Structure in everyday life for mentally ill people

Structure in everyday life stops mentally ill people

09/01/2014

For people who are struggling with a mental illness, it can be helpful not to pull back and just live the day. A solid structure, something that gives continuity in this time, is often a support for recovery for sufferers. It can also be a quick return to professional life, because a well-organized daily life helps to cope better with a mental illness.

Regular daily routine gives stability
The regular daily routine, which is usually fixed by the work, stabilizes the patients and maintains the social contacts and strengthens the self-esteem. Prof. Steffi Riedel-Heller of the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN) therefore advises to resume work as soon as possible after a successful therapy. The affected person does not have to get back in the right way.

Anyone who decides to take this step should think about a gradual re-entry, but also requires the willingness of the employer. The so-called „Hamburger model“ offers a good opportunity for that. This should give employees the opportunity to gradually get used to the old workload. This integration model, which is supported by health and pension insurance with a good prognosis, can in principle take all employees after a longer illness. During the integration, workers receive a sickness or transitional allowance, as they continue to be incapacitated for work. In consultation with the doctor and the employer then the possibilities are worked out.
Not all patients are able to properly assess their remaining skills and abilities to cope with their everyday lives. For these people, it may be helpful for their treating specialist to accompany them on re-entry. A possible recurrence of the mental illness can be recognized faster and the reintegration program established with the employer can be adapted according to the possibilities.

Even simple rituals give structure
However, those who are so seriously ill that a return to the job is once excluded, should try to consolidate his everyday life with certain rituals. They structure the day, provide orientation and support. In mental illness, ritualized acts can prevent anxiety and stress and thus provide rest. The brain can switch off and sufferers can focus on their recovery.

The brain researcher Gerald Hüther advises to consciously use rituals and to integrate activities that one likes to do into the daily routine. For him, individual rituals have a great effect, especially in stress management. Stress is often the beginning or the trigger of mental illness. What kind of rituals this can vary from person to person. It is important that no routine occurs. As a result, the activities get less attention over time, so the actually beneficial to the neuronal processes in the brain acting rituals would disappear, so the brain researchers. (Fr)