Between the Chairs - Literature Time: Dr. Thomas Reinbacher - "After Gray Comes Sky Blue" Rocket Career. Depression. Back to Life 2.0

Lecture: Thomas had achieved everything he had ever dreamed of: a wonderful wife, a loving child, a doctorate under the auspices of the Federal President in Technical Computer Science at TU Vienna, a research career at NASA Ames Research Center in California, followed by a rapid management career at McKinsey & Company, Amazon (Head of Product Management for Alexa), and Google (Cloud & Artificial Intelligence). An international circle of friends, extensive long-distance travels. His life was perfect – everything was happy-ding-dong! But in 2021, he experienced a complete mental breakdown. The shocking diagnosis: severe depression (F33.2). This was followed by two severe depressive episodes and unimaginably long 204 days in a psychiatric hospital. Countless therapy approaches, small progress and major setbacks, a gauntlet of psychotropic medications, and the realization that only a radical acceptance of the illness allows for the first step forward. Coming out of this dark hole after almost two years was by far the greatest achievement of his life. Everything else: a children's birthday party. When he was in treatment in the closed psychiatric ward and saw no way out, he swore to himself: "Screw it! If I get out of here healthy – then you will speak openly about your illness and no longer hide." Now, Thomas is focused on helping others and finally breaking the stigma of depression. In his lecture, Thomas shares his exciting life journey and his long fight back to a life 2.0 after depression. He reveals, among other things: an overview of the types and frequency of mental illnesses (depression), how fascinating and frightening the thought world of a depressed person can be, what he learned in 200 days of psychiatric treatment and therapy, why seeking help for mental illnesses is a sign of strength, how to recognize early warning signs of depression, how he has changed his perspective on mental health vs. performance readiness, and how to protect yourself (as a relative). Organizer: Alliance Against Depression & Human Dignity in cooperation with TANDEM e.V. - shaping social participation - and the BBG.