Symptoms: Suicidal ideation, Severe anxiety/panic
Florian's story
By his parents
Florian, 20 years old, was a third-year medical student at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Nice Côte d'Azur.
Florian successfully obtained his scientific baccalaureate with highest honors, then passed his first year of medical school by finishing top of his class in 2019. His second year also went very well, marked by excellent results.
Florian was surrounded by friends with whom he enjoyed going out and partying. He was passionate about alpine skiing, which he practiced with his friends and family.
Florian then entered his third year and took his exams in early January 2021, achieving outstanding results.
On January 30, he returned to Corsica to complete a one-week internship at the Bastia Hospital Center. At that time, we noticed in Florian a great deal of fatigue and a certain emotional detachment.
He left again on February 7 for another internship in Nice. This was the last time we saw Florian.
We were used to speaking with him every day.
On Wednesday, February 17, we were unable to reach Florian despite several phone calls. On Thursday the 18th, we again tried to contact him and left him several messages throughout the day, without success. That evening, after contacting his friends, who had also heard nothing from him during that day of February 18, 2021, we decided to call the fire department. Around 10 p.m., we learned that Florian had died by hanging in his apartment in Nice.
Following our investigations, we learned that Florian had consulted a psychiatrist in Nice for the first time on January 15, 2021, and then a second time on January 22, during which he was prescribed Paroxetine 20 mg and an anti-anxiety medication, Xanax 0.25 mg, to be taken if needed. Finally, he had one last appointment with the psychiatrist on January 29 before leaving for his internship in Corsica.
We were not aware that Florian had consulted a psychiatrist or that he was taking Paroxetine.
We did not know that this antidepressant increases the risk of suicidal behavior in patients under the age of 25.
He was anxious about his studies and sought help.
The day before the tragedy, on February 17, Florian tried unsuccessfully to move up his appointment with his psychiatrist, which had been scheduled for Friday, February 19. He spent the afternoon with friends, did some shopping at the supermarket located below his apartment, and returned home around 5 p.m.
His friends, who spent the afternoon of February 17 with Florian, noticed nothing unusual in his behavior. He had told them that he was planning to go skiing at Isola 2000 with his brother and parents during the weekend of February 19-21, and had even invited them to join him.