Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 214
Submitted: June 16, 2014 at 11:58:43 PM
First Name: Alexander
Last Name: Strang
Student Number: 10062495
Email: a.strang@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: POLS, PHIL
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear the Associate Dean of Studies,
I am appealing to the Faculty of Arts and Science¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from my undergraduate studies for one year.
Beginning in mid-November and continuing throughout the rest of my year at Queen¿¿s, it had become apparent to me that I¿¿ve been dealing with a form of social anxiety disorder known as social phobia. This form of anxiety and fear that I began to deal with led to a tremendous academic downfall due to the fact that I began having intense fears of my peers and how they would perceive me in everyday life; thereby leaving me unable to attend classes on an unfortunately continual basis due to overwhelming anxiety. Through my paralyzing anxiety of being in social environments, the result if I were to try and put myself in a room with people I didn¿¿t know would be significantly uncomfortable for me; either leaving me unable to go through the classroom door, panicking and shaking on the spot, or getting an uncontrollable itch and rash all throughout my body if I stayed. The concluding result was me being unable to attend tutorials due to the intimate setting with people I had no real relationship with that left me having a panic attack and heading back to my dorm room every time I attempted to go to one of them. Other effects I would have on each attempt would be shakiness, itching throughout my entire body, and an underlying fear present within me.
I am appealing to the Faculty of Arts and Science¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from my undergraduate studies for one year.
Beginning in mid-November and continuing throughout the rest of my year at Queen¿¿s, it had become apparent to me that I¿¿ve been dealing with a form of social anxiety disorder known as social phobia. This form of anxiety and fear that I began to deal with led to a tremendous academic downfall due to the fact that I began having intense fears of my peers and how they would perceive me in everyday life; thereby leaving me unable to attend classes on an unfortunately continual basis due to overwhelming anxiety. Through my paralyzing anxiety of being in social environments, the result if I were to try and put myself in a room with people I didn¿¿t know would be significantly uncomfortable for me; either leaving me unable to go through the classroom door, panicking and shaking on the spot, or getting an uncontrollable itch and rash all throughout my body if I stayed. The concluding result was me being unable to attend tutorials due to the intimate setting with people I had no real relationship with that left me having a panic attack and heading back to my dorm room every time I attempted to go to one of them. Other effects I would have on each attempt would be shakiness, itching throughout my entire body, and an underlying fear present within me.
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: It is with great pleasure to have myself getting back into a healthy mindset due to the treatment and counseling that is currently being provided to me for my newfound social phobia. After the year concluded at Queen¿¿s, I took it upon myself to seek more help and understanding to what it actually is that I¿¿ve been dealing with in the past school year. Through meeting with my family physician the diagnosis made was social phobia and treatment and counseling on the disorder has since commenced. I¿¿ve began meeting up with a counseling group known as Rise Up, which discusses the forms of phobias and anxieties and how to overcome them ¿¿ in addition to utilizing the treatment prescribed to me. Along with going to group counseling, one-one services have also been provided to me to help further my understanding of the disorder and what things I must do in the future to rid myself of these effects that had severely disabled my ability to perform academically at Queen¿¿s.
Upon returning back to Queen¿¿s I have also devised an academic plan to follow through on to better maintain a healthy mindset and lifestyle so that this is not to happen again. To begin, not only will treatment of my anxiety disorder be continuous throughout this upcoming school year, but also counseling, which I am currently seeking through Health, Counseling, and Disability Services at Queen¿¿s University to further the progress I¿¿m continuing to make here in my hometown. This will better enable me to focus solely on my studies rather than have an overwhelming fear and anxiousness cloud my ability to perform academically. As for my workload of the upcoming fall semester, I¿¿m looking to continue with full-time studies as I believe that my counseling and treatment will battle any overwhelming fears or anxieties even faster if I subject myself to social environments on a more regular basis, thereby becoming more capable of combating the disorder. In addition to utilizing these methods to continually fight off the negative affects of the anxiety disorder, I will also maintain regular sessions with physicians on the disorder itself, allowing for me to maintain a more proper form of documentation on what the disorder is doing, thereby enabling the physician and I to make a proper request on upping or lowering the dosage of said treatment. If I am granted a return to studies in the fall semester, I will make it of utmost importance to continue bettering my academic progress by seeking support and advice from academic counseling throughout the duration of the school year. Even now, I¿¿m looking to better myself academically through the enrolment of online summer courses, allowing for me to have a starting point once more when arriving in September. All of my additional paperwork, filled out and signed by my family physician, detailing the negative effects this social phobia has had on my academic performance will be submitted a day or two after June 16th, as he is currently in the process of finalizing all signatures on the supporting documentation.
Sincerely,
Alex Strang
Upon returning back to Queen¿¿s I have also devised an academic plan to follow through on to better maintain a healthy mindset and lifestyle so that this is not to happen again. To begin, not only will treatment of my anxiety disorder be continuous throughout this upcoming school year, but also counseling, which I am currently seeking through Health, Counseling, and Disability Services at Queen¿¿s University to further the progress I¿¿m continuing to make here in my hometown. This will better enable me to focus solely on my studies rather than have an overwhelming fear and anxiousness cloud my ability to perform academically. As for my workload of the upcoming fall semester, I¿¿m looking to continue with full-time studies as I believe that my counseling and treatment will battle any overwhelming fears or anxieties even faster if I subject myself to social environments on a more regular basis, thereby becoming more capable of combating the disorder. In addition to utilizing these methods to continually fight off the negative affects of the anxiety disorder, I will also maintain regular sessions with physicians on the disorder itself, allowing for me to maintain a more proper form of documentation on what the disorder is doing, thereby enabling the physician and I to make a proper request on upping or lowering the dosage of said treatment. If I am granted a return to studies in the fall semester, I will make it of utmost importance to continue bettering my academic progress by seeking support and advice from academic counseling throughout the duration of the school year. Even now, I¿¿m looking to better myself academically through the enrolment of online summer courses, allowing for me to have a starting point once more when arriving in September. All of my additional paperwork, filled out and signed by my family physician, detailing the negative effects this social phobia has had on my academic performance will be submitted a day or two after June 16th, as he is currently in the process of finalizing all signatures on the supporting documentation.
Sincerely,
Alex Strang
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: Off-Campus Physician's Note
History
Originally submitted June 16, 2014 at 11:58:43 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Withdrawn | Haley Everson | 2014-07-14 10:19:45 AM |