There is enormous exhaustion, nothing works anymore. In this state to work? Unthinkable. But who can take you out of circulation if your psyche no longer cooperates?
More and more people are experiencing that the psyche suddenly can’t take it anymore. Absences due to mental illness have increased significantly, according to current data from the KKH commercial health insurance company. According to this, absences due to mental illness rose to 303 lost days per 100 insured persons in the first half of 2023 – an increase of 85 percent compared to the same period last year.
Who can take you out of circulation when nothing works anymore? “An incapacity to work can be determined by a licensed doctor, with the decision being made from a medical point of view,” explains Roland Stahl from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.
This means: If the psyche suffers so much that work is not possible, a family doctor can write off sick, as can a psychiatrist and other specialists.
The road to diagnosis can take time
In the case of mental illness in particular, it is often not clear with the first visit to the doctor’s office which illness is hiding behind the symptoms. However, this does not stand in the way of a sick note. “If there is still no reliable diagnosis, people often get sick leave because of an exhaustion syndrome or something similar,” says Nathalie Oberthür, a specialist in labor law from Cologne.
By the way: According to Nathalie Oberthür, it is impossible for the employer to find out about the psychological problems through the AU certificate. “The AU certificate is now called up electronically, so you don’t see a diagnosis and – unlike in the past – you can no longer see the doctor who issued it.”
If you have acute depressive or suicidal thoughts, contact the telephone counseling online or on Tel. 0800 / 111 0 111 or 0800 / 111 0 222 or 116123. The German Depression Aid on Tel. 0800 / 33 44 533 will also help. In emergencies, please contact the nearest psychiatric clinic or the emergency doctor on Tel. 112.
Read more on Techzle\.com:
- New trends in life expectancies: “Detailed cause of death data examined for the first time”
- Epidemiologist: Decisive action against tiger mosquito necessary
- “A huge burden”: Misophonia triggers anger, disgust and aggression