feel like junk, then eat all the junk and fast food you want. However, if you want to feel good and feel prepared for whatever life brings at you, then snack on some fruits & vegetables, eat less fried foods, buy a bottle of vitamins and take them instead of leaving them in your kitchen cabinet. Regarding caffeinated beverages, avoid large intakes of caffeine over a stretched period of time. Otherwise, you’re at very high risk of frying your nerves and making yourself more anxious and stressful. Moderation is key.

Next, sleep health is not to be ignored. The latest research suggests that the healthiest amounts of sleep should be at least about 7 hours (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015; Watson et al., 2015). Moreover, it is important for your body’s circadian rhythm sleep around the same time every night. Also, keep in mind that oversleep is just as precarious as the lack sleep.

References Horowitz S. (2010). Health benefits of meditation: What the newest research shows. Alternative and Complementary Therapies.16:2 Hussain, D. (2010).

Psychology of meditation and health: Present status and future directions. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy. 10:439.

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer Publications.

Lovallo, W. R. (1997). Stress & health: Biological and psychological interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ren, J., Huang, L., & Zhang, Z. (2013). Meditation makes a peaceful state of mind: People’s positive and negative emotional response can be reduced by meditation training. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 44(10), 1339-1348. doi:10.3724/sp.j.1041.2012.01339

Seaward, B. L. (2009). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Watson NF, Badr MS, Belenky G, et al. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: a joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep. Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep. 38. 843-844,

US Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). Sleep Health Objectives. Available from: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.pdf

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Six Tips to Survive the Dissertation

31 May 2021

It is an understatement to say that the dissertation is not always an easy ride. Many before you, my friends, and myself included, have experienced the endless all-nighters and the stress of nearly-missed deadlines. We have forgotten the things you should not forget, made the mistakes you should not make, and messed up the things you should not mess up.

Here is probably the greatest advantage of not going first: you can learn from our mistakes, and hopefully manage your time a little better than we did. From someone who is now on the other side, here are my top tips to avoid the last-minute panic and the "I am never gonna finish that thing" moments.

1. Do not forget the training for your research method

Based on your experience, some methods might require you to learn new formulas, adapt to programmes you have never used before, or understand tools that you did not even know existed.

While that sort of training is wonderful for skills development, it also needs to be taken into consideration when managing your time. I have seen it first-hand: watching YouTube tutorials on how to use Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to extract data from your survey at 02:00, ten days before the deadline, is no fun.

Before you even start digging into your literature, have a chat with your supervisor about what you will need to know when it comes to your method and data analysis, and plan enough time to learn and train if needed.

2. Have a step-by-step plan for gathering your materials

What if you have prepared everything for your interviews, but suddenly no one is available to be interviewed?

The answer is: it is not good.

Even before you start your literature review, write down a list of every step that is needed to gather your materials, evaluate the time that each step will require, and factor in the possible obstacles that might arise.

For example, interviews will require you to contact each participant individually with a proposed time, which they might reject. Re-scheduling is not a problem if you have contacted them well in advance, but it is a whole other thing when the deadline is dangerously approaching.

Set out a plan early on, and involve your supervisor — they have plenty of experience with gathering materials.

3. Get those references out of the way

Let us be honest: referencing is a pain, and you would rather be doing the dishes than trying to figure it out. But the sooner you get those references organised, the less likely you are to find yourself having to spend hours chasing articles later.

I personally created a separate document where I systematically noted down, in the correct style and alphabetical order, the references to all the articles that I was reading straight after I had read them. It is annoying in the short term, but very much worth it in the long run. It’s also quite useful to get an overview of the different sources you are using.

4. Remember that the dissertation is not a 24/7 job

It might be easy to lose touch with the outside world during the dissertation period (what day is it again?), but it is important to treat the dissertation just as you would any job.

For some, it might work well to see the dissertation as a 9 to 5 job, and to unwind during the evenings and weekends. Others might prefer to work on it every day, but only for half of the day. Whatever your preferred approach, remember to schedule time to get some fresh air and unwind; it might even help to note it down in your calendar.

The dissertation is a marathon, not a sprint.

5. Listen to your productivity pattern

You know that moment when you have had the same article open on your laptop for three hours and have no idea what it is even about, because you have been scrolling through Instagram looking at cute puppies all this time?

