Thank you for your response, I really appreciate it.

I was deliberately vague in my original post because I am afraid of being identified! I have ME, which means I get tired very easily and every day is a struggle to keep going. Despite the setbacks, I managed to complete my degree, so I thought I could battle the PhD.

I came straight from a masters degree, which included a year of full time laboratory work. I have always been extremely motivated, well disciplined and worked very hard. It's come as a bit of a shock to be in an unusual situation where I can't motivate myself. Possibly I have run out of steam from working so hard for my undergrad that I've let myself relax too much since there are fewer clear cut modules/goals/grades in a PhD. I need to find a way to impose some sort of structure to my work. I find with my PhD I am spending too much time "studying" and not enough time putting effort into the physical side of my experiments. I'm starting to wonder whether experimental work isn't my forté. Don't worry I am not offended by your assumption!

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I am 9 months in to a PhD course. It's a science PhD in an exciting, up and coming field and I am very lucky to be on it. However, I am having second thoughts about whether it is right for me. The thought of being stuck with it for the next three years is pretty terrifying. The thought of seriously quitting has only just come to me, although I have been doubting whether I'm in the right place for a while.

I just don't feel like I'm in the right place and that my skills are being put to their best use. I don't want to spend all this time on something this hard and it to turn out it was a waste of time. Right now, I definitely don't want to be a lab rat forever, and although I want to stay in science, I am not sure the PhD will be necessary for the career I want.

I can barely make it through the day even 9-5, I just get so tediously bored. Mostly I'm just not at all motivated. I started out like this, and 9 months on, nothing has picked up. I keep making plans to make things better, but I never work hard enough.
I feel like I am nowhere near as clever as I used to be. I feel really dense! Every day I'll make some sort of stupid mistake and set myself back. I am sure these feelings are common amongst PhD students, but I can only see it getting worse.

I have health issues that makes things difficult. Starting my PhD, my boss seemed very pessimistic about my health (just pushing to make sure I was making the right decision about starting the PhD), but I originally thought that I'm motivated enough to make it work. Now it just seems another reason to leave. I don't know how my health is going to be in another full-time job, but I know I'll be better if I am in an environment that's kinder to my mental health!

I don't give up on things, so I wouldn't take quitting lightly. The thought of what on earth will I do with my life if I quit is scary. I'm lucky I have such a good PhD, and feel I would be throwing a lot away if I quit.

I suppose I'm looking for guidance on:
1. How long should I leave it before I make my decision?
2. How on earth do I tell my boss?
3. How do I know I'm quitting for the right reasons?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me!