Self-care for the older carer
Carers face physical and emotional challenges that can easily restrict their lives. Older carers bear the responsibility of looking after their loved ones and themselves whilst navigating the changes that age can bring. If you are an older carer, it is important to practice self-care to look after your physical and mental health.
This useful guide has been provided by guest Author, Charlotte Murphy, and outlines ways in which you can prioritise your self-care.
- Take your own health seriously
- Stay connected
- Prioritise diet and nutrition
- Free online training courses
- Support services
- Huntington’s Disease Association advice and support
Take your own health seriously
In a study of 3,400 UK carers, 83% of respondents stated that caring had a negative impact on their physical health, with 39% stating that they have put off medical treatment due to their caring responsibilities.
Keeping your GP in the loop about your situation can make it easier to ensure that you’re able to seek medical treatment, as needed. They can support you with physical health issues, mental health issues and the impact of your caring role, the annual flu jab along with general information and advice.
Stay connected
Technology has a multitude of benefits. Through technology, you can easily keep in touch with family and friends; this can help to maintain good mental health. You can also use social media to connect with other carers in your area, you may find that talking to people with comparable experiences helps.
There are a vast number of online communities that you can explore. The Facebook group, Carers UK, provides expert advice, information and support from carers who truly understand your situation. The Huntington’s Disease Association have dedicated social media channels that share Huntington’s stories, useful information and advice on Huntington’s disease and offer peer support. Check out their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They also hold regular events which focus on supporting older carers and encouraging self-care such as regularly scheduled online carers groups. The Huntington’s Disease Association also have a selection of useful webinars and videos on their Vimeo account and offer the option to talk to others who may be facing similar experiences to you via their message board.
Prioritise diet and nutrition
When focusing on your health and well-being, it is important to ensure that you are looking after your body in the best way possible. To ensure that you are getting the right nutrients, try and aim for a high-calorie intake, alongside a varied diet consisting of carbohydrates, dairy, protein, fruit, vegetables and fats.
If you aren’t regularly eating a healthy diet you can put yourself at risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition can significantly decrease energy levels, resulting in muscle wastage, reduced physical strength and a weakened immune system. Becoming malnourished not only puts yourself at risk but also prevents you from providing care to your loved one.
Incorporating a balanced diet into your routine will also help elevate your mood, which alone can significantly improve your ability to persevere despite difficult situations.
Free online training courses
84% of carers didn’t anticipate that they’d end up as a primary carer. This means that they won’t necessarily have much knowledge of how to balance self-care while also caring for somebody else. Fortunately, there are online courses available, which teach skills like managing stress, understanding mental health and practising self-care. Furthermore, the Huntington’s Disease Association supply regular online webinars which are free to all and cover an array of useful topics. Visit their events page to see any upcoming webinars.
If you are struggling to deal with stress and anxiety due to the increased responsibility of caring, please use the free online resources available. They can help you to reduce the severity of stress-related issues and improve your overall quality of life.
Support services
If you’re feeling burnt out or like you’re struggling to perform your role, you must find a way to take a break. Whether that be by joining friends on a walk through the park or sitting down at home reading your favourite book, your mental wellbeing is incredibly important.
One service that you may want to consider is home care support, a service in which clinical experts with extensive knowledge of the care industry provide short and long-term solutions for people in need an example of this is Helping Hands. Respite is also available to give you a break from your caring duties. Please follow this link to learn more about respite and further support services for carers.
Huntington’s Disease Association advice and support
The Huntington's Disease Association offer a wide variety of resources for older carers, from guides and information sheets to peer support and well-being resources such as webinars, carers stories, and blogs.
- Their guides and information sheets are aimed at all types of carers. There is also a range of guides that can be passed onto professionals that are supporting the person you care for.
- Visit the additional resources section of the older carers webpages to find informative webinars, real-life carers stories and education blog articles.
- You can also get involved in their virtual pop-in-café, a thread on our message board that offers opportunities to talk to other carers who are in a similar situation to you. Not to mention our online carers groups ran by Specialist Advisers, John Gregor and Theresa Westhead. Learn more about these opportunities by clicking here and scrolling down to ‘Peer support’.
You can also find support and advice through their Specialist Huntington’s Disease Advisory Service. Specialist advisers support anyone who needs help at any stage of the Huntington’s journey including those affected by Juvenile Huntington’s disease and young people who live in families affected by the disease. Please call 0151 331 5444 or email [email protected] to speak to an adviser.
