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Topics related to Care & Support
Psychological problems
What makes home care so stressful?
Caring for someone at home can be very stressful from a mental and physical point of view. It takes place in the context of a close relationship between you and the person you are caring for, and should never be taken for granted. However, because you are a relative or have a close bond, you feel responsible for their care. They depend on you for much of their life, which can lead to gratitude but also frustration on both sides. At the same time, caregiving is probably not your only responsibility: you may have (other) children to raise, you may have to care for your parents at the same time and you may also have a professional life. Thus, many carers report feeling overwhelmed. If you feel the same, you are not alone.
Learn more on the following video:
Why might psychological support be useful?
A diagnosis of a serious illness or disability within your family is often a shock. Entire life plans may have to be rethought and adapted. As a family caregiver, you suddenly take on responsibility not only for the health care of another person but also for other areas of life such as family, social life and work. Your own social life is also likely to change, and your job might have to be adjusted too. Despite everything, try not to neglect your own physical and mental health. Take care of yourself too! If you feel mentally stressed, don’t be afraid to ask for psychological support.
Psychological support can help you to:
- cope better with the diagnosis of the care recipient
- solve problems that have arisen within your family as a result of the caregiving situation
- restore your own mental health, and thus
- be able to face the caregiving situation with more strength and joy.
How common are psychological problems among informal caregivers?
In addition to the physical exertion, the huge commitment in terms of time needed for home care that can be stressful. Professional and private interests are often neglected. Other family members receive less attention than before. In addition, there is the constant worry about the health of the person in need of care. As if that wasn’t enough, there may also be worries about financial burdens and the stress of constantly having to deal with bureaucracy. Unfortunately, caregivers often find themselves in a state of having to “function” all the time. There is hardly any room left for their own mental balance.
Look at how Paula felt, caring for her husband after his stroke and what she would have liked to have had to improve her situation. Her husband had had a stroke in his forties and had several physical impairments afterwards. Both had been in the middle of their career and had a teenager.
[Paula]
What can you do for your own mental wellbeing?
- Listen to your own body and soul. How do you feel? Do you need to rest or are you full of energy? Stay mindful of yourself!
- Build in regular breaks at times that are convenient for you. Meet your needs and consciously allow yourself to rest and relax. The best way to do this is to introduce rituals into your everyday life: a cup of tea in the morning or a regular meeting with friends in a café? Do something you like! If necessary, ask friends and relatives for help with care during this time or find out what professional support is available.
- Pay attention to your own stress signals. Do you tend to get irritated or sad? Do you feel physically worse or has your sleeping behaviour changed? Do you increasingly consume addictive substances in stressful situations? Get to know yourself so that you can better categorise your feelings. Is a short break enough or do you need outside help? Don’t be afraid to seek psychological help if you are under a lot of stress.
Good Practices
2024 Psychologist bonus – INPS portal
Caregivers and people with disabilities can benefit from the State bonus for psychological support if they meet certain requirements.
Psyned
Through their website you can schedule a consultation and begin treatment without being placed on a waiting list. Link here.
Little Pocket Dimension
Psychological support is equally vital for individuals with disabilities or care needs. Read this blog article to find out how individual therapy helped Charelle deal with her depression.
Pflegen-und-Leben.de
Pflegen-und-leben.de is a non-profit online psychological counselling service for carers and families. People with statutory health insurance who are caring for loved ones in need of care receive personalised support from specially trained psychologists – whether they are spouses or partners, parents, (adult) children or grandchildren. Support is available online and at a low threshold and consists of a maximum of six sessions. Counselling is provided by a team of specially trained psychologists. Link here.
Telefonseelsorge (crisis line)
If you are in a crisis, you can call the crisis line. Free counselling is available 24/7 on 0800–111 0 111 or 0800–111 0 222. Counselling is always anonymous. The Samaritan telephone service can also be reached by mail and chat.
Please note that the work is supported by the Christian churches in Germany. It is an expression of the pastoral responsibility of the Protestant and Catholic churches: Link here.
Prevention of violence in care
As a non-profit foundation, the Zentrum für Qualität in der Pflege/ ZQP (Centre for Quality in Care) offers research findings, tools and practical knowledge for good care and health prevention. It also aims to prevent violence in care, which is often caused by psychological overload.
Network of Local Municipalities Caring for Informal Carers
This is a network of municipalities supporting informal caregivers, particularly in terms of respite, provision of psychological support by specialised professionals, and creation of self-help groups for caregivers, among other forms of support. Link here.
App Mental Health P5
An app that allows users, who might not necessarily be informal caregivers, to self-assess anxious and depressive symptoms. It provides access to tools for emotional management, improving sleep, and adopting healthy lifestyles. Link here.
Line of Hope
Emotional support service for adults. Mental health professionals and volunteers provide anonymous, free emotional support services for adults. You can call, email or use live chat. Link here.
Outpatient mental health services in Lithuania
Mental health services are provided at the primary level in outpatient mental health centres. They are operated by interdisciplinary teams including a psychiatrist, psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses. Link here.
Providing early intervention services
The purpose of these services is to provide timely support to people in crisis who show early signs of disability. Link here.
Resources
Forum for Family- House of Awakenings project.
Web-based mutual self-help group for caregivers of persons with severe acquired brain damage.
Existing and proposed legislation on the figure of the family caregiver
Psychosocial support measures for caregivers within existing legislation.
“Paths to psychotherapy” of the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapist
A website offering a broad overview of psychotherapies in Germany.
Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst (social psychiatric service)
German municipalities are required to provide a social psychiatric service. These services offer counselling for people seeking help, their relatives and those in their social environment. An important target group is people who would otherwise not receive or accept help. Outreach support is therefore the focus of their work. If you are interested, just search for your local municipality and use the following term: “Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst”. There is no central website for these services. As an example, you can find the social psychiatric service of Frankfurt in the title link.
Overview of subsidised health insurance offers in the area of health prevention (exercise, nutrition, relaxation)
Depending on your health insurance provider, these online portals offer an overview of various quality-approved health courses, such as relaxation training, that may be subsidised by your insurer:
BARMER | DAK | HEK | IKK | KKH | KNAPPSCHAFT | SBK | TK | MOBIL-Krankenkasse | VIACTIV
“Advice for relatives caring for people with psychological illnesses
If you are caring for someone with psychological problems, the association for family self-help offers valuable tips and suggestions. A list of links to other organisations that deal with the topic of care and psychological illnesses rounds off the homepage. The website is available in German, English and French.
The importance of breathing
This is a website with information to empower informal carers in the area of disability by teaching breathing techniques and explaining the relationship between breathing and health. The website also gives suggestions on how to manage daily stress as well as relaxation tips. It also outlines planning strategies and highlights the importance of organising our routines and how to do it as best as possible. link here.
Carer´s Manual – Take Care of Yourself
This is a practical illustrated guide whose purpose is to support informal carers by alerting them to various issues that can compromise their well-being and, in this way, contribute to improving their quality of life and that of the people they care for. Video
Information about possibilities to get psychological help.
How to take care of yourself while caring for a family member
This is a website with information on how to take care of yourself when looking after a sick relative. It also contains information about receiving psychological counselling.