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[newname2]

Could someone tell me if I am normal, or in need of medication?  I just finished my PhD in December (defended mid-December).  I started my brand new govt job (no post-doc, a real job here folks).  I was working on getting my final deposit into the grad school in the meantime and accomplished that only 1 month ago.  I have been 'here' for 4 months now and I have never in my life felt less motivated.

It occurred to me that I had put SOO much emphasis on the day I got my doctorate, that I planned for anything past that.  The sidewalk ended.  I landed my 'dream job' and now-here I am, goalless and drowning in the deep end.  I have a great paying job, that doesn't expect a whole lot of me. 

I am just hoping that this 'post-phd slump' as I am calling it, is similar to the post-Christmas blues and that in due time it will go away and I will be energized to write, analyze, read, do ANYTHING besides play on myspace.

someone????  How can I get out of it, or how much longer will I suffer through this phase of extreme laziness??

Thanks!

[pink_]

epichick,
What you're describing is totally normal--my spell was rather abbreviated because I filed, and a week later was back in the classroom with a new prep and also back on the job market, but I went through it as did many of my friends.  The downside of achieving our goals is that then we have to come up with new ones.  Sometimes that takes a little time, especially if we're running on empty!

Hang in there and don't be too hard on yourself.
That just makes it harder for the batteries to recharge.
:)

[doppelganger]

what pink lady said. 

Give yourself some time to recharge. 

[infopri]

Completely normal, epichick.  In fact, one of the faculty members at my alma mater, who was also on my diss committee, makes sure that all doctoral students there know about this phase so that we're not knocked over when it occurs.

I didn't believe I could possibly feel depressed or unmotivated after finishing; I was going to be PSYCHED!!!  But eventually it hit me, too, especially when a job didn't fall into my lap.

Relax.  The feeling will pass.

[bigfoot]

Me? All I want to do is sleep.

I've been busting my tail for the past six months, nonstop. Getting the hood and the hug was liberating, but I didn't notice my feelings of lightness until, probably, yesterday.

Even though I have three jobs (all part time, only one in my field), and am still pretty much going nonstop, the release of not having to write the dissy has left me exhausted.

I guess that's a kind of slump, but the kind you feel after you've been running on adrenalin and then you pull the plug.  Kind of like how I fell asleep half way through a cyclone.

It's comforting to know that others have this "postpartum" slump.

[rizzy]

I've been in a slump and I think it's also related to finishing the doctorate and never taking a break.  As soon as the end of the spring semester was in sight I started having a hard time making myself do anything anymore.

Activities that have helped:

Re-reading Robert Boice's _Advice for New Faculty Members_ (there is a really good section about writing habits that offered writing/research hope and that is not specific to teaching jobs). 

Repeatedly watching terrible movies like _The Lake House_ so that you learn them in detail. 

Eating a lot of junk food mixed in with health food.  Drinking soda (normally forbidden).

Exercising outside (craving fresh air and natural light). 

Downloading music that you have secretly wanted to listen to but that you are too embarassed to admit that you still like (like Wingspan). 

Deleting former boyfriends from your IM buddy list.

Slowly beginning to clean house a little at a time.

Reading self-help books with big lettering and pictures (large print edition preferred).

Sitting outside to read and think.  Staring at nearby grass and trees. Developing relationship with backyard critters.

Doing the winter-summer clothes switcheroo.  Dressing unprofessionally when not in office.

Calling family members and getting them talking about their crazy lives.

Playing with pets, who are starving for attention.

Taking care of PITA bill and medical things.

Hope it passes sometime soon, for you and me both...

[belleoftheball]

I just finished the Ph.D this spring, and I've never been more motivated in my life. However, I am NOT motivated to do work. (Quite unfortunate, as I have a full-time position where I was already slacking a bit due to the time crunch of finishing the dissertation.) I am, however, thoroughly excited by the idea that I can have a LIFE now! I want to garden! And go home at a decent hour and watch a movie! And cook a meal that didn't go straight from the freezer to the microwave (3 1/2 minutes on high, stir, 1 1/2 minutes, let cool...repeat every lunch and dinner as necessary).

Work, well, I figure the motivation for that will come back eventually. In the meanwhile, I see absolutely nothing wrong with doing seemingly meaningless things for awhile (e.g., gardening, myspace, watching hours of South Park). After years of working too hard, it's time to relax and be a slacker for a little while. Enjoy it!

[dr_crankypants]

Motivation will come back.  They really should talk about this more, because it does seem to happen to a lot of us--so many people are taken completely by surprise.  And, of course, since it often coincides with taking on new responsibilities, getting research done that first year is even harder.

Good luck.  It WILL pass. 

[newname2]

THANK you everyone.....Yes-someone should warn new docs of this phase-it took me by complete surprise. 

