In Germany, the right of withdrawal is a right
Germany is perhaps the only country in the world where parents in need, i.e. those with health problems, but above all overwhelmed with family obligations, are legally entitled to a three-week cure every four years. to get back in shape (as stated in the 2000 Health Care Reform, updated 2015). The cure is prescribed by a doctor and usually financed by health insurance companies. In addition to the therapies, meals, accommodation and childcare are included in the treatment package. But be careful: the fundamental element is that the retreat is not only done to cure a health problem, but also as a preventive measure to prevent relatively small problems (of a psychological nature) from developing into more serious problems. In fact, by law, it’s like being on sick leave, and companies can’t refuse employees to retire. The salary is paid in full by the employer for the first 6 weeks, but the health insurance company pays up to 90% of the salary for the rest of the time.
How to apply
As a rule, the first step for parents suffering from burnout is to seek advice from a doctor or one of the many committed associations (one of which is the mothers’ recovery work, founded in 1950 by Elly Heuss-Knapp, wife of the first Federal President of Germany, Theodor Heuss, to support mothers and wives in coping with war-related post-traumatic stress). Only at this point you will be guided to the most suitable type of treatment and clinic (but places also include monasteries, castles, wellness centers, spas). After filling out a questionnaire that will be sent to the health insurance company, transalpine correspondent of our National Health Service, to which every German has turned at least once in their life in order to take out statutory health insurance (but there are also private ones), a release is expected for yours to book your stay. After the application is accepted, you have 4 months to use the service under penalty of forfeiture; however, if the application is rejected, you have 4 weeks to appeal. As soon as you enter the clinic, you have the right to bring children under the age of 12 with you. The health insurance company bears the costs for the stay and the therapies, the patient only contributes 10 euros per day to the costs.
How the “cure” works
When the parents come to the clinic, they are examined and given a tailor-made activity and therapy plan: movement exercises, muscle relaxation courses, meditation, Nordic walking, yoga. You stop drinking alcohol and follow a careful diet. The children are cared for and supported with health problems, while the staff takes care of the food and cleaning. Parents and children then spend time together in the afternoon. “But I will enter the clinic alone next November,” explains Franziska. “It will be my break from all responsibility. Finally, for a few weeks I don’t have to take care of someone, but the others take care of me». It may sound like a vacation, but research shows that retreats are surprisingly effective at preventing mental health problems. “It’s an inner work,” sums up Franziska, “discovering and understanding new ways to better organize everyday life and prevent further burnouts”.
More than half of the German population has experienced burnout
According to a report by the pharmaceutical company Stada, half of the German population was already affected by burnout before the pandemic (exactly 49% of Germans; but in Poland it is 62% of the population, in Serbia 66% and in Russia even 72%). That means she felt on the edge of the abyss or felt the first symptoms. The Covid wave and the necessary restrictions that followed have only increased this percentage. Just as parents, who are overwhelmed by the tension of everyday life, increasingly resort to spa treatments. According to the BBC website, which interviewed Yvonne Bovermann, director of the mothers’ recovery organization (about 70 clinics offering retreats nationwide), clinics are seeing about a 10% increase in parents following the pandemic. Most single mothers are hospitalized. “Most of our retreats have a preventive purpose,” explains Bovermann. “But the clinics say that a large proportion of the women, about 30%, arrive already exhausted. And they must be offered treatment for healing, not prevention ».
What is parental burnout
The most common problems among German parents are psychological, such as anxiety, insomnia or depressive symptoms, which now affect over 90 percent of retreat visitors, while according to Bovermann’s calculations before the pandemic it was 80 percent. But what exactly is parental burnout? Science defines it as a state of “over-exhaustion about one’s parenting, an emotional alienation from one’s children, and a sense of parental ineffectiveness.” Burnout is not only distressing for parents, but also increases the risk of neglect and violence towards children. But parental distress can affect children in other ways as well. Depression in both mothers and fathers makes their children more likely to develop depression themselves and has also been linked to behavior problems. Typically, burnout parents are at increased health risk, with a third of single mothers reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety. While a three-week retreat may not magically solve these issues, it has been scientifically proven to have a major impact on parents and bring lasting benefits.