Managing Stress and Fatigue in the Final Months of Your PhD
Zein Al Maha Oweis (Zee) is final year PhD in Media & Cultural Policy candidate.
Zein and Mitch
No one prepares you for the immense force of emotions you undergo during the final months of your PhD journey. Even though people warn you that it won’t be easy – that you will go through physical, mental and emotional turmoil - nothing can quite prepare you for the final push.
In my experience, the symptoms of being in the final months of my PhD includes migraines, sore eyes, constant sweats, muscle soreness, back pain, mental fatigue, stress, worry, lack of patience and lack of sleep due to long hours sitting behind a computer screen. In addition, I have found myself out of touch with my social life. When I do speak to someone, there is this inability to construct proper sentences.
Throughout these months, I have been challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally. There are times when I want to cry. There are times when I receive supervisors comments and instead of looking at them professionally, I begin to take them personally. I allow the words to tug on my self-doubt, and self-confidence. Everything around me seems unclear and unstable and it makes me wonder where my passion for my research has gone.
I know I have reached my tipping point when:
I am no longer enjoying more than two cups of coffee a day (major coffee-addict),
I fall into a deep sleep only to be woken up by thoughts of whether I have saved my most recent draft of my conclusion chapter,
My love for reading novels has faded,
I am nearing total exhaustion and have spotted signs I am about to burn out, and
I’m not feeling hungry and start to skip meals.
Yes, something is amiss …
From one PhD researcher to another, if you start to feel as if everything has gone a little awry, then please do not panic. I repeat do not panic. Here are some of the things I find useful to help ease the stress and mental strain:
If you are a student and you are struggling to manage your stress or are feeling overwhelmed, get in touch with one of our counselling and wellbeing services:
Take a walk
Walking is known to be a healing remedy for stress, anxiety and allow one’s mind to seep into nothingness. Walking can also help ease those sore muscles that have been cramped in place by sitting in the same chair behind the same desk for long periods of time. Scotland is filled with places to walk and lose yourself in nature.
As a way of combating my own stress, worry and anxiety, I go on long walks taking different routes every time to relax and switch off my mind. This is a wonderful way to step away from your work and immerse yourself in nature.
Recently, I took a four hour walk around Mugdock Country Park with my guide dog Mitch and my friend as a way of relaxing my mind when I found myself unable to put words onto paper. The sounds and smells around me helped ease my nerves while I took in all the positive energy from nature around me.
Fall asleep to the lullaby of an audiobook:
As PhD researchers we are thrust towards reading countless journal articles, books, academic and lab reports and massive data sets. You start to see words blend into one another.
As an avid book collector and passionate reader, I began to lose that fire and love for reading fantasy novels. They used to be my haven where I would get swept away by the characters, plot and adventures aiding me to fall into blissful sleep. Since edging closer to that finish line of my thesis, I’ve begun to dread opening any book! This is where I turned to audiobooks.
My joy for reading returned, as all I had to do was close my eyes, listen to the narrators and get swept away into the tale. Within minutes I found myself falling asleep, forgetting to pause the story or even close my phone. If audiobooks are not your style, there is always the option to listen to music or a podcast.
Hello, free to jump onto a quick call?
We all know the path to becoming an academic and earning the title of Dr. can be a lonely and tedious one. Some days you feel you are lost and alone even when there are loads of family and friends surrounding you.
Not everyone understands the stress, and mental strain on your body, the sleepless nights and the sacrifices you must make to get to that finishing line. Loneliness becomes your invisible best friend.
This is why I look forward to speaking to a close friend even if it is just for a couple of minutes to ease the loneliness. . This can be anyone you feel safe to open to just hearing someone else talk and listen to you does wonders.
This can also help if you wish to brainstorm ideas or just want to blow off steam. Whenever you feel alone or need someone just call or text that person as it will make you feel better.
Decluttering a hoarder’s nest:
After long days of editing behind my computer screen, I have found that one way to ease my mind is decluttering the amount of items I have collected throughout the four years I have been living in Glasgow. We all have these moments where we buy things that are either spontaneous buy, junk or stuff we thought we needed at the time .
I used to hate doing chores when I was younger, but now, I yearn to organise and reacquaint myself with all the hidden treasures around my flat. By working with my hands and not thinking, I declutter my mind. Anything I don’t need I give to charity. This has become a weekend routine after returning from working on campus.
Finding a way through the storm:
The final months of a PhD are undoubtedly among the most challenging periods you'll face in your academic journey. While the physical symptoms, emotional turbulence, and mental exhaustion can feel overwhelming, remember that these experiences are temporary markers of how far you've come, not indicators of your worth or capability as a researcher. The strategies that work—whether it's losing yourself in nature walks, rediscovering stories through audiobooks, connecting with understanding friends, or finding peace in simple tasks like decluttering—are deeply personal remedies that remind us we are more than our research. Your passion may feel buried under layers of stress and fatigue, but it's still there, waiting to resurface once you've crossed that finish line. Trust in your journey, be gentle with yourself, and know that every PhD candidate who has walked this path before you has felt exactly what you're feeling now. You're not alone in this struggle, and you're closer to the end than you think.