As 'belloftheballe' pointed out, I have tons of energy to LIVE my life which was shelved for so very long.  So glad to hear that this shall pass...and that we are allowed a period of slothiness.....

[histgradstudent]

I can relate. Very hard year, took comps in the spring. Just about killed myself with stress and reading. Kept imagining how great it would be to have a summer to relax, not worry about school and come back to do research in the fall. Passed and oddly I've really been feeling pretty down. It is occurring to me I should probably find something to do this summer.

Completely normal, epichick.  In fact, one of the faculty members at my alma mater, who was also on my diss committee, makes sure that all doctoral students there know about this phase so that we're not knocked over when it occurs.

I didn't believe I could possibly feel depressed or unmotivated after finishing; I was going to be PSYCHED!!!  But eventually it hit me, too, especially when a job didn't fall into my lap.

Relax.  The feeling will pass.

[iomhaigh]

I finished last summer, started TT job last fall.  I've been cruising into my post-PhD slump over the last two days.  I had a preview of this during spring break.  I knew it was coming long before that.   

But even knowing it was coming does not remove those nagging feelings of "I should be doing something other than watching TV and surfing the CHE Forums.  Instead of doing research, I have been researching where one might find a version of Lemmings that would work on a Mac."   

I think those nagging feelings are why we struggle.  We do not know how to relax because we have not relaxed in decades.   

For me, those nagging feelings are currently compounded by the grading pile, but grades are not due for a while.  They will be done in time.  They will not be done early.  I am okay with this (or so I keep trying to convince myself.)

 

[pink_]

I finished last summer, started TT job last fall.  I've been cruising into my post-PhD slump over the last two days.  I had a preview of this during spring break.  I knew it was coming long before that.   

But even knowing it was coming does not remove those nagging feelings of "I should be doing something other than watching TV and surfing the CHE Forums.  Instead of doing research, I have been researching where one might find a version of Lemmings that would work on a Mac."   

I think those nagging feelings are why we struggle.  We do not know how to relax because we have not relaxed in decades.   

For me, those nagging feelings are currently compounded by the grading pile, but grades are not due for a while.  They will be done in time.  They will not be done early.  I am okay with this (or so I keep trying to convince myself.)

 

I'm in the same boat as iomhaigh, though a bit behind . . .
Even if I did have time to relax for real before next summer, which realistically will be the first chance, I think I may have forgotten how.

[edwoof]

Just as there is phantom limb syndrome and postpartum depression, there is also phantom dissertation syndrome (PDS). Part of you has left and there's a void in your mind. Gradually your new routine will take over and exhaust you but it might do so in a very negative way since it doesn't seem to challenge you. I suggest that you start with a reading program and perhaps trying to write some book reviews or adjunct.  Or you could duplicate the activities of some of friends of mine who who finished and when their PDS kicked in they either started an affair with someone wildly inappropriate or went and just roamed for awhile. I'm not a fan of starting something new just after having completed a milestone, but most of the time we don't have much choice.

But congratulations on having finished. I also finished in mid-december and am wondering why life is just going on the same way it did before I finished. I still feel a rush of adrenalin at 10 a.m. which is when I worked on my dissertation.

Good Luck!

[jgator1969]

Hey, don't feel bad! I am right there with you. I have been in a post-diss slump since last November, which left only a few weeks to tie everything before the semester ended. When I returned to my university after the holiday vacation, I just could not get my act together. My teaching was fine but I had no motivation at all to to do any research. I spent most of my free time watching tv, house hunting, and reading anything but discipline related stuff.

Funny though i did not recognize the slump I was actually in until our spring break, even though I had been aware of how lazy I was being.

I decided at that point, after getting a lot of grief from my wife, that I'd ride this slump to the end of the semester and during that time to refamiliarize myself with "normal" society. I have found this a necessary process since my conscious asceticism regarding many of my earlier hobbies and interests in the interest of finishing that godforsaken dissertation took it's toll on me physically and mentally.

Anyway, long story short, after my brief overseas vacation staring next week, it is back to work I go. I've tried not to beat myself up over this period inactivity and have gotten some solace from my fellow dissertation travelers who are going through similar experiences.

Reading others' experiences has also helped alleviate that constant guilt and anxiety that washes over me occasionally in the face of having no immediate deadlines nor goals to achieve. I've taken much of the advice that I've read here that ya'll ha've given the original author of this chat and am beginning to reengage slowly. I've started by writing my near and longer term goals down and engaging in some research (i.e. data collection). Though I will recommence full force this summer.



 

[keebler]

I think I went into a depression after I finished.  I started having anxiety attacks and actually needed medication for them.  Someone I met at a conference said it happened to her too; she got some therapy and found it is actually a recognized phenomenon.  Everyone keeps asking if you are thrilled to be done and wanting to help you celebrate and you are feeling empty, sad and weird.