After 8 years of isolation: David Krobath fought back into life!

After 8 years of isolation: David Krobath fought back into life!

David Krobath, a 32-year-old man from Ulm, has experienced a dramatic change in the past eight years. After a severe stroke of fate, he lived completely isolated from the outside world. It started after graduating from school at the Robert Bosch School in 2012 when he wanted to go into a promising professional future full of hopes. But fate was not long in coming. Suddenly and unexpectedly, his stepfather received an alarming diagnosis: only a year to live. David brought this message out of the track and so the vicious circle started his isolation.

He describes himself as "neet"-a term for young people who are neither in training, work nor school education. During this time, David was caught in a state of emotional paralysis. As overwhelming was the situation that he had to deal with the loss of the loss of his own future and the pressure from his parents, he was unable to raise the courage to take care of a new job.

Eight years in loneliness

The time of isolation has been sustained for years. David was less and less ready to leave his room, the social interaction completely broke away. He lost any relation to reality. "I vegetated there," he describes the state in which he hardly left the house while the world continued to progress.

for eight years, in which he did not take a step outside. "The world has turned for everyone else," he thinks back today. Friends made decisions about the future and a family start -up, while David's time standstill. The desperate thought that he could die in this loneliness finally drove him to a radical decision.

The turning point

On his 28th birthday, the turning point came: "It can't go on," thought David when he was sitting in front of the gray wall of his room and wondering what had happened to his life. At that time he decided to seek help again. Overcoming it cost him to contact a psychologist. The appointment confirmed its worst fears: severe depression, combined with a pronounced insulation.

The treatment was not easy. Just when he took the first step out of his loneliness, the Corona pandemic began. Restrictions on contact and lockdowns made it difficult for him to make progress as planned. Nevertheless, with the help of video consultation hours and further therapy attempts, he managed to get a small piece out of his isolation every day.

For him it was crucial to regain a daily structure. The feeling of living again was essential - and he did everything possible to regain this structure.

The first job

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

Recently he successfully completed the training and started his first job in the public service on October 1-a milestone that was connected to the Karlsruhe region. "I'm a bit proud," explains David and wants to give hope with his story that even in the most difficult times the way back into life is possible.

The background of 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 nets in Germany, which is a share of 7.4 percent. These figures illustrate the shortage of skilled workers and the associated need for support and support for young people.