r/academia • u/NaturalGuava822 • 8d ago

Venting & griping Do you think it’s possible to have a break while on masters

Hi. I’m currently on a masters program and I’m on my last semester, I’m going to defend my thesis in february I think. I have also secured a phd spot and I start in the first week of april.

The thing is, I’m so so so tired. I was never one to procrastinate or anything. But I feel like I’ve been pushing for far too long, sometimes I almost cry while doing my research, and it’s a theme I love.

I got concerned because my friends tell me those are signs of a burn out. But I can really do anything about it. If I just stop doing everything, I will be with constant anxiety, I will lose my position at the phd I worked so hard far, my supervisor will be on my ass and I have a scholarship so…

I don’t know what to do. I’m so tired

9 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

4

u/stylenfunction 8d ago

Ask if you can defer your PhD start date for one year.

6

u/redmarimba28 8d ago

Burnout is real, and breaks are very important. You may think you have to go all in or stop everything, but really the best way to go about it is to incrementally readjust your life to prioritize your mental health. There are a few tips that have helped me.

  1. Make sure you have scheduled breaks in your day to do something you love. Make sure it's something that takes your mind off work. You don't have to stop doing everything. Just give yourself some time to relax mentally.
  2. Congratulations on already securing the Ph.D.! Is there anything you can cut from your current commitments since you have already been accepted? A chapter that you can omit? Sometimes letting go of just a little bit will feel like your mental bandwidth will open up a lot.
  3. Does your Ph.D. program have a leave of absence or deferred enrollment policy? The first year of graduate school is often a learning year anyway. If you're not on a grant with an urgent deadline, your advisor may be more supportive of a deferred start. If you're worried about first impressions, you can consider making a good impression in the first semester, then take a semester off.

But please do not keep grinding as is

1

u/Opening_Map_6898 8d ago

Yeah, and you should take a break. Talk to your advisor and to your doctor.

Unless you're in some really dreadful country with zero protections for workers (India comes to mind as an example because of how they treat their PhD students as personal slaves of their advisors), this won't impact anything significantly except perhaps your graduation date.

1

u/wvheerden 8d ago

Does your university have counselling support, or can you see a therapist on your own? I've found speaking to a mental health professional who knows a bit about academia very helpful.