Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies):
I am appealing to waive the 21 day deadline to appeal to drop the courses HIST 201 and HIST 246 (Fall, 2014) from my transcript. I am doing so because of the extenuating circumstances caused by my mental health issues. I am diagnosed with Moderate Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, whose symptoms include: excessive tiredness / lack of energy, impaired concentration / decision-making skills / slowed thinking, excessive constant worries and suicidal tendencies. I managed these symptoms effectively from my first year in 2011 to the first half of my third year in 2013, but they increased in intensity to an unmanageable point during the second half of my third year. This untenable period lasted from 2013 to the end of my fourth year in 2015, during which I took two medical leaves.
The least disruptive symptom during this period was my lack of energy, which increased the difficulty of all types of tasks. Even with eight hours sleep, I still struggled to stay awake during the day, impairing my effectiveness. A more significant detriment to my school work was my difficulty concentrating, making decisions and thinking ¿¿ all of which are essential to studying. For example, a straight forward paper, which I would normally be able to write well in two weeks, would take a month and still be of a poorer quality. This inefficacy was then exacerbated by the stress of excessive worries. Even routine assignments would cause disproportionate amounts of stress. These qualities were most pronounced during the period in question but were present in all my years at Queens, even the relatively successful ones.
They became unmanageable in my fourth year when I began to accede to my suicidal tendencies. I could not envision my life without my symptoms, making specific plans to end my life before returning to school in 2015. This affected me dropping my courses in Fall 2014, as I was indifferent to the outcome of what would happen. This attitude stands in stark contrast to my earlier medical leave. In that case, I was not suicidal and withdrew from my courses in time to avoid penalty, despite the other difficulties that I was facing. Essentially, my non-suicidal symptoms were not unmanageable by themselves, but were so when combined with a suicidal mindset.
The ramifications of this state of mind have continued even after I emerged from treatment as I was hesitant to draw attention to it. Even after I became more able to cope with the demands of school, I still hesitated to appeal my grades as I am ashamed of my previous state. As a result, I am only appealing my grades now, despite the intensity of my symptoms subsiding by the end of summer. In spite of this hesitation to share this information, I am more confident returning from this second medical leave than the first one, as I was able to access intensive treatment options unavailable during my first hiatus. Immediately after leaving school in 2015, I started attending an intensive out-patient program at Credit Valley Hospital for 10 weeks, learning mental health and lifestyle techniques to manage my symptoms more effectively. For example, I was able to address my stress-inducing cognitive distortions through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as learning ways to calm and focus the mind to enhance concentration. In conjunction with this program, I attended an experimental therapy to treat drug-resistant Depression, rTMS, at Toronto Western Hospital to focus on relieving my physical symptoms. In conjunction with these two options, I kept in contact with my psychiatrist, Dr. Bernard Trossman, who managed my prescriptions as well as providing talk therapy. Now that I have returned to school, I am confidently applying the lessons I learned from my treatment to manage my symptoms as well as reaching out to supports on campus, like the Pastor.