It happens to the best of us, and over the whole length of the dissertation, it can happen quite a lot. It is unrealistic to expect that you will be able to maintain the same level of focus throughout the entire day, every single day, for three months.

Take the time to analyse your moments of peak productivity (by keeping a productivity log for a few days, for instance) and schedule your tasks accordingly.

Do not force yourself to read an article at the end of the day if you know your concentration is at its lowest point around that time. Move on to organising your notes instead.

You can also research tools and techniques that can help with your concentration, such as Pomodoro or Forest, and ask your peers for their own techniques.

6. Avoid the trap of comparison

Some of your peers may work faster, appear more organised, and some may even finish two or three weeks before you do. The opposite may also be true: you might be miles ahead of them, and feel like you are missing something, or skipping steps.

But remember: your research is different from theirs, and so is your working pace/method. Some might decide to explore a theoretical framework in-depth, and therefore need to spend more time on their literature review, while others might be looking to do something brand new, and instead spend more time on their data gathering and analysis.

Some people might like to work fast on a first draft and spend time correcting everything later, while others might prefer to take their time and not have many corrections in the end.

My advice: if you are stressing about your time management, do not discuss it with your friends, go to your supervisor instead. They know your research, they will be able to tell you if you need to worry.

While some tips might seem obvious, it is easy to lose track of these simple things once you are lost in your dissertation.

Remember to take a step back at some point, and adjust your time management if needed.

Do not forget to reach out to your friends, family, supervisor, personal tutor, or coach if you are struggling: with all those brains working together, you are much more likely to find a solution. And make sure you do not overlook your own wellbeing, nothing is ever worth that.

Best of luck with the dissertation: I will see you on the other side soon!

Sophie is a graduate from the MSc in Marketing programme at the University of Edinburgh Business School

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Management of Stress and Anxiety Among PhD Students During Thesis Writing: A Qualitative Study

Affiliation.

• 1 Author Affiliations: Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Research Center, University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan (Drs Bazrafkan, Yousefi, and Yamani); and Applied Linguistics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Dr Shokrpour), Shiraz, Iran.
• PMID: 27455365
• DOI: 10.1097/HCM.0000000000000120

Today, postgraduate students experience a variety of stresses and anxiety in different situations of academic cycle. Stress and anxiety have been defined as a syndrome shown by emotional exhaustion and reduced personal goal achievement. This article addresses the causes and different strategies of coping with this phenomena by PhD students at Iranian Universities of Medical Sciences. The study was conducted by a qualitative method using conventional content analysis approach. Through purposive sampling, 16 postgraduate medical sciences PhD students were selected on the basis of theoretical sampling. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews and field observations. Six hundred fifty-four initial codes were summarized and classified into 4 main categories and 11 subcategories on the thematic coding stage dependent on conceptual similarities and differences. The obtained codes were categorized under 4 themes including "thesis as a major source of stress," "supervisor relationship," "socioeconomic problem," and "coping with stress and anxiety." It was concluded that PhD students experience stress and anxiety from a variety of sources and apply different methods of coping in effective and ineffective ways. Purposeful supervision and guidance can reduce the cause of stress and anxiety; in addition, coping strategy must be in a thoughtful approach, as recommended in this study.

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How to deal with a total lack of motivation, stress and anxiety when finishing my masters thesis?

I am a master's student in Germany. I am currently writing my thesis and am more or less done with it.

Last week, I wrote my Conclusions and Methodology, so the only things left are the Introduction and the Abstract. But I am not satisfied with my work at all. I do not think I serves any purpose and I do not even think it is worth anything. I am very stressed and anxious, and I am really thinking of not submitting at all. I want to do more work and more research but with only 3 weeks left b before the deadline (there is not much to do). I have pushed writing the Introduction for 3 days now. It is Wednesday and I was supposed to start writing it on Monday.

How do I get myself together and just get it done? 20 days left to the submission.

