Thanks for your reply Hazyjane. My supervisor knows of my mental health issues, and I've told him I'll be taking at least this week off (I haven't been in since the incident last week). I'll look into student counselling at my university and hopefully they'll be able to help.

I haven't really taken any holidays since last year. It's been constant lab work since August last year so that's probably contributed to my situation now that I think of it. Maybe a trip to the relatives in Canada will do me the world of good.

Thanks again for your help.

I should add that I'm on a 4-year PhD programme and this is my 2nd attempt at a PhD. I left the last one when I was diagnosed with the illness.

Hi guys, I'm a newbie here so not sure if this kind of thing has been posted before. I'm due to submit my thesis in September (because of the university's "4 year rule"). That is ok (I think), as I've nearly written 2 of 3 results chapters, plus my Materials and Methods chapter. I wrote a literature review in first year so that just needs updated and expanded slightly. My problem is that 5 years ago I was diagnosed with a serious mental illness. It hasn't really bothered me or affected my progress up until now. However, last week I felt so down and depressed about my PhD that I seriously considered taking my life. It totally freaked me out and made me reconsider whether the PhD is really for me. I'm still collecting results for my final results chapter, and I think the stress of writing and experimenting at the same time just totally got to me. I think if this is how I react now, what would I be like at the viva? So I'm thinking of submitting what I have now and getting a Masters. Is there anyone out there who's been in a similar situation? I realise the final decision on what I do is mine, but any advice from fellow PhD'ers would be much appreciated.