🌫️ Wegweiser Loneliness

Recognise and understand loneliness and find ways forward: 15 topic pages on contact points, social offers and – where relevant – cost coverage and deadlines.

These pages first explain loneliness simply ("In brief") and then go deeper for advice workers and professionals ("In depth"). Unlike social benefits, loneliness usually has no statutory deadline – where one does apply, the page in question says so explicitly. Figures and study data are marked with their source; where a figure could not be reliably verified, this is stated rather than concealed.

As of September 2026. These pages do not replace individual advice or therapy.

Frequently searched

📞 TelefonSeelsorge and crisis services 🆘 When professional help is needed 🧓 Loneliness in old age 🏘️ Relatives and neighbourhood help 🗣️ Self-help groups for loneliness 📋 Psychotherapy for loneliness: cost coverage 🙌 Volunteering as a way out of isolation 📞 Advice and contact points for loneliness

All topic areas

🧭Overview and contextWhat loneliness is – and what it is not.1 topic 🆘Urgent help and crisis servicesWhen it gets serious and who is available around the clock.2 topics 👥Loneliness across life stagesOld age, youth, bereavement and separation compared.3 topics 🤝Ways out of isolationMeeting people, volunteering, digital skills and self-help.4 topics 🩺Health and carePhysical consequences and cost coverage for therapy.2 topics 💼Loneliness at workWorking from home, shift work and open-plan offices.1 topic 🏘️Relatives and neighbourhoodWhat relatives can do and how neighbourhood help is funded.1 topic 📞Advice and contact pointsWho is responsible for which concern.1 topic

🧭 Overview and context

What loneliness is – and what it is not.

🧭Recognising loneliness: overviewWhat loneliness is, how it differs from being alone and how to recognise it in yourself or others.

🆘 Urgent help and crisis services

When it gets serious and who is available around the clock.

🆘When professional help is neededWarning signs that turn loneliness into a crisis – and where to get help immediately. 📞TelefonSeelsorge and crisis servicesFree, anonymous hotlines around the clock – who to call where.

👥 Loneliness across life stages

Old age, youth, bereavement and separation compared.

🧓Loneliness in old ageWhy loneliness often gets harder in very old age – and what helps older people in particular. 🎒Loneliness among young peopleWhy young adults are also strongly affected by loneliness and which contact points exist specifically for them. 💔Loneliness after bereavement or separationAfter the death of someone close or a separation, loneliness is a normal reaction – when it becomes a burden and where grief support comes in.

🤝 Ways out of isolation

Meeting people, volunteering, digital skills and self-help.

🧩Social groups and meeting opportunitiesWhere to find new contacts with little effort and a low threshold – from lunch tables to neighbourhood meeting points. 🙌Volunteering as a way out of isolationVoluntary work creates fixed appointments and real belonging – from helping in a club to a voluntary service. 💻Digital participation against lonelinessHow video calls, learning services and online communities can help – and where their limits lie. 🗣️Self-help groups for lonelinessHow self-help groups work, how to find a suitable one and how their funding is regulated.

🩺 Health and care

Physical consequences and cost coverage for therapy.

🩺Loneliness and physical healthWhy persistent loneliness burdens not only the mind but also the body. 📋Psychotherapy for loneliness: cost coverageHow individual and group therapy are applied for, what the health insurance fund pays and which deadlines apply.

💼 Loneliness at work

Working from home, shift work and open-plan offices.

💼Loneliness at workWorking from home, open-plan offices and shift work can isolate – what employees and employers can do.

🏘️ Relatives and neighbourhood

What relatives can do and how neighbourhood help is funded.

🏘️Relatives and neighbourhood helpWhat relatives can do when they notice loneliness in someone – and how voluntary neighbourhood help is funded.

📞 Advice and contact points

Who is responsible for which concern.

📞Advice and contact points for lonelinessOverview of who is responsible for which concern around loneliness – from the hotline to specialist counselling.

For reference

📕Keyword indexAll terms from A to Z, with links to the matching topic pages. 📜Sources and methodWhere the information comes from and what is expressly uncertain. 🏠Other target groupsTo the overview of all Wegweiser portals.

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.