Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: ----Foreword----

I am writing this letter to explain the extenuating circumstances that have led me to my academic standing at Queens and to apologize for the lack of transparency and professionalism that has brought me to this position. I suffered from non-suicidal self-injury for two years. I was extremely secretive about this, keeping it from loved ones, family, peers, and professors. I will include the process I have gone through with my treatment and my plan for success academically in the following year if I am allowed to continue my studies. I am writing this letter as the last part of my self-help plan that I began at the beginning of January.



----Non-Suicidal Self-Injury----

After my second year at Queens, I had a traumatic experience and I began cutting, burning, and scratching myself to cope with my emotional pain. This translated into my studies as I began studying online. My mental illness grew worse as time passed and I continued to self-harm and punish myself. After the year online I was struggling mentally due to my poor academic performance and my mental illness got worse. I had scars all over my arms and legs from the burning and cutting. I shut myself away from others so that they would not see what I had done to myself. I punished myself every day for almost an entire year. My illness continued over the summer, and I did not have the strength to tell my parents what I had done. In November I was self-harming and the weight of what I was doing to my body gave me an anxiety attack. I woke up my friend and asked for help. This friend is close with me and my family and confided what he had seen with them. I then went home for a while and told my family everything. I started my self-help plan in January and ever since then I have become so much healthier mentally, physically and socially.





----Self-Help Plan----

In January I started cognitive-behavioral therapy to help with my emotional stress causing my mental illness. Specifically, I began a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy called acceptance and commitment therapy. The goal of this therapy is to change how you respond emotionally to your past experiences and personal thoughts. I used the government of Ontario's publicly funded Mind Beacon program to undergo my therapy, they have therapists and mental health professionals who give you a personal recovery plan. Including mental health exercises and therapy sessions.

I responded well to this and developed a personalized plan to return to my studies. My family was incredibly supportive and helped me begin to feel better. With their help I started a daily routine and began to better my physical health. This helped with my depression. Whenever I had the urge to cut or burn, I would reach out to my helpline and talk through what I was feeling. I began writing more to express my emotions in a way where I could see them and analyze them. This gave me clarity on why the thoughts I was having were illogical and self-destructive. I completed my therapy on July 15th , 2022. I have now come to terms with the reality of my past. I am ready to dedicate myself to school and give everything I have towards improving my academic standing. I enjoy studying and I would like to continue doing so with the support systems I now have at Queen's. My support systems being the student mental health services, and my personal helpline for therapy. My therapy will be done remotely in the fall if I continue my studies, but I will be attending Queen's mental health services. I know I am ready to return to my studies in a healthy and proactive manner to ensure that I find future academic success at Queens.