• 35 "I do not think I serves any purpose and I do not even think it is worth any thing." The purpose of a Master's thesis is to give you some training in whatever your chosen field is and to get you a Master's degree, which then enables you to do other things. I am not sure what other purpose you are imagining for the thesis. Are you by any chance comparing your thesis to research produced by mature, professional researchers with years of practice? Unless the thesis is truly extraordinary, chances that it will be read by anyone are minimal, so there is no point in fretting too much about it. –  Adam Přenosil Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 17:05
• 1 Well I just so happened to read the paper of one of research associates in the department i am currently studying, and their research is incomparable with mine. I feel very shallow and weak somehow, especially knowing that he is going to be on part of my hearing committee. I do not even feel like i have the tools to defend myself against his knowledge. That is what is giving me all the stress. –  Florian Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 20:06
• 6 Have you talked to your advisors or professors ? –  Job_September_2020 Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 20:09
• 24 You are still a student. You have not even finished your Master's degree yet. No-one expects your research output to match the output of more experienced researchers, and it would be non-sensical for you to expect this too. –  Adam Přenosil Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 20:21
• 5 Might be worth reading about imposter syndrome since it seems like it might be contributing: academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11765/… –  Bryan Krause ♦ Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 20:51

8 Answers 8

It is possible that your judgement of the value is flawed. After all, you probably know more about the topic than almost anyone else and so it seems to you, with your knowledge, to be less than it is.

I suggest that you talk to a couple of people. One is an advisor or other trusted faculty member. But the other is a counsellor, who can advise you on why your feelings at the moment might not match the reality of the situation. This is an issue similar to Imposter Syndrome actually, though directed at the work rather than yourself.

A counsellor is good for stress reduction also, I suspect.

You may just need to turn the remains work into a scheduling problem, wading through the swamp of it to reach the other side.

• 15 +1. Your university quite probably has professional services for exactly this kind of situation. Just act now, because they may not be able to meet with you immediately. –  Stephan Kolassa Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 15:37

You are just a master student starting your path in research. From the way your question is worded, your expectations of what your work was supposed to be are extremely high (and probably unattainable). I would suggest you to talk with your advisor (the other person besides you that knows what your work is about), ask him what he thinks about the work you did and about your performance in the program. But, besides everything, try to fix a date where you sit and write what is remaining! For example, promise yourself that this Friday, at 15:00 hours, you will sit down in front your monitor and start writing. Fixing times like that helped me overcome the fear of a blank page . Even if what you write is not good enough, the next day you will not be confronted by a blank page, instead you will have a draft that can be modified. If the thoughts of not being good enough keep lurking you, remember that everybody face that kind of negative feelings.

From Emmy Noether's wikipedia page:

Under the supervision of Paul Gordan she wrote her dissertation, ""On Complete Systems of Invariants for Ternary Biquadratic Forms", (...) Although it had been well received, Noether later described her thesis and a number of subsequent similar papers she produced as "crap".

• 5 Poets also sometimes say their earlier work is crap, but it only indicates growth and the fact that you can and should do better with more experience. –  Buffy Commented Aug 9, 2023 at 19:16
• 3 Masters in Germany generally last 2 years just fyi. There are 1 year masters but generally only with a 4 year Bachelor which is uncommon –  SirHawrk Commented Aug 10, 2023 at 6:22
• @SirHawrk thank you for telling me, I edited my answer accordingly. –  Amelian Commented Aug 10, 2023 at 14:21
• +1 - (very) roughly speaking, as a student, one is still learning; first we learn to actually learn, then, for masters, how to write thesis, and finally, the PhD student is learning how to do real research and write articles that can be published in scientific journals. I suspect even most papers written as a PhD student are fairly insignificant, scientifically. –  j4nd3r53n Commented Aug 11, 2023 at 9:01

It might sound stupid but here is something that just might work for you (everyone is different):

Go to a park (now the weather is also getting nicer again in Germany) with pen and paper, without laptop and start writing about your thesis like you would do for an introduction but also just notes or loosely connected thoughts you might have. The pace, environment is different than on a desk which could get you out of the routine that got you stuck at this point. Maybe you can even bring a friend with you and just talk about the thesis while making notes, a little back-and-forth to even further alter the setting that you are in.

Afterwards use your notes and form it into a proper introduction.

I do similar things when writing scientifically but also for songwriting: Just write something now, make it a proper text later. There is a chance that it might not work for you obviously but 20 days seems like plenty of time to write an abstract and introduction to fool around with some other method for one or two days.

Best of luck!

• 1 I have a variant of this "routine breaking" advice. I simply open a new document and write a vulgar draft, trying genuinely to explain what I did but not "dressing it nicely", allowing myself to lament and vent all my misgivings in the text. Perhaps this makes a 4 page document. A few days later I copy it back into the main document, giggle at the thought of leaving it all in, and begin deleting unprofessional bits. Most of it thus disappears but some of it will be salvageable, maybe 2 paragraphs. Often I'll then want to expand a bit. But even if I am fully demoralized, at least it now exists. –  Eric Nathan Stucky Commented Aug 11, 2023 at 5:04

Try to relax. What you feel is pretty normal.

