It is not easy supporting someone who is experiencing deep personal pain. You may experience fear, frustration or anxiety when faced with traumatic or even life-threatening events in your loved one’s life. Unfortunately, the longer these difficult thoughts and feelings stay with you, the more they will affect your own well-being, just when you need to be at your best as a caregiver. This is why taking care of yourself must make it to the top of your to-do list.
In addition to the useful advice found below, we recommend regular visits to the library self-help section, finding effective ways to unplug from the stress of caregiving, and talking with family, friends and other caregivers so that you do not carry the full burden of your loved one’s addiction or mental illness alone.
Find links to local libraries and a complete list of family support and education groups in Local Resources.
Calendar of caregiver events PDF
Find out why it's important to balance your own needs with the needs of the person you are looking after. Self-care videos.
Over 1000 family caregivers contributed to this report about what makes caregiving difficult, what caregivers need to maintain their own wellbeing, and what more can be done to support caregivers in the most meaningful ways.
You recognize that self-care is important but where to start? This video offers helpful suggestions.
This may help if you are feeling overwhelmed as a caregiver. Your feelings will be validated and lots of ideas are provided. All you need is one ray of hope right now. Find it here.
Take charge of your health with these free workshops for people with chronic health conditions and their caregivers. Chronic health conditions include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, lung disease, chronic pain and mental health issues.
Family caregivers who support loved ones with substance use or prolonged mental health problems often need to let go of shared goals, dreams or plans for the future. Start your exploration of grief and loss on the caregiver journey here.
You may have a relative struggling with anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder, a friend with psychosis, schizophrenia or a personality disorder. Whatever the diagnosis, "Caring for Yourself" can help you to develop skills and new ways to cope.
Sharing your concerns with others who understand what you are feeling can help. That’s where family peer support comes in. You can expect a family peer support worker to have similar lived experience to you, with family members of their own who are in recovery. The support they offer comes from a unique perspective: don’t [...]
In addition to validating the experience of family caregivers, this comprehensive guide for caregivers in the mental health system of eastern Ontario provides useful information and guidance, including how to take care of your own needs.
Take the "Mental Health Meter" questionnaire to learn about the characteristics of good mental health and get feedback that can focus efforts to improve your own mental health outlook.
If your adult child has a mental illness and has come back home to live with you, you may be living in a "hijacked house." Julie Fast offers sage advice about talking to your loved one when their mental illness has become centre stage in your home. "The 'hijacked' house: Tips for parents of adult [...]
Meditation is a tool to encourage us to focus on how we are coping and feeling. As caregivers, we need to ensure a balance between our loved one’s needs and our own. This loving-kindness meditation will take only 13 minutes in your day (audio plays online). There are also numerous mobile phone APPs listed under [...]
No one takes a quiz about stress if they're feeling light and free. So, you know you're stressed but maybe you want to know how stressed, or what to do about it? This self-care workbook, "Taking care of yourself," is done on paper and there are a few exercises that you can do to identify [...]
For many adults, caregiving is the hardest thing they've done--it's an all-of-a-sudden thing that starts with a bang and keeps up the pressure. If you're experiencing fatigue and other signs of mental strain as a result, it's no surprise. These 5 top tips for mental wellbeing will be your trusted guide. Just like with physical health, [...]
Let's face it, caregiving can be more than taxing when the family is affected by substance use or mental illness. If you'd like an objective measure of how you are holding up, here are four "Screening Self-Tests."
The Changing CARE: Embrace Family Caregiver Centre is now open at Cornwall Community Hospital, providing family caregivers with daily access to information and support, between the hours of 6 AM and 8 PM. Self-service and in-person support Family caregivers who are comfortable with a self-service approach can drop by at any convenient time, while those [...]
The demands of caregiving can wear you down so it's important to find ways to pick yourself back up. Here are some common strengths that you may recognize in yourself. "What are your strengths as a caregiver?"
Anxiety is a complex emotional response that’s similar to fear. Where fear is associated with a clear threat, anxiety occurs in the absence of immediate peril. Caregiver anxiety is the fear of immediate peril due to the demands and stress of taking care of someone. Causes of caregiver anxiety include but are not limited to: [...]
When you are feeling isolated and alone and you need to communicate with like-minded people, it's time to join a peer support group (for patients) or family peer support group (for family caregivers). You will meet people who have experienced similar things in the addiction and mental health system. Support groups combine people that can relate [...]
We found 25 helpful tips to stay calm, centered, and present when your child's struggle with substance use has taken over your life in, "The parent's guide to putting your oxygen mask on first when your child is struggle with drugs or alcohol substance use."
NEXT Young Carers
Improving the experience of family caregivers in the addiction and mental health system across Cornwall, Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Akwesasne, Ontario.
Project partners: