Hi Flower90
First things first don't worry about ranting I do it here as well.

I didn't go through a situation like that during my PhD but I am currently going through a rough time in life when I feel like I'm trying to achieve so much but fail at every hurdle. This makes me lose focus and gets me more depressed.

To keep yourself motivated is not easy but you can try the following tips as they are working for me:

1) Don't overwork yourself: I'm struggling with rosacea, have been given more responsibilities at work, depressed and would like to be back in the UK, struggling with family issues and am lonely, and am losing faith in myself. The pressure has been taking me to breaking point- to the point where I just don't care anymore. I tell myself things will get sorted with time- my productivity at work reduced but ironically I feel better about it and my boss isn't complaining. The rosacea is tough as it affects my face but went to a med and currently putting a lotion so hopefully it will subside. As for the UK, I told myself since my contract expires in 5 months I'll just leave and come back; in the meantime I'll apply for jobs and see what'll happen. Point is you're depressed and that's why you feel overloaded. The PhD will be completed and you can always tell employers that it took longer because you were ambitious in terms of scope and it ended up being a better project than expected- hence the need for more time!

2) Don't do too much! As HazyJane said it's just about answering a question that's what a PhD is and that's what helped me refine the scope of my study and pass my viva. Drop unnecessary chapters and consult your supervisor.

3) Remember: YOU'RE NOT ALONE! I'm going through semi-hell all on my own but music, football, & exercise keep me going.

Why not?!?!?! It would look good on the CV in my opinion.

Hey guys,

So now that it's July, I was starting to feel better as everything in my life seemed under control and improving (work, stress, etc…) when my rosacea is back with a vengeance!! My nose is as red as a tomato and it's bumps all over it :(:(.

I feel so cursed- has any of you ever experienced a situation in which you work so hard and everything is going well with no reason to complain/be sad only for something to suddenly ruin things?!?! It's like when it rains it pours- I spent 6 hours at the Emergency Unit of a nearby hospital to get a prescription gel which I hope does its job and I'm icing my nose as well. I hope it's not rhinophyma as that'd be a nightmare :(..wish me luck/support and thanks for your help.

Congratulations all the best!

Unfortunately there's no way to tell- it took me several months. Depends on your internal's circumstances. Follow-up with him every 3 weeks or so is my suggestion. I've been there and know how frustrating it can be. If you don't hear back in time it's ok you'll just graduated officially later than what you had in mind. I ended up graduating 2 months after when I had hoped to graduate. In the great scheme of things tbh, it's not a big deal.

I say be honest and proud! You've done the admirable thing of taking a job when needed even though you're far more qualified for it and now there's no shame in saying you've found something better. Congratulations!

See I did MMA myself during college and kept swimming (was a semi-pro swimmer earlier in my undergrad years). Now I don't get to do much of these but still go to the gym 6 days a week and am quite fit. Unfortunately my physical fitness is not matched on the psychological side- if you read my posts here you'll see I've been quite depressed lately so I guess overall I'm not at 100% health wise. I try to stay optimistic especially about the surgery I'm having in August for my teeth- if that goes well then 75% of my psychological issues will be gone.

I'd say keep boxing, have a varied lifestyle, and believe it or not just don't give a rat's. My contract at work expires in 5 months, I miss the UK so badly (currently in Canada), but you know what if they fire me or let me go so be it I'm sure I'll find another job and will just focus on the stuff I like doing like swimming. I've realised that happiness is priceless and more important than PhDs, careers etc… oddly enough I didn't appreciate how important being self-content is during the PhD, which was a negative. Now self-contentment and happiness are my mottos and guide my every decision in life even at the expense of time, money, etc…

Health comes first and self-contentment is a very close second.

When I think back I thought I was a numbnut for 6 months lol…didn't have a topic, didn't attend a single training session because I was depressed, and wanted to leave desperately. You'll feel "out of your depth" during the first year but my advice to you to minimise this is to settle on a topic and read as much as possible. I don't know enough about your PhD course/uni/department/programme structure to comment but I only started feeling comfortable once I read at least 50 papers and 20 books on my subject.