Most students think they have produced nothing but crap when they are about to hand in their thesis. That's a consequence of the stress you have had in the recent months.

I do not think I serves any purpose

It does. You will get your master's degree. That's the only purpose of a master thesis. Your supervisor will read it, grade it and put it onto a shelf in their office. And nobody will ever read it again. You do not have to hand in hundreds of pages of excellent scientific work. If you want that, continue with a doctorate.

I am really thinking of not submitting at all

Do not be afraid of a bad grade or a failure. At our university, theses usually fail if they are either too short or not handed in at all. As long as your thesis meets the formal requirements (e.g. number of pages) and does not completely miss the point, you will get a decent grade. If you do not submit it, you will fail, though. And believe me, that's not worth it.

I felt similar when writing my master's thesis. I even expressed feelings of having wasted a bunch of time writing something that was so narrow and specific that I couldn't imagine anyone could ever benefit from it. My advisor shared that this is often the way with research. She likened each project to a single grain of sand. In researching, you are illuminating one particular grain of knowledge. Taken with all the other offerings of the rest of your field, we get a clearer and clearer picture of how things really are.

I gave this advice to one of my friends, who finished his thesis, and thought it helpful:

• It's time to write, not read. Start writing what you can.
• You also will have a list of references and/or bibiliography, work on that.
• You likely will have figures, so work on them also.

Also, make a ring on a piece of paper, like a circular pie chart. Estimate the percentage that you are done and start filling in the circle, this will help motivate you.

Finally, you already have an "emergency thesis" in your mind that you will fall back on. Commit that to paper, you can improve it if need be.

Be in communication with your advisor, or if this isn't possible, a mentor that you trust. An "intelligent sounding board" is always useful.

Best wishes!

• 2 Also: don't get sidetracked into displacement activities. Now is /definitely/ not the time to- for example- redraw all your illustrations so that their metadata is compatible with PDF. –  Mark Morgan Lloyd Commented Aug 10, 2023 at 12:01

I do not even feel like I have the tools to defend myself against his knowledge. That is what is giving me all the stress.

That would make perfect sense... if your thesis was in the discipline of Defence Against the Dark Arts .

If someone on your committee will act like it was a confrontation or a battle, that doesn't make them fit for that duty. So, I sincerely hope that nobody during examination will be openly antagonistic and trying to belittle your work. That's not the way to act, and none of that would be your fault. If they only noticed problems with your work during the examination, they have missed their chance at being useful. That's also why it's important that you make sure the committe is acquainted with the current draft of your work, and that you get as much feedback as you can ahead of the examination . Even the strongest critique - should there be any need for that at all - can be delivered in a professional and courteous manner. Academic environment is also about teaching - that means bringing up successors into the field.

Being prepared for examination doesn't mean cramming. Rather it means knowing what to expect from the examiners by interacting with them previously , enough so that you can be fairly confident that they are familiar with your work, approach, style of presentation, etc. and seem comfortable with it. The examination should not have any surprises for you - not because you've re-read all the subject notes from the entire degree's worth of material one week prior, but because you have a feel for what the edxaminers care about, which of their interests may intersect with your work, and so on. It's more about the human side of things that having your mind full of facts.

Unfortunately, on the Master's examination of one of my peers there was an openly hostile examiner who for no good reason whatsoever tried to find everything wrong with the student's work only then in spite of being familiar with it ahead of time, and not really raising any objections earlier. In my opinion that is unproductive - never mind terribly stressful for everyone, and probably cringe-inducing in other, more level-headed examiners in the same room. This is bad behavior - being aware of it should at least help you understand that none of your work can justify that.

Instead of looking for inspiration or motivation to get you going so that you are riding on a wave of enthusiasm or enjoying the task, forget about all of that and only consider what will happen if you do not submit your work, forget motivation or how meaningful it all is or the meaning of life at this moment, just consider what will happen if you simply blow it off and do not submit your final work.

Also remember, perfection is the enemy of all things good.

