{"id":114992,"date":"2019-09-19T11:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T10:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=114992"},"modified":"2023-03-05T19:57:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-05T19:57:06","slug":"caregiver-mental-health-taking-care-of-you-when-taking-care-of-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/caregiver-mental-health-taking-care-of-you-when-taking-care-of-others.htm","title":{"rendered":"Caregiver Mental Health &#8211; Taking Care of You When Caring for Others"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_114994\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/17131086854_9560cb9d03.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114994\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114994\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/17131086854_9560cb9d03-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"caregiver mental health\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/17131086854_9560cb9d03-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/17131086854_9560cb9d03-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/17131086854_9560cb9d03.jpg 499w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-114994\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/128733321@N05\/17131086854\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Michael Havens<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">by Stephanie Nimmo<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Caregiver mental health matters. We are all, if you think of it, just a<\/strong> faulty gene, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-does-a-traumatic-experience-do-to-your-body-and-brain.htm\">car accident<\/a>, or cancer diagnosis away from finding ourselves providing unpaid care for someone close to us.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">According to the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.carersuk.org\/\"> charity Carers UK<\/a>, there are currently one in eight adults in the UK who care, unpaid, for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dealing-with-difficult-family-members-9-important-steps.htm\">family<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/toxic-friends-what-to-do.htm\">friends<\/a>. Within our lifetime, there will be nine million carers. And with people living longer, we can expect our role as carers to last a lot longer.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Writer<strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\"> Stephanie Nimmo<\/span><\/strong> shares her personal experience and advice for maintaining caregiver mental health when loved ones fall ill.<\/p>\n<h3>When life made me a caregiver<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #666699;\">&#8220;I know too well how in a moment our lives can be turned upside down, and the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dream-analysis-therapy-counselling.htm\"> dreams<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/new-year-goals.htm\">plans<\/a> we had can be shattered.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>My fourth child, Daisy, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/postnatal-depression-symptoms-treatments.htm\">born<\/a> prematurely.\u00a0 Arriving two months before her due date, she was subsequently diagnosed with a rare<\/strong> genetic disease. It meant she was both medically fragile and life-limited.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I gave up a successful career to care for her full-time. This meant balancing her needs alongside<\/strong> the needs of my other<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/parental-stress.htm\"> children<\/a>, aged seven, five, and two. I had no choice but to give up work, as Daisy\u2019s care was all-encompassing.<\/p>\n<h3>Not knowing about caregiver mental health, my identity felt lost<\/h3>\n<p><strong>My life no longer felt like it was my own any more.<\/strong> I became her advocate and her voice, navigating health and social care systems, and feeling like I was constantly<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/why-you-always-pick-a-fight.htm\"> fighting<\/a> for support and help.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">My<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/who-am-i-identity-crisis.htm\"> identity<\/a> felt lost.\u00a0 I was Daisy\u2019s mum, and my life revolved around her.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>I would arrange to meet friends. But then I&#8217;d have to cancel at the last minute, because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/chronic-illness-and-children.htm\">Daisy was ill<\/a>. I lost count of the number of<\/strong> tickets to gigs and shows I would buy that would then go to waste, as I couldn\u2019t get out of the house.\u00a0 Our respite plans yet again broke down.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-114998\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/jenna-norman-8ybZT29CaoA-unsplash-267x400.jpg\" alt=\"caregiver mental health\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/jenna-norman-8ybZT29CaoA-unsplash-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/jenna-norman-8ybZT29CaoA-unsplash-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/jenna-norman-8ybZT29CaoA-unsplash.jpg 709w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/>I found myself eating junk food as I didn\u2019t have time to cook a proper meal, or shop for <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/psychology-of-food.htm\">healthy food.<\/a>\u00a0 And even worse, I found myself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/building-confidence.htm\">losing my self-confidence<\/a> and craving the days when I had been able to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/workaholic-symptoms.htm\"> immerse myself in my work<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>The moment of truth<\/h3>\n<p><strong>One day when Daisy was in hospital and a nurse was sitting with her, my husband and I <\/strong>went for a walk in a nearby park. He took a photo of me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I hated what I saw.\u00a0<\/strong> <strong>I had become a different person.<\/strong> My face was lined and puffy from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/overcoming-problems-with-sleep.htm\">lack of sleep<\/a> and too many visits to the hospital vending machine. My clothes were crumpled and frumpy, my hair scraped back to hide the split ends. I realised that it had been ages since I had bought myself anything new to wear, or visited the hairdresser.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">I decided that I had to do something. Just because I was a full time carer didn\u2019t mean that I had to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/a-sense-of-self-who-am-i.htm\">lose myself<\/a> and the person I was.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>How I found my way back to self-care<\/h3>\n<p><strong>I started writing a blog. Pouring out my thoughts late at night while Daisy slept was very therapeutic, especially when I started getting<\/strong> messages from other carers telling me how much my words resonated with them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I had always been a runner, and when Daisy was able to go to school or we had respite I put on my trainers and hit the trails.<\/strong>\u00a0 The freedom of being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-ecopsychology.htm\">out in the fresh air<\/a> and doing something for myself at last was something I loved.\u00a0 I joined our local running club. Even when I couldn\u2019t make the club sessions, I could chat to other members on social media.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">There I was just Steph, not Daisy\u2019s mum.\u00a0 I felt that I was regaining a bit of myself that I had lost.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>If we don&#8217;t care for ourselves, we are no good to anyone<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Being an advocate, a supporter and companion to a loved one is a vital role. And it\u2019s very easy to<\/strong> be caught up in the paperwork, the meetings, the sorting out of meds, ordering equipment, and everything else that comes as part of the role.