Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To: Dr. Johanne Bénard, Associate Dean (Studies)

My name is Hailey Mallow and I am appealing for aegrotat standing in ENGL 200 (Spring/Summer 2016).

I am requesting this appeal do to extenuating circumstances, beyond my control, including psychological and family challenges. I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which presents itself as extreme feelings of dread, panic attacks, avoidance behaviours, and social anxiety. This disorder can make schoolwork challenging as the anxiety and feelings of dread make it hard to focus on my coursework, while the panic attacks can make handing in assignments near impossible.

My anxiety was extremely heightened this semester as my grandmother, who had previously suffered a massive stroke last September, had to be re-hospitalized due to clotting in her blood and paralyses issues. This put an enormous amount of strain on my family members and myself as she required around the clock care. My anxiety grew unbearable and I found myself feeding off the negative emotions of everyone else. I was so worried about my family, especially my father who struggled greatly seeing his mother so ill again. I was constantly imagining the worst outcomes for this situation and had trouble dealing with the reality around me. On top of all of this my parents had just sold my childhood home and were trying to find a new home in Toronto. Unfortunately, taking care of my grandmother was a full time job and made it incredibly challenging to look for a new home. There was a time where they thought they might not find a place to live before the new owners took possession of our house. As you can imagine this was a huge source of stress and cause of panic.

In order to stave off panic attacks my primary coping mechanism became avoidance behaviour. My brain was trying to protect me from additional stress by having me avoid my school assignments and important deadlines. I struggled to post on group forums in ENGL 200 as my heightened anxiety made the prospect of other students seeing my work terrifying. I also struggled with deadlines as the feelings of dread always had me believing the worst of every situation. I was unable to separate the anxiety I felt for my grandmother from other aspects of my life. I feared being yelled at or ridiculed for handing in my work, so much so that I didn¿¿t hand in some assignments. My record will show that I passed all the assignments I handed in, but did poorly in my overall grade for missing assignments or handing them in late.

In spite of this gruelling semester I am positive for my academic career. My grandmother is out of hospital and moving in to assisted living where she will receive the care she needs. My parents have also bought and moved into their new home. This has significantly reduced the stress in my family and made home-life much more positive. My anxiety level has been reduced significantly and I am now able to focus on and complete my schoolwork without intense dread or panic. I am working towards completing my degree and with the reduced stress in my life, coupled with medical and family support; I should reach my goal and finish all my courses this semester and graduate.

Thank-you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Hailey Mallow