If you cannot find the energy to do something because you do not see any real meaning in the reward you will get, or you simply cannot summon the interest and attention span to focus on the task, change your focus to the consequences of not doing it instead. You are not cherry-picking the perfect existence at your leisure you are avoiding certain disaster that comes from inaction.

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Downloadable Content

Stress and Coping Mechanisms Among College Students

• Masters Thesis
• Cornejo, Joaquin
• Park, Hyun Sun
• Brown, Jodi
• Acuña, Maria
• Social Work
• California State University, Northridge
• self-acceptance.
• college students
• self-compassion
• Dissertations, Academic -- CSUN -- Social Work.
• coping mechanism
• 2020-06-01T19:29:25Z
• http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/216140
• by Joaquin Cornejo
• California State University, Northridge. Department of Social Work.

Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

• Dissertation Blogs

Dissertation Stress: Don’t Ignore the Warning Signs

Writing a dissertation is a very lengthy and difficult process. The students working on a dissertation often become a victim of dissertation writing stress. Therefore, before the stress can worsen your dissertation, you need to identify the sign of dissertation writing stress and avoid them from occurring. The preventive methods suggested in this article will help you avoid the dissertation stress and its signs.

Writing a dissertation is not an easy task. You need to work right from the process of identifying the research topic, formulating the questions, selecting the right methodology, reviewing the literature, and analysing the results. With such a huge responsibility, the students often get stressed.

Need for Stress Management: Dissertation Writing Stress

The stress plays a very vital role in the success of PhD dissertation. Only those students succeed who are capable of dealing with their stress are successful with their dissertation. Therefore, the students need to focus on stress management for a successful dissertation.

Signs of Stress

The students working on their dissertation can experience two types of stress: emotional and behavioural.

1. Emotional Signs

• Loss of interest in the activities that you felt interesting
• Restless and anxious
• Angry, argumentative and irritable
• Concentration issues
• Mental Laziness
• Avoiding dealing with problems

2. Behavioural Signs

• Difficulty in accepting things
• Avoiding regular responsibilities
• Behaving Compulsively
• Poor self-caring
• Financial and legal issues
• Poor follow-through on task

Preventive Solutions

Now that you known the need and the signs of dissertation writing stress, it is essential that you deal with it to make your dissertation submission successful. The best way to deal with it is through preventive solutions rather than solving it after it occurs. The best preventive measures to avoid stress are

• Time Management

1. Meditation

Meditation is a proven method of avoiding stress. The best thing about it is that it helps you clear your mind of the unnecessary thoughts that become the factors of stress. Achieving a meditating state depends on from one person to another. Some might achieve it in a silent place while some might active it in a natural place. While you meditate yourself out of stress, you can get help from dissertation writers in UK from the best dissertation writing services. These dissertation services in UK can complete your dissertation with a very high quality.

2. Exercise

Exercise is one of the most important tips that everyone provides. It is a very important and priceless tool to manage one’s stress. Moreover, as students working on dissertation have to sit for a long time, they definitely need some exercise to keep themselves physically active. Regular exercise increases the endorphin count in our body. This endorphin is responsible to energise you and elevate your mood. Moreover, doing exercise regularly reduces your cholesterol, which is one of the key chemical ingredients driving stress.

During your exercise, if the fitness freak within you awakens and you need to spend more time on fitness, you can get dissertation writing help from cheap dissertation writing services. These services will provide you dissertation services in UK at very reasonable prices without disrupting the quality.

Along with regular exercise, a well-structured diet plan is essential. The saying “you are what you eat” perfectly applies in this case.

When you eat junk food, your body will behave like a junk. While, feeding on a healthy diet will keep your body fit, active and healthy.  The best ways to stay focused on your dissertation and avoid stress is to snack on fruits and vegetables and avoid deep-fried foods.  In addition, some bottle of vitamins can keep you energized for your dissertation.  While some might suggest caffeinated beverages, you should always to consume a small amount of caffeine.

Sleep is important element in human life that is difficult to ignore. Being a student working on a dissertation, you should sleep for around seven hours a day to remain active and avoid stress. Moreover, you need to ensure that you sleep regularly at the same time to maintain the circadian rhythm of your body. Keep in mind that oversleep is equally harmful as lack of sleep.

Have you wondered why to waste your time while sleeping? In that case, you must get help from dissertation writing services in UK who can provide you with best dissertation writing service in UK .

