Hey all, am currently a full time carer for my elderly mother who has dementia, thankfully so far shes pretty happy and its not affecting her to a dibilitating stage but its heartbreaking seeing her lose little parts of herself.
I’ve been her fulltime carer for 18 months, and was a full time carer for my father before that who had cancer, so its been a tough couple of years. How do you all manage with your mental health?
With difficulty! The more help you and mum accept, the longer she will be able to stay at home.
Is she receiving Attendance Allowance? Exemption from Council Tax?
Hello Kevin and welcome to the forum.
Caring can be tough on mental health for all sorts of reasons and this is why it’s important to take time for yourself where you can and try and get a break. Talking to other carers can really help as they understand what you’re going through.
We run weekly online meet ups if you’d like to join us, they are very informal and friendly and there’s no pressure to share anything you don’t want to. Details here:
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/get-support/online-meetups
We also run online weekly Share and Learn sessions. these are on a variety of topics, everything from benefits advice to Latin dance lessons! Have a look at the listing and see if there’s anything you like the sound of:
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/get-support/share-and-learn-online-sessions
Best wishes
Jane
Hi Kevin,
welcome to the forum.
It does sound like a tough few years.
The best way to look after your mental health is to make sure you have time for yourself (easy to say, not always easy to put into practice!); eat well, get enough exercise, sufficient sleep (also not always easy) and make sure you have social connections (keep in touch with friends/family and see Jane’s links.)
There is also a good thread here https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/carers-health-issues/positive-ways-to-cope-with-low-mood-12505 Although it says for coping with a low mood, the ideas can also help prevent one.
Melly1