Moonmoon's story

My name is Moonmoon and I’m a full time carer. I have a family member with ASD and ADHD. I handle all of the medication, appointments, meals, help with his education, and personal hygiene.

I used to work as a midday supervisor assistant in a special needs school but now I am not able to commit to employment due to the needs of the person I care for so I do voluntary work twice a week for a couple hours.

Every day there is so much to do and so many appointments to attend, and house chores on top of that, that I find so little time in a day for myself. I used to go to the gym regularly and do some fitness challenges and I do enjoy going on walks. This has stopped since I became a carer.

My barrier to physical activity is that I am at the whim of what my family member’s moods are and I cannot leave him alone in the home. Where possible, I still try to go on walks whilst my family member is supervised by someone which is very rare.

My days are so unpredictable that even if I want to I cannot be regularly active, but I try my best to keep myself active by trying eating healthy food and going for a walk in  nature for at least an hour, two or three days a week.

I can be at home and do online workouts - the convenience is encouraging! The physical benefits of are being more active and flexible. The mental health benefits are that being fit and healthy enables me to provide care better.

And before bed I do try light yoga and meditation just to keep me relax & stress free. Even that’s not possible on some days, so then I try 5-7 minutes of breathing exercises lying down on my bed just before going to sleep.

I think it’s very important to looking after yourself as carer. I motivate myself by thinking, "If I look after myself and keep active, healthy and happy, then I can take good care of the person I’m caring for and keep the rest of the family members healthy and happy too.”

All busy carers can watch the online Carers Active videos and work out at home at a time that suits them. 15 minutes is achievable in the day, evening or night - whenever works for you.

It was such an amazing experience and privilege to making the mindful movements video on the filming day. I really enjoyed making and watching it. I regularly watch others' Carers Active Hub  videos and practice along. I even watch my own mindful movements video to practice with it.

If I can achieve, you can too!