Stress might be a huge blocker for your dissertation and it is essential that you do not ignore the warning signs. However, why wait for the signs to appear? You can take the precautionary steps discussed in this article to avoid stress and their signs. On the other hand, if need dissertation help from someone, you can reach out to Uniresearchers , one of the dissertation writing services in UK. It provides dissertation writing help to all the students looking for cheap dissertation writing services.

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science dissertation writing guides

5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Coping with Dissertation Stress

Just like any other academic task, writing a good dissertation isn’t an easy task. The task itself is overwhelming, and there is no doubt that students often make mistakes during the writing process. These mistakes can cause distress among students, better known as dissertation stress, since no student wants to fail or re-do the paper again.

However, the good news is that with proper strategies and measures, it is easy to manage and control dissertation stress by understanding the elements leading to such stress when writing a dissertation and avoiding mistakes early enough. Keep reading this guide to have useful insights on stress management dissertation.

What makes up a good dissertation?

Before we discuss how to manage stress of dissertation, let’s, first of all, understand the elements that make up a compelling dissertation. These elements include the following:

• It follows the set writing guidelines or requirements
• Outlines the objectives in a clear manner
• Has a clear structure – well organized
• A good dissertation is made up of strong points supporting the thesis (well-researched)
• Demonstrates originality
• It should be well-referenced (citations according to the requirements)

These are among the many other elements that will make your dissertation stand out.

How to handle dissertation stress

Sometimes, dissertation stress quotes and other stressors when writing a dissertation are inevitable. However, with the following approaches, you can handle such stress like a pro and bring out the best dissertation:

• Start early to beat the deadline
• Understand the assignment first
• Take breaks
• Keep your research materials and books organized
• Create a plan to follow
• Ask for dissertation stress help when you feel overwhelmed

5 Mistakes to Avoid when writing a dissertation

Some dissertation writers often make the following mistakes during the writing process, which make it a bit complicated to finish the project appropriately. Therefore, avoid these mistakes for a smooth writing process.

• Starting late

Even when you feel you are a pro, a dissertation is a big project that requires adequate time to prepare, gather resources, do research, and write. When you start early, you will have enough time to organize yourself and write the paper without feeling stressed.

• Selecting a wrong dissertation topic

The basis of a good dissertation is a good topic. In case you pick a weak topic, then your whole dissertation will be weak. Besides, you can exhaust all the ideas while in the middle of the research, thus feeling the pressure. Therefore, always select a researchable and interesting topic in your field of study.

• Writing a weak thesis statement

A thesis statement plays a big role in the details you include in your dissertation. All the points and details you describe in the dissertation should align with the thesis statement. If you include ideas that contradict the thesis statement, you are likely to lose track of your writing process, thus causing dissertation stress.

• Failure to create a dissertation outline

The number one secrete to writing a perfect dissertation on time is creating an outline that will guide you when writing the sections of the main dissertation draft for submission. Therefore as you plan the writing process, always include time for creating a detailed outline to escape dissertation stress.

• Not proofreading well

A dissertation being a big project requires adequate attention to detail. That is why proofreading after the writing process is essential. However, you can proofread but still get it wrong. Mistakes such as grammar errors, typos, plagiarism, and improper formatting can cost you a lot. That is why it is a good move to seek expert help when it comes to proofreading a dissertation paper.

How well are you prepared to write your upcoming dissertation? This guide gives you some insights into the mistakes you should take note of and avoid in advance.

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Dealing with Premed Stress

New section.

Being a pre-med student is stressful. Even with a busy semester behind you, you might be using your summer to volunteer or do research, prepare for the MCAT® exam, or work on your medical school applications. But summer is also a good time to unwind and begin to practice healthy habits.

