I resubmitted my corrected thesis on 12 December (2019) and the corrections were approved about a week later. The resubmission did not feel like anything special anymore, especially knowing that the corrections still needed to be approved. 

Once the corrections were approved, I felt something akin to joy, but was mostly deflated like I had been feeling towards my PhD ever since the viva. 

Surprisingly, over the next couple of weeks, I started to feel more and more relieved. Relived that it was finally all over, and relieved that I can finally start working on something else other than my PhD. For the first time in a while, I started looking forward to doing work. 

Finishing your PhD, especially the journey (from hell) that I had, will undoubtedly make you reflect on the past (in my case) six years. If I had to do it all over again, would I do it? The answer is a definite no. Now that I did it, was it worth it? Definitely yes. 

• Here are some of the reasons that made the PhD journey worth it for me: The PhD gave me the academic skills I was promised. Cognitively and academically I feel like I have been reborn. I think about my field, but also the world, in a completely different way. I have become more critical, which sounds like a negative thing, but it has actually allowed me to reflect deeper on the world around me and become more socially aware. 
  In addition, the things that were so difficult for me at the start (writing, reading papers, coming up with study design, etc.) have become a lot easier and I actually now enjoy doing most of the things related to research and academia. It is a great feeling when you realise that all of those tedious tasks and moments of your PhD have actually paid off and the things that were once super difficult are now a lot easier. 

• The PhD journey made it clear to me that despite all the negative aspects of academia and my illness within it, I would like to pursue an academic career. The teaching experience I gained during my PhD made me more sure than ever that I love teaching and am good at it. There were so many times during the PhD when I hated research, but now that I have got a bit better at it, it is actually enjoyable. And I really believe in research and its importance. Not to mention, I’m still very passionate about my research subject, and new research areas that I discovered during the PhD. This brings me to the next point.
  
• Doing a PhD did not only expand my knowledge of my filed, but it also introduced me to many new areas of interest. Although doing a PhD with a mental illness was incredibly difficult most of the time, it also made me learn more about the effects the PhD has on peoples’ mental health, connect with other people, give talks on this topic and start a blog. All of the extra work I did on mental health during my PhD inspired me so much that I’m planning on combining my two favourite research topics – language and mental health – in future work. 

So if you are thinking about starting a PhD or are doing a PhD but thinking what’s the point of it all, hopefully this blog post will give you some ideas as to what kind of gains you have to look forward to.