Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

In 2016 I was diagnosed with depression by my family doctor in Ottawa. Since then I have received treatment on and off, however, none of the treatment was fully successful and my mental health has been inconsistent. Unfortunately, this has hindered my ability to attend classes and complete assignments. I have reached out to counsellors and tutors but the help provided has been minimal. On one instance this semester, I was walking to campus to write a math test when I experienced my first anxiety-induced panic attack, which lead to me skipping the test altogether and avoiding campus whenever possible. During this time I also began taking anti-depressants as prescribed by my doctor in Kingston, but stopped taking them after a few weeks due to side effects such as drowsiness and constant fatigue. These side effects made it extremely difficult to get myself out of bed and I spent most of every day during that period in and out of naps. This constant fatigue, paired with the pressure of being a good teammate on the varsity hockey team, led me to get farther and farther behind in my courses, which then accumulated to me feeling like there was no hope to ever catch up. This made me feel hopeless to the point where I stopped going to counselling appointments and doctor's appointments, and also avoided talking to others in my support system, such as my family. I am actively trying to solve my issue with isolating myself and compartmentalizing my problems by committing to honest communication with my family on a daily basis, to removing myself from the varsity hockey team to allow myself more time to focus on my studies and mental health. I hope to come into 2nd semester with a fresh perspective renewed energy to get healthier with less commitments on my plate.