In this blog, Rebecca Williams reflects on the final stretch toward submitting her PhD thesis and offers a candid account of the pressure, doubt and exhaustion that shape the closing weeks. She shares how expectations about perfection created unnecessary obstacles, how imposter feelings surfaced at the moment she most hoped for clarity, and how the support of others proved essential when her own energy ran low. Her story highlights the value of community, perspective and acceptance during an emotionally intense period that many researchers will recognise.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-the-rocky-road-to-phd-submission/

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Rebecca Williams is PhD student at the University of Cambridge. Though originally from ‘up North’ in a small town called Leigh, she did her undergraduate and masters at the University of Oxford before defecting to Cambridge for her doctorate researching Frontotemporal dementia and Apathy. She now spends her days collecting data from wonderful volunteers, and coding. Outside work, she plays board games, and is very crafty. @beccasue99