Topic Tuesday // Defining your role as a Carer // Tues 21st May, 7pm AEST

As we've discussed, I think sometimes we can compare our situation with others, such as those who are caring for someone with a physical disability. It may make it hard for us to identify as carers because we may not have to help the person we know with physical day-to-day physical tasks. For me, much of my caring role is about emotional support encouragement. But it also includes

• Reminding my mum about medical appointments and supporting her to access different services.
• Helping her manage her finances and set savings goals.
• Checking in on a regular basis with her to ensure she’s ok, and check if there are any issues that need other services or support. When I first left home, I would call my mum nearly 3 times a day to check-in!
• Supporting her to advocate for what she needs, if this is from Centrelink, or accessing a specific service.

Sometimes it's also simple, such as reminding her to take her medication or talking about challenging situations and helping her plan for things which might be stressful.

@Tictac I really like the use of the term 'first responder it really does encapsulate a big part of being a carer, especially in the mental health space, where sometimes it's somtimes the small changes that only you are aware of that signal there is an issue.

Brilliant @Tictac thank you so much for sharing - of course! The notion of being a first responder. We need to take care with that too, our own adrenalin may spike and drop a lot, so self-care is imperative 🙂

@Tim_YPA Thank you for outlining some functional tasks people can look out for as young carers or carers in general. This is super helpful

None of us can “be it all” and it’s really important for young carer’s to have a life outside of their care role, as you have spelled out @Tim_YPA , because carer’s burnout can affect them too, or perhaps even more so. They are managing beyond the “job description” for their age.

I think it is vital for teachers to understand that and may allowances, and provide support facilities through schools and universities, and I expect there is financial support as a young carer through Centrelink as well.

@outlander 'my normal' this really resonates with me. I remember the first person I tried to explain my situation to. It was actually an ex (good life choices right?!) and they were very much completely flabbergasted by it all. But by that point, it was my normal. However, in saying that I always find it helpful to reflect on what I'm doing and how helpful it is. For example, I spent ages (I mean AGES) trying to support my mum with her financial management to nearly no avail. It became my normal to always be reminding her, but it just wasn't working. So, I had to let that part of my caring role go, and focus on others way to support her and to ensure things stay afloat. I think sometimes we can get into the habit of 'hitting our heads against a brick wall' metaphorically speaking because that's what we've always done. But if that's not helping anyone, it's sometimes best to step back a bit.