Is it possible to do a PhD without doing the viva?

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

I think I know its not possible, which is why I can't ask anyone face to face...

I'm half way through my masters, I loved my degree, love my course and I'm a good student. I am also mad as a box of frogs (not in a fun way, in a serious mental health way - schizophrenia, bipolar, and psychosis) and suffer with intense anxiety. I can't present. I just can't. I am violently sick and have panic attacks for weeks before a presentation comes up and to date I have been unable to do any of them. I always plan to, I really do, but the illness takes over every time. its crippling.

My dissertation supervisor in encouraging the PhD, which I would love to do, but there is no way I will be able to do a viva if I can't even manage in class presentations.

I'm not concerned about career prospects, I have none. Uni is my therapy really but I will never be well enough to hold down a job. I use student finance to fund my studies so I can't just do another degree, (I wish!) So it would be PhD or nothing...

History/literature btw.

Nicola Martin did some research into adjustments that can be made to vivas for people with autism. A lot of the suggestions might apply to you.
Newcastle University did some research into disabled PhD students and adjustments that can be made throughout the PhD. I had a look for you but I can't find it now.
My viva was me and three other people sitting round a table. It was hard but not the hardest part of my PhD.
Like coffee monster I found the fact that it was unstruturedcwith no deadlines hard and this had a bad impact on my mental health.
I would not let this put you off. Go into it with your eyes open, come up with strategies for problems before they occur ( you are already doing this). The viva is just one day the PhD is 3 years minimum, I would look at a way of creating structure and deadlines for yourself.

There's two reasons for a viva: make sure the work is of sufficient standard and novelty for a PhD, and make sure it was you who did the work and not a writing service you paid to write a PhD thesis for you.

There's are many ways one can establish this.

I'm at a Russell Group uni and we've accommodated all sorts of alternative viva options for candidates with documented health problems. Written response via typed answer, via a screen interface (student and examiners both in controlled environments but not same room, to make it feel more like a Skype chat), standing up with a bar table between us for a student who had severe back problems... we're not letting good scientists fail if it just needs some procedural adjustments!

Here's a link to the article by Nicky Martin et al. mentioned by Elephant

Examining intellectual ability, not social prowess: removing barriers from the doctoral viva for autistic candidates