Today I am thrilled to bring you a guest writer - an alumna of Walden's health psych doctoral program, Dr. Veronica Semenova!
It is with great pleasure that I accept this opportunity to
share my dissertation experiences with you, my dear fellow Ph.D. students. I
enrolled in my Ph.D. Program in Health Psychology at Walden in September 2009
and graduated in February 2013.
Someone may say the time was short, but life during the
dissertation was flowing very differently for me. Being in the Ph.D. program
was a life lesson by itself. It has helped me prioritize everything in my life
– my goals, my relationships, my commitments. It was a true transformation.
Suddenly, it became obvious to me that my time is precious and should not be
wasted on activities, people, obligations that are not benefitting me as an
individual. I've let go of a lot of “baggage” to give myself more time to
study, do my research, and write. I've learned to care about “Me” and “My
time”.
In the course of my work on the dissertation, I had moments
of inspiration and moments of frustration. I guess it is normal for each of us.
There were doubts as to whether I was capable enough to do it, there were
health problems – I went through a hospitalization with pneumonia and a long
recovery after that. There were family problems, kids' illnesses, vacations,
house moving and so on. I once found myself writing on a transatlantic flight and
once while checking up on my Christmas turkey in the oven (luckily the bird
didn't burn that time!).
It is not easy to make yourself write every day. And as I
found it wasn't possible for me. I was going through phases of intense writing
and intense preparation, where I was collecting ideas, thinking, and reading
articles.. I did have 2-3 hours set for working on my dissertation every day –
not all of that time I was inspired enough to write, but I was there in front
of my computer, reading, editing, working on formatting. Somewhere in the
middle of the process, I got overwhelmed with all the articles I had read and
figured I needed to come up with some system to index each article, reference,
major findings, gaps, and limitations. I encourage you to think about that
early on. It will be very difficult to remember what each article was about
several months later.
Perseverance is perhaps the only thing I can wish you along
the way. In times of frustration or lack of motivation, always remember this
journey is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Do not doubt your abilities; you are
already in the program and you can do it. Do give yourself credit for every
small achievement – even as small as a couple of paragraphs written today, an
article read and indexed, or your reference list edited according to APA
requirements. Every little bit counts. One of the highest achievements in an
academic life is writing and defending a dissertation. Praise yourself for
being in that prime moment, as difficult as it may seem, this is the best time
of your life, one that will make you proud and will give you a lot of credit
going forward.
Finally, never forget to take care of yourself - rest, get
enough sleep to recharge your batteries, ensure you are receiving all the
nutrients you need, follow up with your medical practitioner on any acute or
chronic illnesses. Devote time to yourself, help yourself deal with stress and
anxiety by exercising or just going for walks, and learning how to use
mindfulness-based practices. Finishing this dissertation requires you to be in
top shape.
Good luck to all of you, please feel free to contact me for
any additional support you may require. I'd be happy to share as much as I can.
My email is semenova.veronica@gmail.com
Veronica Semenova, Ph.D.
Walden Alumni, Ph.D. Health Psychology Program
Next time we will talk about the waiting game. Do you have an issue or a question that you
would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer?
Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu
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