Katie Gambier-Ross

PhD student, University of Edinburgh

Alzheimer's Society Funded PhD Student at Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia (ECRED), School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh

Warning – negativity incoming (but I’ll try to end it on a positive note)

I think it’s important to share that doing a PhD isn’t all positive and productive. Sometimes you feel terrible and you just have to accept it and try to change things around. Full steam ahead to positive and productive times!

I’ve been feeling down, flat, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, whatever you want to call it

I sat at my desk after avoiding work all day and I just cried. I couldn’t face it. I didn’t understand what was happening to me and I had hit this feeling of rock bottom. It was awful but I’m glad it happened.

My first month as a PhD student

When people say you’ll spend your first few months simply reading…they mean it! You’re not expected to be an expert in the field when you first start your PhD so take the first few months to submerge yourself in the literature!