• Cook at home. It’s tempting to save time by always buying meals on the go, but cooking for yourself can actually be a stress relieving activity — and it’s often the healthier choice. Plus, it will save you money! Try listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook while you cook, or turn it into a social activity by cooking with your roommate or significant other.
• Compare less. Comparing your grades, scores, and activities to others can be toxic. Everyone’s path to medical school is different, and medical schools want to see what your passions are and what drives you — not that you’ve checked every box. What makes you different from your peers can be what makes you a great applicant and future doctor. If you’re not sure what your personal motivations or passions are, spend some time journaling (also a great stress reducer — see number 5!) about your goals and interests. It’s OK if they are not related to medicine.
• Find a physical activity you love. It’s important to do something active to relieve stress and stay healthy, so if you know you’ll never get the motivation to go to the gym, try other things you might enjoy. It can be adventurous like rock climbing, kayaking, or skiing, but it can also be as simple as going for a bike ride or a walk with a friend.
• Try meditating. To get your mind off the next thing on your to-do list, try practicing meditation. There are lots of different forms of meditation, and even spending just a few minutes a day in silence can be a great way to clear your mind. There are free apps and online videos that can help you get started.  
• Write it down. Try taking a few minutes to note everything that’s on your mind, whether it’s related to school or not. What you write doesn’t have to be complete sentences or even words — some people enjoy doodling or sketching when they’re stressed. It can be a relief just to get everything out of your head and see what you’re thinking about. Then as a next step, you can organize your thoughts into things you can take action on now, and things you can focus on later. This can give you some perspective and help you prioritize next steps.
• Talk about it. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone, whether it’s a friend, relative, mentor, or counselor. This is especially true if you find yourself relying on alcohol or other unhealthy stress management methods. Everyone struggles sometimes, and it’s good to have a support network of people who can help you talk through issues and encourage you through rough times.
• Sleep and drink water. Getting enough sleep and staying hydrated can help you study and retain information more effectively. Prioritizing sleep isn’t always easy, but having a designated bedtime may push you to manage your time more productively, and help you to create and stick to a realistic schedule.

Learning to take care of yourself now is an important step to becoming a good physician. You will do a better job of taking care of others if you’re taking care of yourself. It’s always easier to set new habits when you aren’t in the most stressful season, so carve out some time this summer to do what’s best for you.

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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Emotional intelligence, perceived stress, coping strategies and burnout in high stress nursing job types.

Chris Hutsell , Liberty University Follow

School of Behavioral Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Jerry Green

emotional intelligence, burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal achievement, perceived stress, coping strategies, nursing

Disciplines

Recommended citation.

Hutsell, Chris, "Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Stress, Coping Strategies and Burnout in High Stress Nursing Job Types" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 5992. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5992

This quantitative, correlative study examined the relationships between emotional intelligence (EI), burnout, perceived stress, coping strategy approaches, and dimensions of burnout in nurses According to many in the healthcare industry, the U.S. is facing a potential nursing crisis by 2030. Research has indicated that inadequate staffing leads to heavier workloads that contribute to higher rates of injuries, medical errors, absenteeism, financial loss, stress, and job burnout in nurses. Studies have also indicated that emotional intelligence can alleviate perceived stress and burnout in nurses that reduce nursing injuries, medical errors, absenteeism that manifests as financial losses for the overall healthcare industry. This study examined these variables utilizing the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Brief COPE Inventory. The sample consisted of 98 licensed nurses employed in seven high-stress job types in the Los Angeles County area. Bivariate analyses revealed a significant correlation between emotional intelligence and overall burnout r (96) = -.68, p <.001, perceived stress r (96) = -.31, p =.002. There was no relationship between coping strategy approaches. Pearson’s correlation coefficient revealed that emotional intelligence could lower the burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion r (96) = -.63, p <.001 and personal achievement r (96) = -.59, p <.001 levels. Emotional intelligence did not predict depersonalization levels. This researcher recommends that emotional intelligence training be implemented throughout the nursing community.

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‘I am evil I did this’: Lucy Letby’s so-called confessions were written on advice of counsellors

Prosecutors used densely written Post-its to build case against nurse, but she was told to write down her feelings to cope with extreme stress, sources say

• Lucy Letby: killer or coincidence? Why some experts question the evidence

Scribbled notes by the neonatal nurse Lucy Letby , used to help convict her of murdering seven babies, were written on the advice of professionals as a way of dealing with extreme stress, the Guardian has learned.

The notes were relied on as amounting to a confession by the prosecution during her first trial and in the court of appeal, but sources close to the case said they were produced after counselling sessions as part of a therapeutic process in which she was advised to write down her troubling thoughts and feelings.

Densely written on Post-it notes and a torn sheet of paper, they were overwritten in places and sometimes highlighted in capitals. They included the words: “I am evil I did this,” “I killed them on purpose because I am not good enough to care for them and I am a horrible evil person,” and “hate.”

The prosecution used the notes to help build the case against Letby, ending the opening speech highlighting the phrase: “I am evil I did this.” Throughout the trial the jury was repeatedly reminded of that statement, and encouraged to interpret the notes literally.

