Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am an Environmental Studies student here at Queen's University. I am appealing to late drop ENSC200 and GPHY228 (Winter 2019).

Throughout my second year at Queen's University I experienced distress involving my studies. However, in the winter semester I began to experience many physical manifestations that severely impacted my academic performance. In May 2019, following the winter semester in which I experienced unforeseen physical manifestations of my distress, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.

Starting from the beginning; I visited my doctor in December 2018 to consult him about the side effects that I began experiencing - as they became very worrisome. He explained that the symptoms I was experiencing were the many side effects of anxiety. Therefore, I underwent a series of tests to examine the root of the problem. I have always struggled when it came to being good to myself, for example reaching out for help, as well as taking care of my health. Consequently, I never followed up with my doctor to determine if treatment would be beneficial for my condition. Upon reflection; I believe that if I had paid more attention to my physical and mental state, I would have ensured that I'd receive the proper diagnosis then and followed up to get the proper treatment. Instead, I ignored the many side effects of anxiety and ultimately convinced myself that I would be able to concentrate on my studies and do well in my courses, despite how I was feeling. Pushing myself had only made things worse as the distress progressively got more severe as time went on. I noticed that I was physically and mentally incapable of properly dealing with stressful academic situations such as exams and assignment deadlines. I started to feel down and disappointed with myself due to how difficult these situations became. I decided it was time to take a step in the right direction and sought help. To do so, I was able to register with QSAS to receive accommodations for my assignments because of how much I was struggling to complete them on time. Additionally, I dropped one of my courses to focus on my end goal of achieving academic success. Registering with QSAS was very beneficial in my case - however it still was not enough because the side effects were still present and progressively became more difficult to deal with. At this point in the semester, I did not feel like myself anymore; my mental health was affecting me to the point that it was out of my control. I could not get out of bed, I isolated myself from others, and I could not eat or sleep well for days on end. Due to this, I lost twenty pounds and lost the only motivation I had left to strive for success in my courses. The physical manifestations worsened as I began experiencing horrible chest pains, numbness, shortness of breath, weakness, loss of concentration, countless panic attacks and so forth. Near the very end of the semester I was only in good academic standing in two of my four courses. As much as I tried to push myself in all four courses, I had nothing left in me. This is when I realized how much my mental health had prevented me from progressing academically, and that due to not receiving the treatment I needed; I could lose everything I had worked for up until this time. I determined that at this point, the best thing I could do for myself is to not give up completely. So, I pushed myself to complete the two final assignments, as well as the examinations in these two classes that I knew I had a good academic standing in. I am very distraught that I was not able to complete the other two courses as I did not know how to deal these unforeseen circumstances and how hard it was for me to push myself and to cope with situations.

Since my fallout in the winter semester, I have met regularly with my doctor and ensured that I would begin taking the steps to improve my overall health and well-being by undergoing proper treatment. My steps towards success include several therapy sessions, engaging in mindfulness training, surrounding myself with close friends and family and switching programs from a medial down to a major that I am more interested in. I believe that not only recovery will occur, but that I will never find myself in another situation like this again. I strive to achieve great academic success from this point on and hope that the mistakes I made in these two courses will not determine my future, as I am determined to move forward and learn from this for my academic future.

Sincerely,

Chesney McNeely