Do you spend time looking after a family member or someone else? It's important that you make sure you get the support you need if you do.
Caring for someone else is hard, especially when you're young. Being a young carer can feel very lonely at times – it can be hard to find enough for school work, activities and seeing friends, because looking after someone takes up your time. Other people might find it hard to understand this. There are places that can help and you don’t need to do everything by yourself. Talking to people can really help.
Wondering what exactly a young carer is? Take a look here for more information.
Looking after yourself
Caring for someone, especially a parent or loved one, can feel really tough. You might feel that you need to keep your feelings and thoughts happy all the time and keep any sad ones to yourself. You may feel a drop in your mood, become stressed or feel that you are unable to cope.
Can you find time to think about yourself and about how you’re feeling too? Our section on Looking After Yourself explains ways you can take care of yourself, or look at the links below for more support and help.
If you can't talk about your feelings with the person you are caring for then there may be other people you can turn to. You'll find more suggestions for people you can talk to, and organisations that are there if you need to talk, in our section on Getting the Support You Need.
Finding help
There are Young Carers Services within Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset where you can speak to someone who understands what it is like to be a young carer, meet other young people like yourself, join in activities where you have fun and have a break from caring.
If you think you might be a young carer, or you are a young carer and need help and advice, speak to an adult you trust like your parent, carer or school teacher and ask for help. They will be able to get in touch with your local Young Carers Service and help to make a referral so you can get the support you need.
You can find out more information about the services using the links here:
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Young Carers Service - aged 18 and under
- Dorset Young Carers Service - aged 18 and under
Supporting people with mental health problems
If you supporting family members, or friends, who have mental health problems, it's important that you look after yourself too. Support is available to help you, so take a look at the links below for more advice:
Supporting a family member with mental health problems:
childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/mental-health/someone-family-mental-health-problem/
Supporting family and friends who might be self-harming:
www.harmless.org.uk/whoWeSupport/familyAndFriends
