Assignment 2
I am feeling very overwhelmed at assignment two.  We were given an extension which I will be using to pare down my lit review.  Given our instructors description, I have gone way beyond what is needed.  I am feeling very panicked by this whole process.  At times I feel I am not doing enough, at times I feel I am obsessing too much.  I am already questioning my topic decision and find myself thinking of others.  I wonder if others are dealing with these feelings.  I am wondering if this will be my state of mind for this entire process.  Will I ever feel confident in my abilities as a student?  I think my fears stem from the fact that writing is my weak point.  If we had to do an oral presentation, I would be less stressed, I believe.  I feel much more confident in my ability to speak eloquently that I do in writing effectively.

And the doubts begin....

Ok our first official assignment was due for our class tonight.  Looking at the current research and trying to keep my focus narrowed down to my topic was very challenging.  There are so many factors and so many unknowns.  I am feeling like I am in over my head.  Wondering if anyone else is having the same feelings.  When I read other classmates blogs, I am intrigued and fascinated by their topics.  I feel mine is scattered and hard to follow.  Ugh.  Hopefully I will be feeling better after our class tomorrow night.....

Welcome to my dissertation blog.  Our first assignment in regards to this blog is to write about our problem statement.  To me, that is a problem in and of itself.  I have had a hard time narrowing down my ideas.  We were able to brainstorm during a recent class regarding our problem statement and I did contribute and idea, but I was not pleased with it.  So I have been toying with the idea since then.  Our statement is to be written in a negative connotation with the idea that this is a problem that need to be solved.  My initial statement from class related to the lack of referrals from ENTs regarding muscle tension dysphonia.  The more I thought about the problem, I tried to see it from other angles.  The one I believe I have settled on is, work related stress is causing excessive tension in the laryngeal area resulting in muscle tension dysphonia. Some of my evidence to back up this problem statement comes directly from my current case load.  I have three women on case load, all with similar symptoms related to excessive tension in the larynx which all seem to stem from their work environment.  I know a lack of public knowledge that this could be a potential hazard is also a large contributor to this problem.  Many patients seek out medical attention and receive treatment for reflux, laryngitis, and/or allergies, when in fact, it is the excessive tension they are carrying in their larynx causing their symptoms.  This can be very problematic for those who depend on their voice to make a living, such as teacher, customer service call center reps, pastors/preachers and the like.