Carers face physical and emotional challenges that can easily restrict their lives. Older carers bear the responsibility of looking after their loved ones and themselves whilst navigating the changes that age can bring. If you are an older carer, it is important to practice self-care to look after your physical and mental health.
This useful guide has been provided by guest Author, Charlotte Murphy, and outlines ways in which you can prioritise your self-care.
- Take your own health seriously
- Stay connected
- Prioritise diet and nutrition
- Free online training courses
- Support services
- Huntington’s Disease Association advice and support
Take your own health seriously
In a study of 3,400 UK carers, 83% of respondents stated that caring had a negative impact on their physical health, with 39% stating that they have put off medical treatment due to their caring responsibilities.
Keeping your GP in the loop about your situation can make it easier to ensure that you’re able to seek medical treatment, as needed. They can support you with physical health issues, mental health issues and the impact of your caring role, the annual flu jab along with general information and advice.
Stay connected
Technology has a multitude of benefits. Through technology, you can easily keep in touch with family and friends; this can help to maintain good mental health. You can also use social media to connect with other carers in your area, you may find that talking to people with comparable experiences helps.
There are a vast number of online communities that you can explore. The Facebook group, Carers UK, provides expert advice, information and support from carers who truly understand your situation. The Huntington’s Disease Association have dedicated social media channels that share Huntington’s stories, useful information and advice on Huntington’s disease and offer peer support. Check out their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They also hold regular events which focus on supporting older carers and encouraging self-care such as regularly scheduled online carers groups. The Huntington’s Disease Association also have a selection of useful webinars and videos on their Vimeo account and offer the option to talk to others who may be facing similar experiences to you via their message board.
Prioritise diet and nutrition
When focusing on your health and well-being, it is important to ensure that you are looking after your body in the best way possible. To ensure that you are getting the right nutrients, try and aim for a high-calorie intake, alongside a varied diet consisting of carbohydrates, dairy, protein, fruit, vegetables and fats.
If you aren’t regularly eating a healthy diet you can put yourself at risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition can significantly decrease energy levels, resulting in muscle wastage, reduced physical strength and a weakened immune system. Becoming malnourished not only puts yourself at risk but also prevents you from providing care to your loved one.
Incorporating a balanced diet into your routine will also help elevate your mood, which alone can significantly improve your ability to persevere despite difficult situations.
Free online training courses
84% of carers didn’t anticipate that they’d end up as a primary carer. This means that they won’t necessarily have much knowledge of how to balance self-care while also caring for somebody else. Fortunately, there are online courses available, which teach skills like managing stress, understanding mental health and practising self-care. Furthermore, the Huntington’s Disease Association supply regular online webinars which are free to all and cover an array of useful topics. Visit their events page to see any upcoming webinars.
If you are struggling to deal with stress and anxiety due to the increased responsibility of caring, please use the free online resources available. They can help you to reduce the severity of stress-related issues and improve your overall quality of life.
Support services
If you’re feeling burnt out or like you’re struggling to perform your role, you must find a way to take a break. Whether that be by joining friends on a walk through the park or sitting down at home reading your favourite book, your mental wellbeing is incredibly important.
One service that you may want to consider is home care support, a service in which clinical experts with extensive knowledge of the care industry provide short and long-term solutions for people in need an example of this is Helping Hands. Respite is also available to give you a break from your caring duties. Please follow this link to learn more about respite and further support services for carers.
Huntington’s Disease Association advice and support
The Huntington's Disease Association offer a wide variety of resources for older carers, from guides and information sheets to peer support and well-being resources such as webinars, carers stories, and blogs.
- Their guides and information sheets are aimed at all types of carers. There is also a range of guides that can be passed onto professionals that are supporting the person you care for.
- Visit the additional resources section of the older carers webpages to find informative webinars, real-life carers stories and education blog articles.
- You can also get involved in their virtual pop-in-café, a thread on our message board that offers opportunities to talk to other carers who are in a similar situation to you. Not to mention our online carers groups ran by Specialist Advisers, John Gregor and Theresa Westhead. Learn more about these opportunities by clicking here and scrolling down to ‘Peer support’.
You can also find support and advice through their Specialist Huntington’s Disease Advisory Service. Specialist advisers support anyone who needs help at any stage of the Huntington’s journey including those affected by Juvenile Huntington’s disease and young people who live in families affected by the disease. Please call 0151 331 5444 or email [email protected] to speak to an adviser.