Publish date: 9 June 2023
Caring can be very rewarding and fulfilling. It can also be very stressful, particularly if there are no, or few other people who can help. A carer is anyone of any age who provides help and support to parent, relative, partner, friend or neighbour who cannot manage without the carers’ help.
There are a range of resources available, these include advice on anxiety, stress and low mood. It also includes tips on how to maintain mental health and wellbeing.
Your local Talking Therapy services aim to help you manage a range of common mental health difficulties including anxiety, stress, depression and low mood. Matching the difficulties carers are experiencing with evidence-based treatments. There are three services offering talking therapies for people living in Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES), Swindon and the wider county of Wiltshire.
Aileen McArthur, Head of the Talking Therapies service at AWP said “Caring can be rewarding but a challenging task. Our Talking Therapies service can help improve people’s mood, improve sleep and even learn tools and techniques to tackle worry, all of which can have a really positive impact on carers wellbeing."
Bev Perrington, Senior Psychology Practitioner, said “Supporting someone with a disability, long term health condition or mental health can be challenging, the focus can be on the person with the difficulties and the carer can sometimes feel hidden. It’s ok to ask for help. We can support you with things like low mood, worry and anxiety.”
If you or someone you know is a carer and needs support visit https://iapt.awp.nhs.uk/ for more information or to self-refer. AWP is committed to ensuring that carers help support their own health and wellbeing.
Facts about carers
- Caring can have a significant impact on health and wellbeing. 60% of carers report a long-term health condition or disability compared to 50% non-carers (Carers UK analysis of GP Patient Survey 2021).
- Over a quarter of carers (29%) feel lonely often or always (Carers UK, State of Caring 2022).
