Petition Letter
To Whom It May Concern,
It is with great regret that I find myself writing to this body in the hopes of explaining the extenuating circumstances that affected my academic performance over the past year. I have been struggling with significant mental health issues, including major depressive disorder and anxiety, which I was diagnosed with in my junior year of high school. Recently, I was diagnosed more specifically with moderate to severe major depressive disorder. Despite my best intentions, the term did not pan out as I had planned. Towards the end of the summer, though, my girlfriend left me. We had been in a toxic relationship that also undermined many of my close friendships on campus. As our relationship deteriorated, I began to engage in unhealthy habits, particularly smoking, to help manage the stress. The final loss of her support affected me deeply as I confined myself to my room, lost weight and lost contact with others.
After a trying summer, I was hospitalized for a suicide attempt because one of my friends called the police asserting that I was a danger to myself. Since then, I have been meeting with Dr. O'Brien at the Providence Care Center in Kingston and taking medication as an essential part of my treatment. Leading up to the school year, I met multiple times a week with counsellors at HCDS for therapy and medication, in addition to an exercise plan. However, after major depressive episodes I failed to follow through with these helpful services and became overwhelmed by a sort of neurotic paralysis. I obsessed over even minor frustrations and quickly became exhausted when trying to focus on academic work, distracted by the struggle for recognition of my condition by my family. I lost the will to exercise, to read, and soon to even take medication and as my responsibilities piled up, resolving my problems seemed hopeless.
Heading into the school year, I had not recovered sufficiently to manage the stress of an increased workload as I took on a full course load and tensions with my family were exacerbated by my hospitalization. I faltered in communicating with HCDS in terms of meeting to discuss and address the issues affecting me. My depression and anxiety twisted the notion of asking for help into weakness, and it left me terrified of the implications of not being independent. I felt worthless. Equally, as the year went on I failed to renew my prescriptions for medication and I fell back into a self-imposed isolation. My struggle with my mental health is ongoing and I recognize the importance of medication and other support systems to overcome it, which I am committed to. I have recently been meeting with Tonya Bauermann at Lasalle, and working on a plan that would help me succeed academically.
I would like to note that over the summer preceding last year, I took two history courses which I finished with A grades. If allowed to return, I would like to continue by following a field where I have met with academic success, though also with a lighter course load than last year. Given the opportunity to return to a normal schedule, I know that I can succeed both academically and in taking care of my mental health. In my family, the importance of education has always been highly stressed. I briefly attended Montesorri schools as a child and was deeply imprinted with a system of values that regards the pursuit of knowledge as virtuous and worthy. I love to learn, and to be at school, where the ability to lose myself in books is an opportunity to be productive, rather than escapism. I strongly believe that the university environment is ideal for personal development, especially my own in light of my condition and the extenuating circumstances surrounding my family. I hope to continue on that path towards independence and self-reliance.
Best,
Olivier Vanasse - 10049503
It is with great regret that I find myself writing to this body in the hopes of explaining the extenuating circumstances that affected my academic performance over the past year. I have been struggling with significant mental health issues, including major depressive disorder and anxiety, which I was diagnosed with in my junior year of high school. Recently, I was diagnosed more specifically with moderate to severe major depressive disorder. Despite my best intentions, the term did not pan out as I had planned. Towards the end of the summer, though, my girlfriend left me. We had been in a toxic relationship that also undermined many of my close friendships on campus. As our relationship deteriorated, I began to engage in unhealthy habits, particularly smoking, to help manage the stress. The final loss of her support affected me deeply as I confined myself to my room, lost weight and lost contact with others.
After a trying summer, I was hospitalized for a suicide attempt because one of my friends called the police asserting that I was a danger to myself. Since then, I have been meeting with Dr. O'Brien at the Providence Care Center in Kingston and taking medication as an essential part of my treatment. Leading up to the school year, I met multiple times a week with counsellors at HCDS for therapy and medication, in addition to an exercise plan. However, after major depressive episodes I failed to follow through with these helpful services and became overwhelmed by a sort of neurotic paralysis. I obsessed over even minor frustrations and quickly became exhausted when trying to focus on academic work, distracted by the struggle for recognition of my condition by my family. I lost the will to exercise, to read, and soon to even take medication and as my responsibilities piled up, resolving my problems seemed hopeless.
Heading into the school year, I had not recovered sufficiently to manage the stress of an increased workload as I took on a full course load and tensions with my family were exacerbated by my hospitalization. I faltered in communicating with HCDS in terms of meeting to discuss and address the issues affecting me. My depression and anxiety twisted the notion of asking for help into weakness, and it left me terrified of the implications of not being independent. I felt worthless. Equally, as the year went on I failed to renew my prescriptions for medication and I fell back into a self-imposed isolation. My struggle with my mental health is ongoing and I recognize the importance of medication and other support systems to overcome it, which I am committed to. I have recently been meeting with Tonya Bauermann at Lasalle, and working on a plan that would help me succeed academically.
I would like to note that over the summer preceding last year, I took two history courses which I finished with A grades. If allowed to return, I would like to continue by following a field where I have met with academic success, though also with a lighter course load than last year. Given the opportunity to return to a normal schedule, I know that I can succeed both academically and in taking care of my mental health. In my family, the importance of education has always been highly stressed. I briefly attended Montesorri schools as a child and was deeply imprinted with a system of values that regards the pursuit of knowledge as virtuous and worthy. I love to learn, and to be at school, where the ability to lose myself in books is an opportunity to be productive, rather than escapism. I strongly believe that the university environment is ideal for personal development, especially my own in light of my condition and the extenuating circumstances surrounding my family. I hope to continue on that path towards independence and self-reliance.
Best,
Olivier Vanasse - 10049503