HannahCatherine

Doggoprof -- I really understand how you feel and I sympathize with you. I am trying to finish up my master's now and I can't wait to be done; I also couldn't imagine doing a PhD. I think it's hard to have depression when pursuing higher education because there can be so much competition and everyone else seems so happy with what they're doing. I'm not sure if grad school was the thing to cause my depression . . . it might be. It is so hard for me to get work done being depressed because I have zero ability to focus. Sometimes I would just stare at my computer trying to think of a single sentence to write. Honestly, my viewpoint is that you should not feel ashamed for wanting to quit or just do a master's. If I am reading your posts correctly, it seems like you might not like the working environment of academia. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way. This is how I feel. I want to get out of academia as fast as possible. Why? Because I crave a work-life balance. That doesn't mean I am not willing to work hard. It often seems that my colleagues like to brag or try to one-up one another on how much work they have to do or how much they torture themselves by not going out on a weekend or a Friday night. I am not about torturing myself with endless hours of work. My colleagues and I differ in that, but to each their own. I would suggest taking care of your mental health. If you chose to finish a master's, make sure you have things in place that can help your depression and get you through the hard times. Maybe creating a game-plan for the next year would be wise. I wish I had recognized my mental health issues before they had gotten so bad. The good thing is that you have already done things to help yourself. If you want to talk further, or commiserate, feel free to comment back!