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #993366;\">It\u2019s very easy to forget about our own needs while putting someone else\u2019s first. It feels selfish, wrong in some way.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not. I realised that I was no good to Daisy if I fell apart.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>My best tips for caregiver mental health<\/h3>\n<p>Here are my top tips for looking after your own<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-mental-health.htm\"> mental health<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/steps-to-wellbeing.htm\">wellbeing<\/a> while caring for someone else.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">1.Find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/depression-and-creativity.htm\">creative<\/a> outlet to express your feelings. <\/span><\/h4>\n<p>For me, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-use-a-self-help-journal.htm\">writing<\/a>. But it could be singing, painting, sewing, something to help make sense of it all.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">2. Get some fresh air and daylight. <\/span><\/h4>\n<div id=\"attachment_114997\" style=\"width: 276px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114997\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32243630277_6130302baf-266x400.jpg\" alt=\"caregiver mental health\" width=\"266\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32243630277_6130302baf-266x400.jpg 266w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/32243630277_6130302baf.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 266px) 100vw, 266px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-114997\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/152043240@N03\/32243630277\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Jan-Christof Telford<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Days can go by without stepping outside when you are a carer. Try and seize any opportunities to get out of the house &#8212; a walk around the block, or even just sitting in the garden. It&#8217;s important to try and have a change of scenery and spending some time in the daylight will help stave off low moods.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">3. Try and fit in opportunities to exercise. <\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Life as a carer can often be quite sedentary. Exercise not only keeps you fit and strong but also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/exercise-and-depression-does-it-really-help.htm\">has been shown by studies to be a positive impact on mental health<\/a>.\u00a0 Walk to the shops, join in with a local exercise class, go for a swim. The endorphins will really help with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/quiz-stressed-or-depressed\">stress<\/a> of caring.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">4. Join a support group.\u00a0 <\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Local carers groups often have coffee mornings and get togethers. It\u2019s a great way to meet with other people going through the same thing.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-effects-of-facebook.htm\">Social media<\/a> helps you to engage with other carers, too, and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/do-you-need-therapy.htm\">support can be invaluable<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">5. Accept offers of help. <\/span><\/h4>\n<p>It often feels wrong to hand over the care of your loved one to someone else. But don\u2019t feel guilty.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/friendship-and-love.htm\">Friends<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/repairing-family-estrangement-time-for-an-olive-branch.htm\"> family<\/a> often want to help but don\u2019t know how.\u00a0 If they can\u2019t help with the caring, maybe they can help with other things &#8212; doing some laundry, picking up shopping, anything that helps you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/need-more-time.htm\">manage your time<\/a> so you feel less frazzled at the end of the day.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">6. Eat healthily.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">It\u2019s not always possible to look after your own diet. But try not to resort to comfort eating and sugary snacks that can leave you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/causes-of-exhaustion.htm\">feeling tired<\/a> once the sugar buzz ends. Keep healthy snacks in so you are not tempted, prepare meals for the week ahead and freeze portions, use a slow cooker so that there\u2019s a meal ready for the next day.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">7. Don&#8217;t call yourself selfish.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>As a caregiver your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-perspective.htm\">perspective<\/a> can be warped by responsibility and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/worry-and-anxiety-difference.htm\">worry<\/a>, until you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/why-do-i-feel-guilty-all-the-time.htm\">feel guilty<\/a> when you shouldn&#8217;t. Your mind might tell you that you are being selfish or neglecting your loved one, but taking time out actually helps your loved one. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/self-care-a-help-guide.htm\">Self-care<\/a> is just as important as giving care to others. It renews your energy so you then have more to give.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Are you a caregiver who needs someone impartial to talk to? Don&#8217;t have time to actually go see a counsellor? Let them come to your living room. Use <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">our booking site<\/a> <\/span>to find <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/therapists?location_type=skype&amp;utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">telephone or online counsellors<\/a> <\/span>you can talk to from the comfort of your home.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Still have a question about caregiver mental health? Or want to share your experience? Post below.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-114570 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/0L0A1361_DxO_pp-267x400.jpeg\" alt=\"Stephanie Nimmo\" width=\"118\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/0L0A1361_DxO_pp-267x400.jpeg 267w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/0L0A1361_DxO_pp-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/0L0A1361_DxO_pp-400x600.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/0L0A1361_DxO_pp.jpeg 853w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 118px) 100vw, 118px\" \/><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Stephanie Nimmo<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #666699;\">\u00a0is a freelance health journalist. She has written a memoir called\u00a0<em>Was This in the Plan?<\/em>\u00a0about caring for her disabled child and terminally ill husband, and a children\u2019s book called\u00a0<em>Goodbye Daisy<\/em>\u00a0which supports children grieving the death of a loved one. Find her on\u00a0<a style=\"color: #666699;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wasthisintheplan.co.uk\/p\/all-about-me.html\">her blog<\/a>, on\u00a0<a style=\"color: #666699;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephnimmo\">Twitter.<\/a>\u00a0and on<a style=\"color: #666699;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stephnimmo\/\">\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Stephanie Nimmo Caregiver mental health matters. We are all, if you think of it, just a faulty gene, car accident, or cancer diagnosis away from finding ourselves providing unpaid care for someone close to us. According to the charity Carers UK, there are currently one in eight adults in the UK who care, unpaid, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[5313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-common-problems","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Caregiver Mental Health - Taking Care of You When Caring for Others - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Caregiver mental health is recognised as a serious issue. 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