An event focused on mental health: Parlons Novembrose - Faculté de Médecine Montpellier

An event focusing on mental health: Parlons Novembrose

The Association du Tutorat Santé Montpellier (ATSM) is an organization dedicated to supporting first-year health students. Its main aim is to support these students on an educational level, while providing them with additional help in non-educational areas such as orientation and reorientation, as well as well-being and mental health.

Parlons Novembrose is an event organized by ATSM to raise awareness and encourage expression around mental health issues, with the aim of setting up concrete actions.

But what is Novembrose ? It's a drop in morale and energy generally observed in November, often caused by physical and mental fatigue, the change of season, reduced light, lack of sleep or stress. This condition can be particularly exacerbated by the pressure of exams, especially in the first year of health studies, where the stress of approaching exams and exam papers can amplify the symptoms of Novembrosis.

For its second edition, we have once again collaborated with professionals from the Maison des Adolescents de l'Hérault. A psychiatrist and a psychiatric nurse will run two workshops on November 28 at the new Faculty of Medicine in Montpellier. The first workshop will run from 10am to 12pm, and the second from 1pm to 3pm. The aim of these sessions is to present concrete strategies for taking care of one's mental health on a daily basis. They will also provide a space for exchange between students and professionals, enabling participants to benefit from useful resources to approach the end of the semester with peace of mind. It will also be an opportunity to devote a moment of well-being to oneself, in a convivial atmosphere, around a small buffet and hot drinks.

"Last year as a PASS I participated in the event Parlons Novembrose. I went first because it looked like a fun, relaxing event, and it would be interesting to talk about mental health.

As you all know, November can be a difficult month for most of us, with winter and the cold settling in and classes starting to pile up and intensify. I wanted to talk about how I was feeling, to see how others were experiencing their PASS year too, and above all to get some advice.

I was already expecting an interesting and helpful event, but I was really pleasantly surprised by the activities and dialogues.

Indeed, I was able to speak with many other students, and with qualified professionals in mental health, and by exchanging with them in the course of activities, we were able to address many important points around mental health, which made me think about how I felt and how I should act to respect myself during this complicated year.

But above all, I was able to talk to a lot of other students, some of whom were the opposite of me, and others, on the contrary, very similar. It was very reassuring.

We were able to talk about the different organizations we had, how to manage our stress, how we felt in this or that situation, and I realized that many of us were in the same situation, which "legitimized" the way we felt. Seeing that other people were stressing about the same things as me reassured me, and I said to myself "it's normal, it's not just happening to me", and it helped me to realize that we can all manage, that we all have the same stress, and that it's not because I'm stressing that I'm not cut out for it, or that I'm not going to pass my year.

In fact, it enabled us to accept all these concerns, saying to ourselves that it's a stage that's present this year, but that it's not a factor of failure.

And that's for all kinds of worries related to different things (it can range from stressing about being late for a particular class, to stressing about not stressing enough compared to others: it's about EVERYTHING).

So I really advise you to go if you're interested, it's not a waste of time, I know that in pass we're in a hurry and we want to work, but it will really take a weight off your shoulders and help you work better afterwards, it's a long-term investment 😉 "