Extreme anxiety before uni deadline submission!

I have my dissertation due in a few days. I have already finished most of it. But few days before submission, I always get extreme anxiety, like I feel that my work is not good enough and that I need to make it more perfect. I also have this habit of changing even one or two words and then submitting and resubmitting my work multiple times until the deadline. However after the deadline, I am at peace and I don't do anything as I know its not worth it anymore. How to get rid of this OCD/perfectionism? My grades at at borderline so that makes me scared even more.

Reply 1

Cranfield University

Official Rep

Original post by riri12345

Hi @riri12345

I think this is something that a huge amount of students struggle with, and the things that help can vary from person to person. Let me share a few tips/things that have helped me, and the people I know, with this kind of anxiety.

The first thing I like to do is schedule one or two things in the days leading up to the deadline. I don’t mean things that will take all of your time (as this can make you anxious about not finishing on time), but things like going for a long walk with family, or having dinner out with friends. What I like to do is ban the topic of the assignment/thesis/deadline for these outings, so that it allows your brain to have a break and focus on something else.

Another thing I like to do is set up small periods (e.g. lunch or coffee breaks) with friends from your course, or those who are in similar positions. I found that venting with my classmates made me feel a lot less anxious about the assignment, because they were also all nervous and it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It is a normal feeling (however unpleasant), and so reminding yourself that lots of people go through this helps put it into perspective and remind you that you are not alone.

If you are struggling with the kind of anxiety that makes it hard to think about anything except the assignment, it can help to have a list of small tasks to do that will help your body and brain focus and get the work done, but don’t involve sitting at a laptop. For example, you might want to add ‘cook a homemade, healthy dinner’ to the list, and ‘make a nice coffee in the morning before I open my assignment’. You can also add things like walks, runs, yoga, to give your body a break from the chair (hugely needed!). While some people don’t need a formal list for these things, others find it beneficial to have the accountability of having to ‘tick’ things off, otherwise will skip them. Also, ticking things off the list can help you feel like you have achieved something, and self-care is an important thing to maintain!

If you are struggling with anxiety regularly, you may also want to speak to a professional therapist who can give you some tools to deal with that. Most universities offer these services for free, and I know that at Cranfield many of my peers have benefitted hugely from this! The above tips are simply things that I have learned about (being in academia 7 years, you do pick things up!) but can’t replace professional help and knowledge if you are really really struggling.

Best of luck with your assignments,
Ciara
3rd year Agrifood PhD student
Cranfield Student Ambassador