Thanks for your post.

Actually this is my first PhD year...I have no previous experience as PhD student and yes, I'm thinking of quitting this program to start with a new, very different one (which would be my second PhD program just to be clear).

I agree, a period off maybe could help.
This week I have a presentation and I have to work on it (I don't need to say that this is causing me a lot of anxiety) but maybe I can take 1 week off at the end of the month and take my time to think about it.

I totally understand how you feel!

I'm in a similar situation. Deep depression, loosing my hair, gastritis...I haven't had a panic attak..yet!

I'm going to quit my PhD but I have no idea yet how to do that.

But my advice is talk with your supervisor, try to work at home for a period and take your time to make a choice.


Don't think too much about the cigarette thing!

Good luck!

I am a PhD student in the Netherland. I am working on a biomolecular project but things are not going well for me.
The fact is that I have lost interest in the subject and I really would like to switch my career to another type of research.
The fact is that I would like to persuit an accademic career but the project I'm working on totally sucks.
I foud that there are many groups here working on animal behaviour and I would like to join one of them. Being an Ethologist is my dream but I never really considered it as a job opportunity because where I came from there are ZERO opportunity to work in that field. So when it was the moment to choose a Master Degree I went for Cellular Biology. Which is totally fine..I really enjoyed this type of study but to work for 4 years on the same protein is not for me.
I really feel I could do better working with animals because of the stong passion I have I think it will be doable to work on this subject for 4 years withouth going into depression like now.
I am also experiencing a sort of breakdown..I'm loosing my hair and I have a very bad gastritis..
I didn't talk to my supervisor about that. He is a very nice person and an exellent scientist am I am so sorry to disappoint him like this.I think this can be seen as a sign of weakness and I don't wont him to think that I am a weak person..is just that I am in the wrong place!
I have spent 1 year and 3 month working for him and I really feel that if I have to quit, now is the right moment.
But I am really concerned on HOW to explain this on my CV and also HOW to convince someone else to hire me as a PhD student since I have already quit another program I think probably they won't believe I am really motivated to do another one.
I thought maybe a good compromise would be to do an internship in the new lab to aquire knowledge in the field and to show that I am strongly motivated (working without being paied I think can show that I am able to to a step backward and that I am modest and motivated person)

Any suggestion or comment is really appreciated.
I feel so bad I can't describe it.

Thaks in advance.
Ilaria:-(