By Marc Dellière, Medical Consultant & Trainer – Specialist in Stress, Prevention & Integrative Health
The start of the school year is not just a date on the calendar: it is a pivotal moment when many of our patients experience widespread tension. Between returning to work, organizing family life, and performance pressure, the body and mind are often put to the test.
Clinically, we regularly observe:
- Sleep disorders,
- Exacerbated chronic pain,
- Increased metabolic vulnerability (weight gain, glycemic dysregulation),
- A resurgence of anxiety and depressive symptoms.
These manifestations are not anecdotal. Medical literature confirms that acute stress directly affects cognitive performance and decision-making (LeBlanc, 2009) and increases the risk of professional errors in healthcare (Vlassi et al., 2023).
But beyond the numbers, there are the stories of our patients: the mother exhausted by her double shift, the executive returning to a frenetic pace, the teenager anxious about school demands. These stories remind us that behind every symptom lies a human experience.
And we, as caregivers, are not spared: resumption of overloaded schedules, accumulation of pending files, the feeling of “restarting at full speed.” Interventions such as mindfulness or hypnosis, which have already been positively evaluated among health students (Luberto et al., 2020), can also be offered to our patients—and why not integrated into our own routines?
Here are a few simple but effective ideas:
- Anticipate the follow-up of the most vulnerable patients.
- Offer protective health routines (sleep, activity, nutrition).
- Use validated tools (perceived stress questionnaires, relaxation, hypnosis).
- Preserve our own resources so we can continue to provide the right kind of support.
The start of the school year can thus become an opportunity to adjust practices and strengthen prevention, rather than a time of exhaustion. And you, in your practice, do you notice an increase in stress-related symptoms in September?
Learn more about Lactium for stress management!
Scientific sources :
✍️ Kelly, J. A., Bradlyn, A. S., Dubbert, P. M., St Lawrence, J. S. & Solana, A. M. (1982). Stress management training in medical school. Journal of Medical Education, 57(2), 91-99. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7035671/
✍️ LeBlanc, V. R. (2009). The effects of acute stress on performance: implications for health professions education. Academic Medicine, 84(10 Suppl), S25-S33. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19907380/
✍️ Luberto, C. M., Hall, D. L., Park, E. R., Haramati, A. & Cotton, S. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of meditation on empathy, compassion, and prosocial behaviors. Mindfulness, 11, 1464-1480. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7739073/
✍️ Mosca, M. S., Goodell, L. S., Rankin, L. L. & Jasienska, G. (2019). Health professional students’ stress relief and wellness needs: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 6, 2382120519897034. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6936303/
✍️ Pänkäläinen, K., Kallio, H., Jääskeläinen, T. & Toom, A. (2024). Social support and belonging as protective factors against distress in health profession students. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 11687373. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11687373/
✍️ Vlassi, A., Alikari, V., Chondrogiannis, K., Tzavella, F., Zyga, S. & Fradelos, E. C. (2023). Burnout syndrome and professional mistakes in health professionals: Before the COVID-19 era in Greece. Materia Socio-Medica, 35(3), 179-184. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38131684/