Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,¿¿
My name is Isabella Gudgeon (10138088) and I am a third year DEVS/POLS medial student. I am appealing to request aegrotat (AG) standing in a POLS384 and POLS367.
¿¿For background, I have been dealing with transient mental health issues including depression and anxiety for the past four years. After the peak of my issues arose in late high school, I had acquired an array of exercises and coping mechanisms through my encounters with councillors, doctors, and Cognitive behavioural therapists. Over the past three years, I gained significant strides and as such, have for the most part been able to navigate these issues and succeed academically in university.
Last semester (October 2016), my cousin passed away. As I live in BC, I was unable to attend the funeral. At the time, I refused to deal with the issue, and largely ¿¿numbed¿ or ¿¿blocked out¿ the reality of the situation. Given my ability to physically distance myself from the family and funeral, emotionally distancing myself from the issue was not challenging for me. Although I missed a couple classes day-of, I was largely able to pick myself up, proceed and continue the semester successfully.
Ever since going back to BC and seeing my extended family during December break, however, I have been experiencing a severe mental and emotional toll. I have experienced depressive episodes, anxiety, reclusion, general lack of motivation, and extreme fatigue transiently since returning in January.
Unfortunately, and perhaps naively, I did not seek out professional help at this time, as the issues I had felt much like compounded versions of the issues I have have dealt with in the past, rather than ¿grief¿¿ as a whole separate phenomenon, particularly since for me, it had not presented in the immediate stages after my cousin¿¿s death. As I had been able to pull of good grades in the last semester, when I ¿should¿¿ have been feeling it the most, I therefore thought I could eventually manage to do so again, despite the fact that the issues I was working with now was feeling significantly more challenging. Instead, I relied on the exercises that I acquired through my previous experiences with professional help, using CBT worksheets, meditation, self-care practices, and even sleep hypnosis. I would talk to my family or some individuals in my support network about certain aspects of certain issues that I was feeling, however I generally cloaked the extent of my feelings in an assertion that no one needs to worry, that I am okay and can handle it by myself. Ultimately, this has meant that this semester I have been consistently trying to hold myself together, without reaching out to a support network. In this sense, I take complete ownership of what was likely an unproductive decision that has no doubt delayed my ability to process and move forward.
In the last few weeks however, the feeling of overwhelm and panic regarding how I will be able to manage the end of this semester has begun to hit me significantly hard. Over the past few weeks, I have experienced overwhelming fatigue (sleeping 12-19hrs per day), consistent depressive episodes, and anxiety attacks preceding all of my final assignments. This has left me feeling completely debilitated, and I have had trouble getting out of bed, leaving my room, or getting even daily activities completed. Moreover, I am concerned that this will continue to worsen, as my family and extended family are gathering in BC to observe our first easter without my cousin for 10 days from April 7th-17th, and I know that seeing the extended family again, the issues that were ripped open over winter break will likely again be compounded. As all of this is occurring right before the exam period, I am extremely concerned about the impact this will have on my ability to adequately prepare for my exams, and ultimately, the impact that attempting to do so may have on my mental health.
It was by hitting this new extreme that I eventually pushed myself to meet with a councillor, Nadia Sawyer-Fehr, who was the first to tell me that this was an experience of grief and compounded depression and anxiety. She discussed several options moving forward in managing the end of the semester, and we eventually came to the idea of appealing for an aegrotat for two of my courses. She has indicated that she will be sending her letter of support separately from this appeal application, and that you will be receiving it shortly.
Moving forward, I am hoping that the summer break will allow me to work in tandem with a healthcare professional to navigate these issues and overcome several of these barriers. As Ms. Sawyer-Fehr has reccommended, this will likely include both meeting with a doctor once home for the depression, as well as seeking out counselling for the grief and compounding anxiety.¿I am also hopeful that the lighter course load next year (I only require three courses per semester) combined with consistent counselling from Student Wellness Services or with Ms. Sawyer-Fehr, will allow me space to succeed even if similar circumstances and issues arise.
