I've gathered together huge ammounts of reading that I've just skimmed. I've done very little indepth stuff. I'm very good at rattling together progress reports and talking a good game. My tutors are very good but because I'm a mature student and successfully completed my Masters with them they are confident I can cope. I really need to consider an extension year if I'm going to do my thesis any justice.

Thanks Bilbo

Hello all. I am about to finish my 2nd year. I am on a studentship working with a government department. By mid September I have to finish a report for them and completed a first draft of my lit review (15,000 words minimum). My tutors think I've doing a good job and so does my sponsor however I'm a YEAR behind on my reading. Seriously a year. I have had some major problems in my personal life (physically and mentally draining) which have seriously effected my motivation for doing the PhD and have made me severely depressed. I do not want to go to the doctor as it will be on my medical records and I fear it will harm my job prospects. I feel I get no support from my family who are unwilling or unable to understand what I am doing - it's politics and it's as dry as sticks so I don't blame them. I'm about to start the final stage of my data collection and I feel that I'm going to be totally swamped. I'm so far behind it makes me want to cry. Doing the PhD was all I ever wanted to do for so many years and now that I am 2/3 of the way through it I feel a complete fraud and incapable of completing it.

Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks.