...leave a supervision meeting not on the verge of tears??? I always leave depressed and demoralised!

When I was booking my next session with my supervisor he said to e-mail him a few days before to see if it was worth meeting (i.e. if I'd managed to do anything worth discussing). He said that literally five times. I felt like turning to him and saying - I know I won't do it, you know I won't do it, why don't we just be honest and forget this next meeting!

SixKitten - I know exactly how you feel. Don't worry. Truth is if you aren't ready for a meeting don't have one! PhDs take time - don't think for a second this means you don't have what it takes. It is just another one of those steep inclines on the PhD learning curve. I am sure others will agree. Try not to beat yourself up. Better to cancel a meeting and then make the next one really productive. Good luck!

i know how you feel. my supervisor is the same he never says well done its always oh well.. never mind. try something else. think they need some training on how to motivate their students!

I found that my supervisor never really realised that I need my confidence boosting every once in a while. Then one day I turned around and said "I need some affirmation that what I am doing is right" - and he said "sure it is" - So I would suggest having a word with them about it. They are only human and negative (as opposed to constructively critical) comments will get you and them nowhere.