All of this is to say that the transition -- another rite of passage -- from course work to dissertation project is often paralyzing ("How exactly am I going to operationalize my crypto-Foucauldian study of the micro-physics of political power in San Francsico's credit unions?") and typically a source of bewilderment, anxiety and yes, even depression. It is always worth recalling the old adage that in its most demanding forms, writing and doing research, requires a state of mind and a way of being that most people in the world spend their lives trying to avoid: withdrawal, obsession, panic.

-Michael Watts
The Holy Grail: In Pursuit of the Dissertation Proposal

All of this is to say that the transition -- another rite of passage -- from course work to dissertation project is often paralyzing ("How exactly am I going to operationalize my crypto-Foucauldian study of the micro-physics of political power in San Francsico's credit unions?") and typically a source of bewilderment, anxiety and yes, even depression. It is always worth recalling the old adage that in its most demanding forms, writing and doing research, requires a state of mind and a way of being that most people in the world spend their lives trying to avoid: withdrawal, obsession, panic.

-Michael Watts
The Holy Grail: In Pursuit of the Dissertation Proposal