Lilith P. * is busy and hardworking – until her body no longer cooperates. Her many illnesses caused the 60-year-old from Freiburg to slide into poverty.
She studied linguistics, ran a call center and an art agency and was always on the move – and now, at 60, Lilith P. * lives with many illnesses, unemployment benefit II and extremely reduced. Her main occupations are her little dog, walks, watching TV, and sometimes a little art. Money is always tight.
“I was always eloquent,” says Lilith P. – and of course she still is. Even if your life has changed. Before she could hardly be stopped, even though she was confronted with serious illnesses as a teenager. She grew up in a family of academics, was interested in a lot, was dedicated. Later on, ten or twelve hour working days were normal for her. But in the course of her life she was overtaken by attacks of exhaustion again and again. “I had lost myself,” she says in retrospect.
Burn-out came eight years ago
Her body fought back: illnesses alternated, and most organs have now been attacked. There was a burnout breakdown eight years ago. Lilith P. is not only physically restricted, she also lives with manic-depressive phases. Before she began to work through her previous life with psychological support, she spent far too much money in the manic times.
Christmas wish campaign:
Donation account Sparkasse Freiburg-Nrdlicher Breisgau, IBAN: DE77680501010002399506, BIC: FRSPDE66XXX. Keyword “Christmas wish campaign”. Targeted donations are not possible, everything flows into a pot from which grants are then distributed. For organizational reasons, donations in kind cannot be accepted or arranged.-
She had no control over her behavior. So her savings shrank and she got so deeply in debt that she would have lost her apartment because of rent arrears without support.
She has been living with unemployment benefit II for three years and is happy about the support and help from her supervisor. She has long known what used to be a long way off for her: “There is poverty in Germany.” She experiences it.
She actually loves conversation
It is not only because of the lack of money that she feels that she is much less able to live out her personality than before: She is actually a sociable person, she loves conversations – but since Corona she has been condemned to isolation as a high-risk patient. There is a risk of contagion lurking everywhere, and only with a very high social vaccination rate could she live more normally again. After all, she has her little dog. He has to go out, whatever the weather: “This is a piece of therapy for me,” she says. And outside she also comes into conversation with people more often. The loneliness to which she is currently being forced is not her choice.
Fitted sheets and fresh linen
In between dog walks, she watches TV, mostly news and documentaries. “Actually too much,” thinks Lilith P., but she has to deal with something, and reading is too much strain. Sometimes she paints or sculpts a little – luckily, she bought all the necessary and sometimes expensive utensils when she was doing well professionally and financially. Then there are contacts to her friends via phone or WhatsApp.
Lilith P. buys mostly in the food store, but she doesn’t get everything she needs there. She lacks milk and protein products, which are important because of her illnesses. Often she feeds herself mainly on bread, which is not good for her. And she’s missing a lot in other ways too: For example, she’d like to buy new fitted sheets and good cotton underwear. * Name changed
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