Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I was diagnosed with GAD, general anxiety disorder, and this whole situation with Covid has taken a very big toll on me. I¿ve struggled with anxiety for a few years now but I was recently diagnosed, summer of 2019, because I got the courage to speak to my doctor about what I was going through. Covid has caused an enormous amount of stress and anxiety for me, on top of the anxiety I already feel on a normal basis. This has made it VERY difficult for me to focus and get things done, because my mind tends to worry about other things making me unable to complete and focus on assignments/ studying without struggling. It¿¿s been so difficult for me to sit down and study or do work, especially regarding my PSYC271 exam, I couldn¿¿t concentrate because my mind kept wandering. I have accommodations because of my anxiety. I¿ve tried to force myself to study as best as I can, but I¿ve just been at the point the past few months where I can¿¿t even understand the words I read anymore, my mind just blocks it all out and it feels like I am going through a constant brain fog. Anxiety for me has always been an ongoing issue and I¿ve tried talking to a therapist with the free counselling they are currently providing, but it hasn¿¿t helped much. I emailed my professor before my exam and explained how I was feeling, she gave me the option to defer my exam a week or two, but I denied that. I said no because anxiety is an ongoing issue for me, like I mentioned, so delaying my exam was just going to give me more stress and anxiety on top of how I was already feeling and I couldn¿¿t deal with that. Pushing my exam was not going to make a difference in my mark or studying ability, instead it would¿¿ve made me feel worse and more anxious. Throughout the course I managed to push myself and get my assignments done on time and concisely. But in terms of studying for an exam it was more difficult for me because it required me to really think and memorize content, which is really difficult for someone who is going through bad anxiety. My mind would not let me remember anything or focus because my mind was all over the place with other thoughts and worries. Even though my summer courses are done I still feel anxious on a daily basis, I have and will continue to use the kids help phone texting services to discuss how I¿m feeling with a counsellor. As well once I¿m back in Kingston, I¿m planning on going to a psychologist on campus to further discuss everything. I¿¿m in my final year of my undergrad and this course makes a huge difference on my gpa. It makes me upset that because of extenuating circumstances I performed badly on a final exam. I wish I could¿¿ve done better and I wish there were ways for me to make my mind not wonder off and worry, but it¿¿s very difficult to do that with everything going on.