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While writing a dissertation besides minding your physical health, your mental health is of the same great value which shouldn’t be underestimated. Graduate school is undoubtedly stressful and demanding, which inquires lots of your time and efforts for sure. In order to succeed, one of the most crucial things here is your ability to cope with stress; your mental health does mean a lot.
Don’t feel like you can learn to do that? Don’t bother, you aren’t an exception. Everyone finds that learning to manage stress when writing a dissertation a hard task to cope with. Almost half of all doctoral students tend to fail to finish their programs and leave graduate school causing everyone to guess what the catalyst is for the departure. Mental health is a most common explanation. But does every student who fails to finish his/her program have a long history of mental illness?
Various factors are the reason for anxiety, dissertation depression, overwhelming stress, lack of support from professors, and workload. Anxiety or depression can disastrously impact not only the writing of your dissertation but even your thought processes. That’s why it’s essential to care thoroughly about your mental health the same as you care about your physical one.
Follow our dissertation stress help to maintain your mental health while writing your dissertation.
While Writing Your Dissertation You Should:
- Not Be Isolated
No matter whether you’re in the writing phase or just the research one, beware not to dive into full-steam-ahead work session completely closing yourself off the outer world. Don’t get stuck in a rut, get out of the library or your room. Your body and brain need some rest to gain strength to be able to produce new brilliant ideas. Take a brisk walk, go shopping meet someone for a coffee or anything you want.
- Look For Professional Assistance
Once you feel any hint of anxiety or depression which spoils your productivity level, look for a counselor. You shouldn’t feel any embarrassment because of that, it no way means you are a weak person or whatever. It just means you need some help and guidance, that’s all. Bear in mind that it’s a real illness and it needs to be treated properly by a professional therapist. And don’t even think to be ashamed of that, every student tends to experience that stuff. There is nothing wrong with you. By the way, a lot of schools tend to provide a certain number of sessions at low-cost or for free.
- Pay Attention to Diet
There is no need to mention the importance of your nutritious diet. Of course, being limited in time, it’s a common thing to turn to comfort food. Do your best to minimize your consumption of those quick snacks which are usually full of carbs and sugar.
- Stay Active
Nothing new, really but still students tend to forget about their physical activity throwing themselves into their dissertation writing process. A natural mood-booster, endorphins are released by exercises; they provide your immune system and help to reduce stress and tension. Can’t stand jogging? No one says you have to be a marathon runner; it goes about something that will refresh you and charge after long sitting at your desk in front of the computer. Even if you walk only 30 minutes a day, you’ll definitely see the difference! Mind your health, because no one will do it for you!
- Get Professional Help with Dissertation
Ask for help anytime you need it, thus you’ll feel good and comfortable while writing your dissertation. Seek professional help, dissertation formatting and editing might be as stressful as the whole writing process.
Tips for the Dissertation Process
- The dissertation process isn’t the quickest for sure, that’s why setting deadlines early on in the process is an inevitable thing to do. When you set a deadline, you keep yourself motivated over an extended period of time.
- Setting deadlines you record your goals. This way you motivate yourself to work, just keep in mind that your goals need to be flexible.
- Feedback is of a great importance, do it as early and often as you can. Communicate with your committee about your writing as sooner as it could be done. Remember the sooner you do it, the better and easier your editing stages will be. You should send your partial drafts to anyone who wants to look through them.
- Mind that you need to know what your committee expectations and wants from your work area. It’s essential to find out what exactly kind of writing your committee wants from you. It’s advisable to look through the dissertations done by students they have worked with before.
- Don’t forget that this is your dissertation, no one else’s. Say what you want to say with no hesitations, stand up for what you think is of a great value.
- It’s totally okay to set aside your dissertation for while, it’s not a one-day event process. When you feel the time to take a break comes, do it when you need it. Remember you can’t drink from an empty cup, recharge your batteries, and fill the cup with something. Take your time, you need it.
- Short breaks are very good for your writing. After taking a week off you are overwhelmed by new strengths and ideas to continue writing. Just make sure you start writing after the break and don’t procrastinate.
- Say no to every excuse that comes to your mind. Reasons not to write always will be and there will be thousands, millions of them. Resist that temptation and say no to any excuses. Just sit down and start writing no matter what that’s the only way to get it done.
We hope you’ve liked out tips to help finish a dissertation and wish you well in your dissertation writing process.