My name is Isabella Gudgeon (10138088) and I am a third year DEVS/POLS medial student. I am appealing to request aegrotat (AG) standing in a POLS384 and POLS367.
¿¿For background, I have been dealing with transient mental health issues including depression and anxiety for the past four years. After the peak of my issues arose in late high school, I had acquired an array of exercises and coping mechanisms through my encounters with councillors, doctors, and Cognitive behavioural therapists. Over the past three years, I gained significant strides and as such, have for the most part been able to navigate these issues and succeed academically in university.
Last semester (October 2016), my cousin passed away. As I live in BC, I was unable to attend the funeral. At the time, I refused to deal with the issue, and largely ¿¿numbed¿ or ¿¿blocked out¿ the reality of the situation. Given my ability to physically distance myself from the family and funeral, emotionally distancing myself from the issue was not challenging for me. Although I missed a couple classes day-of, I was largely able to pick myself up, proceed and continue the semester successfully.
Ever since going back to BC and seeing my extended family during December break, however, I have been experiencing a severe mental and emotional toll. I have experienced depressive episodes, anxiety, reclusion, general lack of motivation, and extreme fatigue transiently since returning in January.
Unfortunately, and perhaps naively, I did not seek out professional help at this time, as the issues I had felt much like compounded versions of the issues I have have dealt with in the past, rather than ¿grief¿¿ as a whole separate phenomenon, particularly since for me, it had not presented in the immediate stages after my cousin¿¿s death. As I had been able to pull of good grades in the last semester, when I ¿should¿¿ have been feeling it the most, I therefore thought I could eventually manage to do so again, despite the fact that the issues I was working with now was feeling significantly more challenging. Instead, I relied on the exercises that I acquired through my previous experiences with professional help, using CBT worksheets, meditation, self-care practices, and even sleep hypnosis. I would talk to my family or some individuals in my support network about certain aspects of certain issues that I was feeling, however I generally cloaked the extent of my feelings in an assertion that no one needs to worry, that I am okay and can handle it by myself. Ultimately, this has meant that this semester I have been consistently trying to hold myself together, without reaching out to a support network. In this sense, I take complete ownership of what was likely an unproductive decision that has no doubt delayed my ability to process and move forward.
In the last few weeks however, the feeling of overwhelm and panic regarding how I will be able to manage the end of this semester has begun to hit me significantly hard. Over the past few weeks, I have experienced overwhelming fatigue (sleeping 12-19hrs per day), consistent depressive episodes, and anxiety attacks preceding all of my final assignments. This has left me feeling completely debilitated, and I have had trouble getting out of bed, leaving my room, or getting even daily activities completed. Moreover, I am concerned that this will continue to worsen, as my family and extended family are gathering in BC to observe our first easter without my cousin for 10 days from April 7th-17th, and I know that seeing the extended family again, the issues that were ripped open over winter break will likely again be compounded. As all of this is occurring right before the exam period, I am extremely concerned about the impact this will have on my ability to adequately prepare for my exams, and ultimately, the impact that attempting to do so may have on my mental health.
It was by hitting this new extreme that I eventually pushed myself to meet with a councillor, Nadia Sawyer-Fehr, who was the first to tell me that this was an experience of grief and compounded depression and anxiety. She discussed several options moving forward in managing the end of the semester, and we eventually came to the idea of appealing for an aegrotat for two of my courses. She has indicated that she will be sending her letter of support separately from this appeal application, and that you will be receiving it shortly.
Moving forward, I am hoping that the summer break will allow me to work in tandem with a healthcare professional to navigate these issues and overcome several of these barriers. As Ms. Sawyer-Fehr has reccommended, this will likely include both meeting with a doctor once home for the depression, as well as seeking out counselling for the grief and compounding anxiety.¿I am also hopeful that the lighter course load next year (I only require three courses per semester) combined with consistent counselling from Student Wellness Services or with Ms. Sawyer-Fehr, will allow me space to succeed even if similar circumstances and issues arise.