Petition Letter
I am appealing to drop PHAR 100 (Winter, 2021) on the basis of mental illness.
From January, 2021 to April, 2021 I was impaired by severe and unexpected mental illness beyond my control. The condition I was suffering with took me out of work and made basic tasks such as taking care of myself and my responsibilities extremely difficult. I reached out to my family doctor (Dr. Marvin Gelkopf) who referred me to a psychiatrist at CAMH (Dr. Kyle Daniell). Dr. Daniell prescribed me various medications, the majority of which affected me negatively, compounding the problem.
I am appealing to drop only PHAR 100 as my focus in education is in the humanities (history). Even at the height of my illness I could keep up with the course load of the humanities courses I took. Due to the mental state I was in, the course load of Pharmacology 100 became impossible to keep up with.
I did not drop the course earlier because my thinking was impaired by both mental illness and the various medications I was being prescribed. I did not consider the consequences of not dropping the course because of this impairment.
My mental illness is now being managed by a private counselor. I am in a far better mental state and am not on any prescription medications. My counselor and I work together to ensure I am successful in my studies, in my occupation, and in my daily life.
My future plan for academic success is to continue with ongoing mental health care with my personal counselor and only taking courses in the humanities. The former will help make sure that my mental illness remains dormant and the latter will ensure that if I am to become mentally unwell again I will still be able to complete all courses.
Thank you,
Ben Blair
From January, 2021 to April, 2021 I was impaired by severe and unexpected mental illness beyond my control. The condition I was suffering with took me out of work and made basic tasks such as taking care of myself and my responsibilities extremely difficult. I reached out to my family doctor (Dr. Marvin Gelkopf) who referred me to a psychiatrist at CAMH (Dr. Kyle Daniell). Dr. Daniell prescribed me various medications, the majority of which affected me negatively, compounding the problem.
I am appealing to drop only PHAR 100 as my focus in education is in the humanities (history). Even at the height of my illness I could keep up with the course load of the humanities courses I took. Due to the mental state I was in, the course load of Pharmacology 100 became impossible to keep up with.
I did not drop the course earlier because my thinking was impaired by both mental illness and the various medications I was being prescribed. I did not consider the consequences of not dropping the course because of this impairment.
My mental illness is now being managed by a private counselor. I am in a far better mental state and am not on any prescription medications. My counselor and I work together to ensure I am successful in my studies, in my occupation, and in my daily life.
My future plan for academic success is to continue with ongoing mental health care with my personal counselor and only taking courses in the humanities. The former will help make sure that my mental illness remains dormant and the latter will ensure that if I am to become mentally unwell again I will still be able to complete all courses.
Thank you,
Ben Blair