🤝 Relatives and social circle

When a partner, family or friends are exhausted: what relatives can do – and where their own limits lie.

Relatives Advice for relatives Duty of confidentiality

In brief

When someone close to you suffers from chronic exhaustion, relatives often want to help – but frequently face the question of how much support makes sense and how not to overload themselves. Encouraging instead of pushing, listening instead of forcing advice and offering practical relief are usually more helpful than well-meant pressure to "pull yourself together".

Detailed, general information for relatives of people with a mental illness – for example on communication, boundaries and one's own mental self-care – can be found in the module Depression: relatives of people with depression. This page supplements it with exhaustion- and work-related aspects.

Step by step

Listen without judging straight awayAvoid sentences like "Other people manage it too" – exhaustion is not a question of willpower.
Offer practical reliefConcrete help in everyday life (housework, appointments, childcare) often relieves more than well-meant advice.
Support professional help, do not replace itEncourage a visit to the doctor without building up pressure; you are not responsible for the treatment.
Recognise your own limitsRelatives can also overload themselves – your own recovery is not selfishness but a precondition for being able to support in the long term.
Use your own counselling if neededAdvice centres and self-help groups for relatives offer their own space for exchange and relief.

Deadlines

No statutory deadline

There is no statutory deadline for supporting someone as a relative. Deadlines of the person affected themselves may be practically relevant (e.g. sick leave, objection) – see the respective topic pages.–

Watch out – common mistakes

Relatives generally have no automatic right to information about the diagnosis or treatment – medical confidentiality also applies towards close relatives, unless the person affected has released the professional from it.
If you yourself are permanently overloaded (e.g. as a partner who also provides care), the same may apply to you as to the person actually affected – do not hesitate to seek medical or therapeutic help yourself.
In acute crises or if the person affected talks of suicide: contact the emergency number 112 or the TelefonSeelsorge (0800 111 0 111 / 0800 111 0 222) immediately.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Medical confidentiality towards relatives

Doctors and psychotherapists are subject to a duty of confidentiality (§ 203 StGB, professional-law duty of confidentiality). Information to relatives – including spouses or partners – may in principle only be given with express release from the duty by the person concerned, provided they are capable of giving consent. This applies regardless of degree of kinship.

Support services for relatives

Advice centres for relatives, in some cases attached to local social psychiatric services or independent providers, and self-help groups for relatives offer exchange and orientation without the person affected having to take part. These services differ considerably by region in scope and provider – a uniform nationwide overview could not be conclusively verified in the course of this research.

Who is responsible

Local advice service for relatives / social psychiatric service (sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst)

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Relatives and social circle“?

When a partner, family or friends are exhausted: what relatives can do – and where their own limits lie.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

No statutory deadline: There is no statutory deadline for supporting someone as a relative. Deadlines of the person affected themselves may be practically relevant (e.g. sick leave, objection) – see the respective topic pages. (–)

What should I do first?

Listen without judging straight away: Avoid sentences like "Other people manage it too" – exhaustion is not a question of willpower.
Offer practical relief: Concrete help in everyday life (housework, appointments, childcare) often relieves more than well-meant advice.
Support professional help, do not replace it: Encourage a visit to the doctor without building up pressure; you are not responsible for the treatment.

What do I need to watch out for?

Relatives generally have no automatic right to information about the diagnosis or treatment – medical confidentiality also applies towards close relatives, unless the person affected has released the professional from it.
If you yourself are permanently overloaded (e.g. as a partner who also provides care), the same may apply to you as to the person actually affected – do not hesitate to seek medical or therapeutic help yourself.
In acute crises or if the person affected talks of suicide: contact the emergency number 112 or the TelefonSeelsorge (0800 111 0 111 / 0800 111 0 222) immediately.

Evidence

§ 203 StGB (gesetze-im-internet.de)

As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.