Hi all,

This autumn I'm starting a 'new' PhD. I quit my first PhD just over a year ago now, after about 7 months of study, because the subject area turned out to be very different to what I was wanting to do. I'm therefore really thankful that I've been offered this second opportunity and determined that this time it will work out - it's doing the subject I really want to be doing this time, so it should all be fine. However, I've started to get a bit of 'stage fright' - it's felt a while since I've been in academia, and I'm also going to be moving far away from my friends and family for the project. As someone who tends to worry, I'm already nervous that I'll feel lonely or stressed, which obviously isn't a good idea, as I need to be going in with a positive attitude to increase my chances of success! So do any of you have any 'coping mechanisms' for when times get tough or advice on how to stay positive when embarking on your PhD? I've recently started doing some mindfulness which I'm hoping will lower my anxiety.

Thanks!

Hi both, thanks very much for your replies. I'm just waiting to hear whether I have funding confirmed - if all goes well I thought I'd speak to her postdoc with whom I get on well, who I'm hoping will give me some advice regarding how to draft an email with a heads up then discuss face to face when she's back. I'm really praying all goes well, the uncertainty is killing me!

Hi everyone. I'm currently ~7 months into my PhD in the sciences. My supervisor is nice but I've had some misgivings about the project for a while and after a lot of thinking I'm (probably) leaving to do something pretty different - I still need to get all the funding confirmed, but I'm pursuing my slightly crazy dream to study in the States, but for an undergrad in liberal arts. This is because I've been really torn between pursuing different academic routes my whole life - in the end I ended up down a scientific one, but now I've finally accepted I'm just not ready to commit to a specific science PhD - yet, anyway. My supervisor is away for another week but now I've got the offer and it would be a very fast turnaround, I feel I should tell her over email then discuss properly when she's back. But how on earth do I do this - should I be vague and say I just want a discussion with her when she gets back, or should I tell her exactly what's going on. I feel bad enough she's getting such short notice in the first place, but I wanted to wait until I knew if the States was actually going to work out before telling her. Any advice would be seriously appreciated, thank you.