kat99New Contributor
Exploring Help - Cleaning? Respite?
Hi all,
Quick history
I have been caring for my partner with a mental health diagnosis for the last 3yrs. He has been completely unable to work during this time. He has refused any professional help, up until two months ago (yay!!!) when he started seeing a psychologist once a fortnight. I have been working full-time to support us both.
I have my own history of complex mental health issues (including some that are still current), and I've been in treatment and having regular therapy for about 10yrs now. I've made lots of progress but there's still a lot to get through for me. I thought my partner getting into therapy at last would be helpful, and I'm sure it is, but in the meantime, it's just become more challenging for us both at home.
My overwhelm / despair / sadness
Recently, I've been more and more overwhelmed with life. My therapist pointed out that I'm actually in a 'caring' role for my partner. I hadn't thought about it this way until now. I suppose I've been trying to take care of my own mental and physical health, AND care for him, AND try and maintain our relationship, AND work full-time, AND keep up with the household and our pets, and other standard life things.
I'm doing all the therapy and all the self-care things I possibly can (good food, regular exercise, journalling, candles, hobbies, time out etc). Yet I'm still at crisis/breakdown point a few times a week, every week. I've upped my sessions with my therapist to twice a week ($$ ouch), and I'm encouraging my partner to start seeing his psychologist once a week instead of fortnightly.
So... where to go now?
Anyhow, because it's my first time thinking of myself as a 'carer', I'd love to explore what's out there in terms of practical support, even just for things around the home. The state of our house (messy, unclean, cluttered) is forever overwhelming me and I just can't fit in enough time to get on top of it.
Would anyone know if it's possible to access regular cleaning help/support under some kind of managed carer support program?
Or how about any short-stay weekend programs that offer respite or a break from caring responsibilities?
Or where can I find some further info?
I have started looking at many online resources, but there are SO many organisations and websites and I'm not sure where to start! They also all ask you to contact them by phone, and I struggle with severe anxiety about using the phone.
Any guidance would be much welcome.
Thank you.
PS: We have not signed up to NDIS at all, nor tried to access any Centrelink services (I doubt we'd be eligible because of my personal high income).