Petition Letter
I am appealing to drop COMM 251 (Organizational Behaviour), and applying for aegrotat standing in PSYC 315 (Analysis of Psychological Signals).
The reason for my appeal is my mental health. Over my university career, I have struggled with mental health, but during 2017 it took a turn. Throughout the semester, I¿¿ve been able to keep up with my work for the most part. However, during October, I was given a medication that had a serious negative effect on me. I ended up spiralling into a depressive episode that was severe enough to result in hospitalization during the semester. After my release from the psychiatric unit, my mood did not improve, and the depressive symptoms expanded to severely impact my ability to concentrate, my ability to make it to class, and my ability to complete my schoolwork. Throughout the entire semester, I have been attending therapy regularly, and trying different medications for my mental illness. I am working very hard to overcome this, but after a very difficult few weeks, I made the decision that I needed to take the rest of the semester to focus on my health instead of my schoolwork, and that is why I have made the decision to apply for aegrotat and appeal to drop the course in which this is not possible. I do not believe that I currently possess the abilities to complete my course work, and if I did it would not be up to the standard that I could produce if it weren¿¿t for my illness. I also believe that adding more stress to my situation by focusing on completing assignments and exams would be detrimental to my health, and could result in my depression worsening or lasting for longer than it might otherwise. This was a very conscious decision, made with my family and therapist, who have all recommended that I take some time to focus on recovery as opposed to finish the semester.
I am struggling with a chronic illness, and this has affected my schoolwork in the past, so I do expect it to affect things in the future. However, I¿¿m working hard to figure out how to reduce the impact of these episodes. I am enrolled in an intensive outpatient program at KGH that will run for six weeks starting in December, and am considering residential treatment out of Kingston if the issue does not improve. I am also seeing both a DBT specialist and a psychotherapist, and working to get an appointment with a psychiatrist to go over medication. I am also planning to register with accessibility services at Queen¿¿s to ensure that my illness does not affect my education as much as it has been. I¿¿m hoping to take a full course load next semester so I can graduate on time, but I¿¿ve also accepted that this may not be possible for me, and if it is, I plan to take an extra semester to finish my degree. This has been an extremely challenging semester for me, but I¿¿m hoping that with some time to recover I will be able to come back to my classes with the ability to succeed in the way that I know I can.
The reason for my appeal is my mental health. Over my university career, I have struggled with mental health, but during 2017 it took a turn. Throughout the semester, I¿¿ve been able to keep up with my work for the most part. However, during October, I was given a medication that had a serious negative effect on me. I ended up spiralling into a depressive episode that was severe enough to result in hospitalization during the semester. After my release from the psychiatric unit, my mood did not improve, and the depressive symptoms expanded to severely impact my ability to concentrate, my ability to make it to class, and my ability to complete my schoolwork. Throughout the entire semester, I have been attending therapy regularly, and trying different medications for my mental illness. I am working very hard to overcome this, but after a very difficult few weeks, I made the decision that I needed to take the rest of the semester to focus on my health instead of my schoolwork, and that is why I have made the decision to apply for aegrotat and appeal to drop the course in which this is not possible. I do not believe that I currently possess the abilities to complete my course work, and if I did it would not be up to the standard that I could produce if it weren¿¿t for my illness. I also believe that adding more stress to my situation by focusing on completing assignments and exams would be detrimental to my health, and could result in my depression worsening or lasting for longer than it might otherwise. This was a very conscious decision, made with my family and therapist, who have all recommended that I take some time to focus on recovery as opposed to finish the semester.
I am struggling with a chronic illness, and this has affected my schoolwork in the past, so I do expect it to affect things in the future. However, I¿¿m working hard to figure out how to reduce the impact of these episodes. I am enrolled in an intensive outpatient program at KGH that will run for six weeks starting in December, and am considering residential treatment out of Kingston if the issue does not improve. I am also seeing both a DBT specialist and a psychotherapist, and working to get an appointment with a psychiatrist to go over medication. I am also planning to register with accessibility services at Queen¿¿s to ensure that my illness does not affect my education as much as it has been. I¿¿m hoping to take a full course load next semester so I can graduate on time, but I¿¿ve also accepted that this may not be possible for me, and if it is, I plan to take an extra semester to finish my degree. This has been an extremely challenging semester for me, but I¿¿m hoping that with some time to recover I will be able to come back to my classes with the ability to succeed in the way that I know I can.