Hey JohnZ
I sometimes feel the same way- my experience was actually great and I didn't have the issues you faced but now that I'm done, I wonder if it was all worth it. Mind you with stuff in my personal life going really badly these days it is making me depressed about everything, but my opinion is that it's not bad to think retrospectively in this matter so long as you're fair and identify both positives and negatives. I've gotten many positives from the PhD and only a couple of negatives that I can think of. My career is OK (not as impressive as I'd like it to be but don't want to complain too much). Just remember you have your health- that is priceless.

a. Depends on course/university/thesis subject. These days it's very difficult irrespective but these factors have a major influence.
b. Not for Jan but the sooner you apply the better.
c. If you get a distinction and you stay in the same department yes you'll have a chance but remote- these days even a distinction doesn't warrant funding in many cases.

Hi HazyJane,
My manager really likes me and I'm in charge of so much that I find it hard to suddenly leave after 5 months (all my tasks have a 24 month horizon and knowing how busy it gets they don't have time to train someone else). I think I'll have this conversation end of August, after my orthodontic issue is over. I get the impression that my team and manager like me, and he's been happy with my work.

Update: things seem to be looking up- my orthodontist and I agreed to set up an appointment on Aug 9th to reverse parts of what has happened to my teeth and I'll get to see him mid-July now as well just to confirm/go over the details. We've gone over a plan and it seems that he understands my position. Fingers crossed- if this reversal goes well I'll be extremely happy. Fingers crossed don't want to jinx it.

Stay strong people and remember: sometimes we have to suffer to get to where we want in life. I would highly recommend listening to motivational tracks as they've been helping me through my depression and will do so until August for sure.

If you're applying to do another Master's the poor BA, whilst harming your chances, will not be of as much interest to them as the other Masters. If you do well in your Masters (distinction) then chances are they'll give more weight to that than the BA. So to answer you: yes you do have a chance to get in.

As for specific things to improve your chances, it's no secret that Oxbridge is very competitive. Depends on the programme you're applying to, but I would say for the personal statement talk about how you used your BA experience as an opportunity for personal growth and for reviving your academic aspirations, which thereby led you to ensure that you excel in the Masters. Also if there are similarities in the curriculum of the Oxbridge Masters and the Masters you currently have, emphasise them in the personal statement. Also, and THAT'S IMPORTANT, make sure your letters of recommendation are EXCELLENT- if you can get one lecturer/supervisor from your BA who could write something EXCELLENT then use him. Otherwise I'd avoid referees from the BA course and focus on ones from the Masters as letters of recommendation are fundamental in the admissions process.

Good luck!

There's no answer for that: it depends on your department, your application (how much supporting materials you included), the admission at your uni, etc… I would say from my experience don't expect a response before 8 weeks especially if you also applied for funding.

Hello all,
Just wanted to update you since I haven't forgotten how nice you've been.

1) My orthodontist assured me that parts of what's happened could be reversed and I'm booked for that on the 9th of August. Not much needs to be done so hopefully it's not going to change anything just reverse the way it's making my mandible look and function. It's just going to be horrible having to wait until the 9th of August and I'll have to pay some money but not so bothered about that as long as I'm happy. I'm just worried that there will be complications after the procedure as I don't know much about orthodontics :(:(. Any advice on how to deal with fear of the unknown? I suppose it could've been worse but that's a positive development.

2) My rosacea is under control (am on antibiotics) but will be off them soon and hope it doesn't get worse.

3) Things going well in my job but no talk of extending my contract beyond the 9 months. My contract expires December. Should I start looking for jobs now? I'm happy with my job- the work is interesting and impacts our everyday lives which is awesome, but one of the directors there doesn't like me much :(…my manager likes me though so it's a tough situation. Wait for another month before applying for other jobs?

Trying to be more optimistic and less depressed but any words of wisdom from you guys would help! Thanks as always.

Well that's not my experience but I know a bit about such courses.
1) I disagree with your supervisor: a MRes usually counts as a first year of a PhD and so if you do well in an MRes you start your thesis immediately. Master of Science is different from a Master in Research: whether it looks bad on your CV or not depends on your goal if your goal is a PhD then no it doesn't look bad. In fact some universities (LSE for example) would not allow you to start a PhD in Economics without having an MRes even if you have a distinction in the MSc course.
2) Again, if PhD is your goal and the 2nd university is leading the field then I'd go with that university.
3) Does your uni directly register students who do well in the MRes to the PhD?