Mental Health Prevention Program

AOK: prevention program „Live balance“

12/10/2013

The AOK Baden-Württemberg has with „Live balance“ launched a new mental health prevention program. With the nationwide health campaign, people should be encouraged to better deal with themselves and their burdens.

Mental disorders are increasing strongly
One of the program's inventors, Professor Martin Bohus, said of the action: „The goal of Lebe Balance is to reduce the susceptibility to mental disorders by empowering people to strengthen their personal protective factors and to more intensively align their lives with their values.“ The head of the Department of Psychosomatics at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim also said: „Mental disorders are on the rise due to the external influences that affect humans today.“ The number of those affected has increased fivefold over the past ten years.

Sick leave due to burnout
The number of sick leave due to burnout increased sevenfold between 2004 and 2012 according to a study by the Federal Psychotherapists' Chamber. The number of absenteeism days during the same period even increased 14-fold. And about 42 percent of early retirement would go back to mental illness. „There is no family that is not involved in any way on the subject“, said Professor Mathias Berger, Managing Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatics at the University Hospital of Freiburg. „The extreme reputation of companies for a prevention program for mental illnesses“, be barely audible. Up to 60 percent would say in employee surveys that they are mentally at the performance limit.

Mental disorders just as treatable as back pain
So what options are available to tackle the problem? This central question should be in the „Live balance“-Courses are answered, the health insurance offers members, as well as non-members, for example, online. „Mental disorders can be treated as well as back pain“, so Bohus, because „Finally, it is also possible to build up a psychic musculature ... “ The AOK initially trained its own employees as part of the campaign. Nationally about 500 „Live balance“-Seminars follow. (Ad)

Picture: Rainer Sturm