After 8 years of isolation: This is how David Krobath fought back to life!

After 8 years of isolation: This is how David Krobath fought back to life!

David Krobath, a 32-year-old man from Ulm, has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last eight years. After a severe stroke of fate, he lived completely isolated from the outside world. It began after graduating from the Robert Bosch School in 2012, when he wanted to set off full of hopes for a promising professional future. But fate didn't take long to arrive. Suddenly and unexpectedly, his stepfather received an alarming diagnosis: only a year left to live. This news threw David off track and so began the vicious circle of his isolation.

He describes himself as a “NEET” – a term for young people who are not in training, work or school. David was trapped in a state of emotional paralysis during this time. As overwhelming as the situation was, with the loss, thoughts of his own future and the pressure from his parents, he was unable to muster the courage to look for a new job.

Eight years of loneliness

The period of isolation lasted for years. David became less and less willing to leave his room and social interaction stopped completely. He lost all connection to reality. “I was vegetating,” is how he describes the state in which he hardly left the house anymore, while the world around him progressed incessantly.

Eight years passed without him stepping outside. “For everyone else, the world kept turning,” he thinks back today. Friends made decisions about the future and starting a family while time stood still for David. The desperate thought that he might die in this loneliness finally drove him to a radical decision.

The turning point

The turning point came on his 28th birthday: “Things can't go on like this,” thought David as he sat in front of the gray wall of his room and asked himself what had happened to his life. It was then that he decided to seek help again. It took a lot of effort for him to get in touch with a psychologist. The appointment confirmed his worst fears: severe depression combined with severe isolation.

However, the treatment was not easy. Just as he took the first step out of his loneliness, the corona pandemic began. Contact restrictions and lockdowns made it difficult for him to make progress as planned. Nevertheless, with the help of video consultations and further attempts at therapy, he managed to get out of his isolation a little bit every day.

It was crucial for him to regain a daily structure. The feeling of being alive again was essential - and he did everything he could to regain that structure.

The first job

His journeys back to life culminated in vocational rehabilitation. David's dream of working in the IT industry remained alive, even though years had passed. In autumn 2021 he began training as an IT system integrator at a vocational training center near Heidelberg. These three years represented a new beginning for him: “I really felt comfortable there,” he says today with obvious pride in his voice.

He recently successfully completed his training and started his first job in the public service on October 1st - a milestone that involved a move to the Karlsruhe region. “I'm a bit proud,” explains David and wants to use his story to give hope that even in the most difficult times it is possible to get back to life.

However, the background to his long isolation and the social challenge of the increasing NEET phenomenon also reflects a broader problem: According to Eurostat, there were around 626,000 NEETs in Germany at the end of 2023, which accounts for a share of 7.4 percent. These figures illustrate the shortage of skilled workers and the associated need for support and encouragement for young people.