Petition Letter
To Dr. Jill Atkinson, Associate Dean (Studies),
I am writing this letter to appeal for aegrotat standing. I am appealing for aegrotat standing in order to focus on bettering the extenuating circumstances that led me to appeal in the first place. I have been struggling heavily with mental health for my whole life, but I have been going through a particularly difficult time for the last 2-3 months. As a result of this emotional distress, I attempted to commit suicide on March 15th and I was subsequently hospitalized. After being hospitalized and held in the mental health emergency unit at Kingston General Hospital, I was put in touch with Freeman Woolnough, has been a great help in forming a plan for my work to get better as well as aiding in the appeals process. However, my hospitalization, and the feelings of severe anxiety and depression that fed into it, have made schoolwork extremely difficult to complete for the past few months. I could not go to class because I felt so sad and anxious, sleeping and hiding away seemed the only option. I was suffering frequent and debilitating anxiety attacks that sometimes happened multiple times a day. I was not and still am not in a frame of mind fit to allow me to do my best academically.
I am hoping to be granted aegrotat status because I feel it is important for me to go home and be with my family while starting treatment immediately with local resources. I am determined to return to Queen's in September 2018, in fact, I will be a Gael come September. My academics and participation in the school community are very important to me, and I want to focus all of my energy on getting better so that I may return to Queen's and continue to grow and learn. It is also important that I be able to go home, as I do not believe I will be safe should I stay much longer in Kingston, as it is already crippling my mental health to be away from family during this hard time. The choice to appeal for aegrotat status as opposed to academic deferrals was one I made with the knowledge of myself and my habits. I knew that if I were to merely defer coursework, I would not be able to focus solely on getting better because I would be anxious and stressed out about my school work. Aegrotat standing would help to give me the freedom to focus completely on getting better so I may improve my overall mental health in the long run.
I plan on returning to Queen's in September 2018. This is part of my ultimate goal of getting mentally healthy enough that I may be at a point where I can return to campus life and course work without becoming easily overwhelmed and upset, as well as a danger to myself. While I intend to do consistent and intensive counselling at home over the summer break, I also plan to have a support system in Kingston once I return. I will continue to seek counselling come next year as part of my continual recovery process. This support system, coupled with the medications I am on to lessen the effects of anxiety and depression, will all work together to allow me to focus on my schoolwork and achieving the high academic goals I set for myself. With counselling, I will also learn strategies and coping mechanisms I can implement when I am feeling especially anxious or depressed, so that I may return to work without losing time or motivation. Between the support of others, medication, as well as coping mechanisms that work for me, I am extremely confident that I may return to Queen's with a renewed and even stronger passion for learning and life in general.
I am writing this letter to appeal for aegrotat standing. I am appealing for aegrotat standing in order to focus on bettering the extenuating circumstances that led me to appeal in the first place. I have been struggling heavily with mental health for my whole life, but I have been going through a particularly difficult time for the last 2-3 months. As a result of this emotional distress, I attempted to commit suicide on March 15th and I was subsequently hospitalized. After being hospitalized and held in the mental health emergency unit at Kingston General Hospital, I was put in touch with Freeman Woolnough, has been a great help in forming a plan for my work to get better as well as aiding in the appeals process. However, my hospitalization, and the feelings of severe anxiety and depression that fed into it, have made schoolwork extremely difficult to complete for the past few months. I could not go to class because I felt so sad and anxious, sleeping and hiding away seemed the only option. I was suffering frequent and debilitating anxiety attacks that sometimes happened multiple times a day. I was not and still am not in a frame of mind fit to allow me to do my best academically.
I am hoping to be granted aegrotat status because I feel it is important for me to go home and be with my family while starting treatment immediately with local resources. I am determined to return to Queen's in September 2018, in fact, I will be a Gael come September. My academics and participation in the school community are very important to me, and I want to focus all of my energy on getting better so that I may return to Queen's and continue to grow and learn. It is also important that I be able to go home, as I do not believe I will be safe should I stay much longer in Kingston, as it is already crippling my mental health to be away from family during this hard time. The choice to appeal for aegrotat status as opposed to academic deferrals was one I made with the knowledge of myself and my habits. I knew that if I were to merely defer coursework, I would not be able to focus solely on getting better because I would be anxious and stressed out about my school work. Aegrotat standing would help to give me the freedom to focus completely on getting better so I may improve my overall mental health in the long run.
I plan on returning to Queen's in September 2018. This is part of my ultimate goal of getting mentally healthy enough that I may be at a point where I can return to campus life and course work without becoming easily overwhelmed and upset, as well as a danger to myself. While I intend to do consistent and intensive counselling at home over the summer break, I also plan to have a support system in Kingston once I return. I will continue to seek counselling come next year as part of my continual recovery process. This support system, coupled with the medications I am on to lessen the effects of anxiety and depression, will all work together to allow me to focus on my schoolwork and achieving the high academic goals I set for myself. With counselling, I will also learn strategies and coping mechanisms I can implement when I am feeling especially anxious or depressed, so that I may return to work without losing time or motivation. Between the support of others, medication, as well as coping mechanisms that work for me, I am extremely confident that I may return to Queen's with a renewed and even stronger passion for learning and life in general.