A Starter Guide for Someone Newly Diagnosed
The first ninety days: appointments, paperwork, crisis planning and where to get support in Germany, the UK and the EU.
This guide is meant to be printed, or forwarded to someone who needs it. Nothing here replaces your treating team; it is the practical scaffolding around them.
Weeks one to two: understand the diagnosis. Ask your clinician for the exact ICD-11 diagnosis in writing, what it means for treatment, and what the plan is if the first approach does not work. Ask for a copy of your records — you have that right under the GDPR across the EU and UK, free of charge for the first copy.
Weeks two to four: build the team. Typically that is a GP or Hausarzt, a psychiatrist, a therapist, and — often overlooked — a social worker. In Germany, ask the Krankenkasse about Soziotherapie, psychiatric home care (psychiatrische häusliche Krankenpflege) and rehabilitation. In the UK, ask whether care coordination or a care plan applies to you.
Weeks four to eight: sort the practical layer. Sick leave and income, employer conversations, study arrangements, and benefits where relevant. In Germany that may include a Schwerbehindertenausweis from a GdB of 50, which brings employment protections. In the UK, mental illness with substantial long-term effect is a disability under the Equality Act 2010, and adjustments are a legal entitlement.
Weeks eight to twelve: write the crisis plan. One page: early warning signs in your own words, what has helped before, what has not, medication, who to call in what order, and consent for who may be contacted. Give a copy to one trusted person and your team. In Germany you can also record a psychiatrische Patientenverfügung — an advance directive covering psychiatric treatment.
Throughout: find peers. Peer support does not replace treatment, but it is the part people most often say changed the first year. Options include EX-IN peer-support workers and regional self-help groups via NAKOS in Germany, and Rethink Mental Illness or Mind groups in the UK.
Crisis numbers to save now: 112 anywhere in the EU and UK for emergencies; 116 117 for out-of-hours medical care in Germany; Telefonseelsorge 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222; Samaritans 116 123 in the UK and Ireland; NHS 111 option 2 for urgent mental health support in England.