But in the same notes Letby also said: “Not good enough”, “Why me?”, “I haven’t done anything wrong”, “Police investigation slander discrimination victimisation”.

Now widely referred to in the media as the confession notes, they were written after some of her colleagues started suspecting her and also referenced her family and pets, colleagues at work, and described repeated suicidal thoughts: “Kill myself right now”, “help”, “despair panic fear lost”, “I feel very alone and scared”.

There have been mounting questions in recent weeks over the safety of Letby’s conviction, against the backdrop of a public inquiry that is set to begin receiving evidence next week. A group of leading experts have called on the government to postpone or change the terms of reference of the inquiry over these concerns, including questions about some of the evidence presented at the trial.

Sources close to the case have told the Guardian that the Countess of Chester hospital’s own head of occupational health and wellbeing, Kathryn de Beger, encouraged Letby to write down her feelings as a way of coping with extreme stress. Letby’s Chester GP also advised her to write down thoughts she was struggling to process, according to these sources.

David Wilson, a professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, who specialises in serial killers, said in his view the so-called confession notes were “meaningless” and had no value as evidence, particularly if they had been written as part of counselling. “Many people will say things when they are under stress and feeling bereft, that seem to imply one thing but mean nothing at all, other than reflecting the underlying stress.”

“I always thought Letby’s notes were meaningless as evidence. If they were written as part of therapy you can underline that point three times and write it in bold and capital letters,” he added.

Letby was convicted last August of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others. In a retrial that ended in July she was convicted of attempting to murder a seventh. The notes did not feature in Letby’s appeal application, which was rejected.

The prosecution’s presentation of the notes was a key “gotcha moment”, according to Wilson. From his experience of trials, such moments tended to set the narrative for the whole proceedings. He believed they could have been very influential on the jury, especially when other evidence was technical and hard to understand, he said. Such moments “catch the jury’s attention and once you’ve caught it, it is really hard in our adversarial legal system to present alternatives successfully”, he added.

The notes were written at some point between July 2016, after she had been taken off the ward, and her arrest in July 2018. During this period she had been removed from her nursing duties after a cluster of deaths. She was told not to talk to most of her colleagues and so felt isolated and distressed, according to sources.

Nursing sources have said Letby was aware that senior consultants were talking openly about there being a serial killer on the unit and that gossip was pointing at her as someone who was on shift for many of the deaths.

Journalling, or writing down disturbing thoughts, is encouraged in general psychotherapy, according to Richard Curen, the chair of the Forensic Psychotherapy Society, who has worked as an expert witness and with victims and offenders for 25 years. “Doodling, journalling is a way of taking control of your thoughts. I don’t think it relates to a confession of any kind,” he said.

He added that Letby’s response on the notes in court was “robust, and seems right – she wrote down how she was being made to feel”.

“It’s useful to put words on paper to short-circuit overthinking when there’s a whirlpool of really confusing and disturbing thoughts going round and round in your head,” he said. “Once they are externalised you can maybe put them to one side and carry on with what needs your attention.”

De Beger gave Letby counselling over several sessions as part of support arranged by the hospital. Letby’s notes refer repeatedly to De Beger and to Bergerac, which appears to derive from the sound of her name.

The notes also mention her cats, Tigger and Smudge, her dog, Whiskey, and Tiny Boy, thought initially by investigators to be a reference to babies she killed but in fact her nickname for the small Yorkshire cross terrier dog, according to the sources close to the case.

Asked about the notes during her trial, Letby said she had always written things down to help understand her feelings, and that they were random thoughts. She said she was questioning herself and whether she had unintentionally done harm by not knowing enough or not being a good enough nurse, because of what was being said about her by doctors.

She denied in her first trial that the notes meant she killed or harmed babies. She said De Beger was “someone she was seeing” for support. The fact that writing the notes had been advised as part of counselling was not mentioned in court.

The defence argued during the trial that the notes represented Letby’s anguished state of mind when she was accused of killing babies and not “guilt”. “Anguish not guilt. A young woman who trained hard to be a nurse … who loved what she did, and found she was being blamed for the deaths of the babies she cared for,” the defence counsel Ben Myers told the jury. But no expert forensic psychologists were called to give evidence on how to interpret the notes.

The Countess of Chester hospital said it could not comment while the inquiry and further investigations were ongoing.

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