I'm in the middle of my Master's dissertation in cultural anthropology. My topic is super specific (something about post-colonial narratives in Scandinavian textile art... don't ask 
), and I feel like I'm living on a different planet than the rest of my friends.
My roommate is in finance. When I try to explain why I'm excited about a footnote I found in a 1987 journal, she just nods and asks if I've eaten today. My family thinks I'm still in school because I "like reading." They don't get that this isn't reading for fun. This is a war. A war against writer's block, against imposter syndrome, against the 80,000-word count that looms over me like a dark cloud.
I spend 10 hours a day in the library, surrounded by people, but I feel completely alone. I talk to my advisor once every two weeks, and that's the only human contact I have related to my work. The rest of the time, it's just me, my laptop, and the gentle hum of the library lights. 🏛
I'm starting to get anxious about little things. I second-guess every sentence. I'll write a paragraph and then delete it the next day because I convince myself it's "trite" or "unoriginal." I feel like I'm losing my ability to have normal conversations. I just want to talk about the weather or a TV show, but my brain is so fried.
For those of you who have been through this: How did you cope with the isolation? How did you pull yourself out of the "dissertation cave" and remember there's a world outside your research question?
), and I feel like I'm living on a different planet than the rest of my friends.My roommate is in finance. When I try to explain why I'm excited about a footnote I found in a 1987 journal, she just nods and asks if I've eaten today. My family thinks I'm still in school because I "like reading." They don't get that this isn't reading for fun. This is a war. A war against writer's block, against imposter syndrome, against the 80,000-word count that looms over me like a dark cloud.
I spend 10 hours a day in the library, surrounded by people, but I feel completely alone. I talk to my advisor once every two weeks, and that's the only human contact I have related to my work. The rest of the time, it's just me, my laptop, and the gentle hum of the library lights. 🏛
I'm starting to get anxious about little things. I second-guess every sentence. I'll write a paragraph and then delete it the next day because I convince myself it's "trite" or "unoriginal." I feel like I'm losing my ability to have normal conversations. I just want to talk about the weather or a TV show, but my brain is so fried.
For those of you who have been through this: How did you cope with the isolation? How did you pull yourself out of the "dissertation cave" and remember there's a world outside your research question?
