Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Academic),
I am appealing to drop the courses BIOL 103, CHEM 112, and PSYC 100 in the current semester. I have experienced extenuating circumstances that have prevented me from being able to complete these courses. I am a first year student, live in an accommodated residence room in the Grad Residence at JDUC and have an accommodation plan.
I have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist with the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) Adolescence Psychiatry with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I was also a patient of the Chief Paediatrician of the Eating Disorder Program at OTMH for anorexia, for which I was also hospitalized at Sick Kids in 2018. I was discharged from the OTMH program in 2021, just before starting at Queen's. In addition, I have alopecia, a medical hair loss condition which worsens during times of increased anxiety. I am on prescribed medications for my anxiety and depression. In April 2021, I was involuntarily admitted to hospital for overdosing on my medication. My depression and anxiety have heightened during and because of the COVID pandemic.
For the first semester, I originally enrolled for five courses, but as my anxiety increased, I withdrew from two of them to manage my mental health issues so that only BIOL 102/3, CHEM 112, and PSYC 100 were left.
Second semester was very difficult for me. One extenuating circumstance is that my depression and anxiety symptoms increased during and because of the COVID pandemic, in particular when course instruction went completely on-line. I experience great difficulty learning on-line versus in-person. By the third week of the winter semester, my anxiety worsened, became overwhelming, and I fell into severe depression. Although I tried to persevere and continue with the semester, because of the on-line instruction and the increase in my mental health symptoms, I was unable to cope with my anxiety and depression. This prevented me from attending my courses and completing any coursework past the fourth week of classes. I experienced daily panic attacks and was barely able to leave my room to get meals (the cafeterias for the meal plan are not in my residence). Being unable to take care of my most basic needs due to the state of my mental health, I could not continue with my three courses.
A second extenuating circumstance is that just prior to starting at Queen's in September 2021, I was left without psychiatric care because my adolescent psychiatrist could no longer continue my care when I transitioned from an 18 year old to a 19 year old and moved outside of their catchment area, relocating from Oakville to Kingston. When my anxiety and depression heightened during on-line instruction, I no longer had access to the psychiatrist I had previously been successful with.
I was unable to reach out for support until mid-March and past the drop deadline due to my increased anxiety and depression when I contacted my parents and my family physician and told them about my worsening mental health. By this point, I missed too many on-line classes and assignments to be able to catch up. With my deteriorating mental health, I have not been healthy enough to do so and it became a catch 22 situation. The further behind I got, the more severe my anxiety and depression became, and I became paralyzed and overwhelmed to the point that it was not possible to catch up.
I have taken steps to address my situation. I continue to have phone appointments with my family physician to manage and adjust my medication, discuss my mental health, and pursue a referral to an adult psychiatrist, preferably in Kingston. I will provide documentation from my family physician. I have scheduled another appointment with a Queen's councillor to help me learn to manage my anxiety and I will also continue to work with an Accessibility Advisor from QSAS to help accommodate my needs. I understand that my anxiety will continue to be a challenge during the coming years, and I plan to continue to communicate with my Accessibility Advisor and my councillor in order to succeed during my time at Queen's. As the pandemic circumstances improve, and university life normalizes, I anticipate that my mental health will also improve. My plan is to take the appealed courses as soon as I am medically able to do so, hopefully in fall 2022 as I have rented an apartment for the next academic year.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Yours truly,
Fiona Taylor
I am appealing to drop the courses BIOL 103, CHEM 112, and PSYC 100 in the current semester. I have experienced extenuating circumstances that have prevented me from being able to complete these courses. I am a first year student, live in an accommodated residence room in the Grad Residence at JDUC and have an accommodation plan.
I have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist with the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) Adolescence Psychiatry with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I was also a patient of the Chief Paediatrician of the Eating Disorder Program at OTMH for anorexia, for which I was also hospitalized at Sick Kids in 2018. I was discharged from the OTMH program in 2021, just before starting at Queen's. In addition, I have alopecia, a medical hair loss condition which worsens during times of increased anxiety. I am on prescribed medications for my anxiety and depression. In April 2021, I was involuntarily admitted to hospital for overdosing on my medication. My depression and anxiety have heightened during and because of the COVID pandemic.
For the first semester, I originally enrolled for five courses, but as my anxiety increased, I withdrew from two of them to manage my mental health issues so that only BIOL 102/3, CHEM 112, and PSYC 100 were left.
Second semester was very difficult for me. One extenuating circumstance is that my depression and anxiety symptoms increased during and because of the COVID pandemic, in particular when course instruction went completely on-line. I experience great difficulty learning on-line versus in-person. By the third week of the winter semester, my anxiety worsened, became overwhelming, and I fell into severe depression. Although I tried to persevere and continue with the semester, because of the on-line instruction and the increase in my mental health symptoms, I was unable to cope with my anxiety and depression. This prevented me from attending my courses and completing any coursework past the fourth week of classes. I experienced daily panic attacks and was barely able to leave my room to get meals (the cafeterias for the meal plan are not in my residence). Being unable to take care of my most basic needs due to the state of my mental health, I could not continue with my three courses.
A second extenuating circumstance is that just prior to starting at Queen's in September 2021, I was left without psychiatric care because my adolescent psychiatrist could no longer continue my care when I transitioned from an 18 year old to a 19 year old and moved outside of their catchment area, relocating from Oakville to Kingston. When my anxiety and depression heightened during on-line instruction, I no longer had access to the psychiatrist I had previously been successful with.
I was unable to reach out for support until mid-March and past the drop deadline due to my increased anxiety and depression when I contacted my parents and my family physician and told them about my worsening mental health. By this point, I missed too many on-line classes and assignments to be able to catch up. With my deteriorating mental health, I have not been healthy enough to do so and it became a catch 22 situation. The further behind I got, the more severe my anxiety and depression became, and I became paralyzed and overwhelmed to the point that it was not possible to catch up.
I have taken steps to address my situation. I continue to have phone appointments with my family physician to manage and adjust my medication, discuss my mental health, and pursue a referral to an adult psychiatrist, preferably in Kingston. I will provide documentation from my family physician. I have scheduled another appointment with a Queen's councillor to help me learn to manage my anxiety and I will also continue to work with an Accessibility Advisor from QSAS to help accommodate my needs. I understand that my anxiety will continue to be a challenge during the coming years, and I plan to continue to communicate with my Accessibility Advisor and my councillor in order to succeed during my time at Queen's. As the pandemic circumstances improve, and university life normalizes, I anticipate that my mental health will also improve. My plan is to take the appealed courses as soon as I am medically able to do so, hopefully in fall 2022 as I have rented an apartment for the next academic year.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Yours truly,
Fiona Taylor