Hygiene Museum dedicates itself to mental health

Talking about mental illness is often still a taboo

While awareness of such illnesses is growing, talking about them is often still a taboo - sometimes for fear of reactions, sometimes for fear of losing one's job, it was said. While illnesses such as depression, burnout or ADHD are increasingly accepted by society, psychoses or addictions are even more stigmatized.

The museum wants everyone to feel addressed. For the exhibition, people from Dresden and the surrounding area were interviewed about their mental health issues, their diagnoses and their coping strategies. Even small efforts can have a big impact - such as more exercise: just ten minutes of activity can lift the mood, according to one finding.

More and more accidents at work due to mental illness

Videos of conversations with those affected can be seen, as well as personal objects that helped them to cope with everyday life. "How can it get better?" This question is to be answered with a view to social, political and medical conditions. Among other things, visitors will learn that absences from work due to mental illness have increased by 43 percent over the past ten years

With artistic, media, interactive and other approaches, the exhibition invites visitors to take a closer look at a topic that affects everyone. The show also offers retreats where you can find out about specific offers of help. You can also engage with your own mental health in a playful way, for example with a quiz and interactive stations.

"I feel what you can't see"

The exhibition is divided into three chapters. Under the title "I feel what you don't see", the focus is on the inner life of people. Questions include: How common are mental illnesses and which are the most common? Who is at increased risk? "Thank you for asking" is primarily about support. The third chapter, entitled "Sometimes like this, sometimes like that", focuses on coping strategies.

The tragic end of a mental illness is also addressed: suicide. According to statistics, 10,372 people took their own lives in Germany in 2024 - an average of 29 per day. Immediately before attempting suicide, many of those affected go through an ambivalent phase of around 10 minutes in which they can still be dissuaded from their plan. Up to 95 percent of them do not later die by suicide.

Exhibition shows the vulnerability of people and society

The exhibition addresses the vulnerability of people and society as a whole, emphasized Dresden's Mayor of Culture Annekatrin Klepsch. It makes it clear "why health is more than just the physical functioning of the human body".

The exhibition opens this Saturday and will run until April 4, 2027. There will be a "Wellbeing Sunday" at the exhibition on April 12. The accompanying program includes lectures and discussion panels on topics such as burnout and the consequences of excessive use of social media.

Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved