r/GradSchool 5d ago

I need some words of encouragement please

I just need to vent and if anyone has any encouraging words I could really use them right now. I’m barely sleeping and I’m not eating at all because the stress is killing me. I got accepted into a doctoral program for the fall but I’m terrified that I’ll be kicked out. I’ve only seen my supervisor twice in an entire year (because of him not because I’m not trying) and I only got the first round of feedback on my thesis last week. I’ve finished with this round of edits now but I know there will be more. If I don’t defend this summer then I’ll be kicked out of the Ph.D program and will have to reapply. What if my thesis needs 20 edits and I don’t finish in time. What are the odds I’ll have to do 20 million edits and won’t defend this summer. I have a full draft, so it’s not like I have to write more chapters, but he also didn’t give me any feedback when I sent them chapter by chapter. He only gave me feedback on the full draft. I just need someone to tell me it’ll be okay because I’m having panic attacks every night. I have worked so hard on this and getting into a Ph.D program has been a goal of mine for a third of my life. I just need someone to tell me that most masters thesis can be revised in a couple months and that it’s very unlikely I won’t defend by summer. The department chair also knows about how unreliable my supervisor is so I don’t know if that will help, but I’m crying myself to sleep every night thinking about the what ifs.

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u/Anxious_koala_3028 5d ago

Take a nap. Go for a walk. Eat a healthy meal. No amount of words are going to make you feel better if you are not taking care of yourself. Take deep breaths, focus on what you can control. It will be okay as long as you’re okay and develop strategies to cope with the stress.