Petition Letter
To the Associate Dean (Studies),
I am appealing the Faculty's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's for 1 year of studies (2018-2019). Due to a multitude of circumstances beyond my control, the past 3 years have posed the most difficult in my lifetime so far. I have been faced with a series of challenges in which I struggled to cope with and overcome.
Unfortunately, there have been several deaths within my family over the past 3 years which were untimely and came as a shock to my immediate family members. In March of 2015, my Grandmother lost her battle to Alzheimer's disease. In late August of 2016, just before I was to return to school for my third year, my Grandfather (on my Father's side) passed away unexpectedly. And much to our surprise, we lost my other Grandfather (my Mother's Father) in Spring of the following year - he passed on April 11th which was in the midst of final exams. Losing my Mother's Father was probably the lowest point for my entire family. He had been the Chief of his fire department for over 35 years, came out of retirement 3 times to fill in as Chief over the past several years, and was even chopping wood the day he had a stroke. The entire Niagara region celebrated his life days after my final exam - the funeral had been postponed so I could stay in Kingston to finish up. I lived in my Mother's parents' house for several years as a child, so I was extremely close to my Grandparents and really struggled to accept and grieve their deaths. My parents struggled even more, which has caused a shift in the dynamic of our relationships in our household - we have been discussing seeking professional help in order to work through these issues as of this summer (2018).
With all of this going on - I was incapable of using the strategies I had previously worked on to cope with the anxiety and depression I was experiencing. As an adolescent, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (or GAD) and Major/Persistent Depressive Disorder (MDD/PDD). I have a family history of mental health and addiction issues. As a high school student, I was a part of an out-patient program at McMaster Children's Hospital where I received CBT/DBT therapy on a regular basis and was welcomed as an in-patient if ever needed. After I turned 18, I was transferred to the local hospital's psychology department at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital where I continued extensive therapy for a year before coming to University. With all the work I had done, I thought I was prepared for Post-Secondary without thinking I had to keep up with my mental health. First year proved to be fine, I was going to classes regularly and putting in a normal amount of effort into academics and extra-curricular involvement at Queen's. It felt easy because I was being guided and helped along the way as a first-year student. However, when I started second year off campus, I began to become afraid to attend classes or even leave the house some days. I missed classes more and more and dropped out of my extra-curricular's. I turned to drugs and alcohol as a form of coping with the things that were happening back at home, and I began disassociating myself from my peers.
As my friends and family became increasingly concerned, I sought out help at the LaSalle building on campus, however I did not find the services offered particularly helpful unless in an immediate crisis situation. There should be documentation from the LaSalle building of my visit to see a counsellor to inquire about regular counselling options. I also went to the Faculty of Education, where I was offered counselling on a once-a-month basis¿ I attempted this, but it did not prove helpful due to the long wait time in between sessions. I continued to abuse substances in order to avoid having to think about school and home, and most days I would barely leave my bedroom.
I am appealing the Faculty's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's for 1 year of studies (2018-2019). Due to a multitude of circumstances beyond my control, the past 3 years have posed the most difficult in my lifetime so far. I have been faced with a series of challenges in which I struggled to cope with and overcome.
Unfortunately, there have been several deaths within my family over the past 3 years which were untimely and came as a shock to my immediate family members. In March of 2015, my Grandmother lost her battle to Alzheimer's disease. In late August of 2016, just before I was to return to school for my third year, my Grandfather (on my Father's side) passed away unexpectedly. And much to our surprise, we lost my other Grandfather (my Mother's Father) in Spring of the following year - he passed on April 11th which was in the midst of final exams. Losing my Mother's Father was probably the lowest point for my entire family. He had been the Chief of his fire department for over 35 years, came out of retirement 3 times to fill in as Chief over the past several years, and was even chopping wood the day he had a stroke. The entire Niagara region celebrated his life days after my final exam - the funeral had been postponed so I could stay in Kingston to finish up. I lived in my Mother's parents' house for several years as a child, so I was extremely close to my Grandparents and really struggled to accept and grieve their deaths. My parents struggled even more, which has caused a shift in the dynamic of our relationships in our household - we have been discussing seeking professional help in order to work through these issues as of this summer (2018).
With all of this going on - I was incapable of using the strategies I had previously worked on to cope with the anxiety and depression I was experiencing. As an adolescent, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (or GAD) and Major/Persistent Depressive Disorder (MDD/PDD). I have a family history of mental health and addiction issues. As a high school student, I was a part of an out-patient program at McMaster Children's Hospital where I received CBT/DBT therapy on a regular basis and was welcomed as an in-patient if ever needed. After I turned 18, I was transferred to the local hospital's psychology department at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital where I continued extensive therapy for a year before coming to University. With all the work I had done, I thought I was prepared for Post-Secondary without thinking I had to keep up with my mental health. First year proved to be fine, I was going to classes regularly and putting in a normal amount of effort into academics and extra-curricular involvement at Queen's. It felt easy because I was being guided and helped along the way as a first-year student. However, when I started second year off campus, I began to become afraid to attend classes or even leave the house some days. I missed classes more and more and dropped out of my extra-curricular's. I turned to drugs and alcohol as a form of coping with the things that were happening back at home, and I began disassociating myself from my peers.
As my friends and family became increasingly concerned, I sought out help at the LaSalle building on campus, however I did not find the services offered particularly helpful unless in an immediate crisis situation. There should be documentation from the LaSalle building of my visit to see a counsellor to inquire about regular counselling options. I also went to the Faculty of Education, where I was offered counselling on a once-a-month basis¿ I attempted this, but it did not prove helpful due to the long wait time in between sessions. I continued to abuse substances in order to avoid having to think about school and home, and most days I would barely leave my bedroom.