Dear Dr. Ruth,

I am struggling with my dissertation and I have ADHD. I try real hard. I have good days and  bad days. Some areas are organized but other are not going well and are messy. It’s all so hard. Why is it so hard?

Signed,

Overwhelmed PhD Student

Dear Overwhelmed PhD Student

First of all let me offer my congratulations. You are working toward a credential held by only 2% of the US population. You are pursuing a lofty goal. You are motivated to add that three letter credential at the end of your name: Ph.D.  Let’s be real. Writing a dissertation is hard work. While there are many challenges along the PhD journey, two of them are quite common among my PhD clients with ADHD.  Let’s take a look at two factors that make dissertation work so hard.

Dealing with loneliness in PhD work

Isolation and motivation. During the coursework stage of your PhD journey, you had fellow classmates and regular meetings with your professor. Once you enter the dissertation stage of the PhD journey isolation is your constant companion. The dissertation is the most isolating stage in your PhD journey.    Isolation can a major factor that contributes to attrition in doctoral programs. Without regular encouraging contact with your professors or advisor, motivation has the tendency to take flight. You will be left with few  if any reference points to measure progress or to help you determine that you are headed the right direction.

Isolation can a major factor that contributes to attrition in doctoral programs.

What do we know about the dissertation writing stage?

It is hard.

You are doing a hard thing. Somehow just admitting that dissertation work just might be the most intellectually challenging work you’ve ever done can give you a level of relief. There’s nothing wrong with you. You are accurately assessing the situation.

Self-Determination gets the job done.

Imagine you are facing a huge mountain that you must climb to get to your destination. How do you face a huge difficult task? Let me tell you what self-determined people do. You know those folks who finish what they start despite the difficulties and obstacles. Self-determined people have three major characteristics.  Knowledge. Skills. Belief.

Self-determination is a combination of skills, knowledge and beliefs that
enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous
behavior. An understanding of one’s strengths and limitations together with a
belief in oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination.
When acting on the basis of these skills and attitudes, individuals have greater
ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of successful adults in
our society.

(Field, Sarver & Shaw 2003)

Knowledge.

A self-determined person knows their strengths and weaknesses.

You have the strength of curiosity, love of learning, perseverance. Just to name a few. On the other hand, you tend to chase rabbit holes. You tend to burn the midnight oil. You tend to lose things. Knowing what you do well and what area you need support in helps you make informed decisions and practical plans.

Skills.

Skills are learned. You’ve learned many skills in your life journey. Personal, work related and school related.

Think about the time you have faced a huge challenge before. What happened? How did you do it? What skills did you use. You didn’t get to the dissertation stage of your PhD journey without some skills. What are they? Let me give you a hint. You can write. You can read. You can think.

Belief.

Your actions reflect a belief.

 You believe that you can change. You believe that what you do today will impact your tomorrow. You believe in education. You believe in climbing those metaphorical mountains. How do I know this? Because you started your PhD journey.

You are a self-determined person because you use knowledge, skills and beliefs to make realistic plans.

Plans to climb that impossible mountain (remember the Reverend Mother in the Sound of Music… cue in Climb Every Mountain). Self-determined individuals like you check in with those plans to make adjustments based on reality.

Warmly,

Dr. Ruth

P.S. Do you need help? I can coach you through the gap of where you are and where you want to be. ADHD coaching can help you reach your PhD goals.