Support

[Carole_1606]

Hi I'm new to the forum don't really know what I'm doing but a really need some support at the moment hope you can help

[Juggler]

Hi Carole and welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for information and support. Perhaps you could tell us something about yourself and your caring situation?
I'm now a former carer. I looked after my dad for a number of years till he passed away.
Juggler
x

[jenny lucas]

Yes, hi and welcome. All of us here on the forum have arrived here 'in need', and often it takes a crisis in our care situation to make us search for an online 'support system'.

We have a variety of caree situations. Some of us have (or have had) elderly parents, some with physical infirmities, and, very often, alas, with dementia (sometimes as well!). (That's my situation - my 92 y/o MIL with severe dementia, now in a home) (to save my sanity.....!)

Some are caring for spouses, again, with a range of needs, and some are caring for their children, both 'children' and 'young adult', again with a range of needs. Mental health, sadly, shows up quite a lot.....

So, whatever your personal situation, I'd be surprised if no one here hasn't been faced with similar. But even if our carees' needs are different, and their solutions vary, one thing we all have in common is that we know how mentally and physically exhausting and trying it can be to be a carer, and how much it affects our lives, as well as those we care for.

There's also a wealth of experience here amongst members (let alone the experts at Carers UK itself) about how to negotiate the maze of the NHS and the Social Services/welfare system/benefits etc etc etc.

So fire away with what is troubling you!

Kind regards, Jenny

[bowlingbun]

Hi Carole, welcome to the forum from me too. I have supported, in various ways, 10 different members of my extended family - when I counted them all up it came as a shock! Now, I just have a 37 year old son with severe learning difficulties. My mum died last year after being virtually housebound for 30 years. There are lots of carers here who have cared for the very young, the very old, and the inbetweeners too, so whatever your current problem, there will be someone who has met something similar before.
Whatever our caree is suffering from, many carers have similar issues of isolation, financial pressure, and time pressures. Finding a way to balance the needs of our caree and ourselves can be a challenge.