How to support a Carer

Do you know a carer? Chances are, you do – even if they’d never call themselves one. Or are you a carer and never thought you were?

Becoming a carer often happens quietly, without warning. One day you’re simply supporting someone you love – a partner living with age-related frailty, mum or dad facing a chronic illness, or a friend navigating disability or mental health challenges.

You don’t put in a job application, a resume or references. There’s no announcement, no title, no instruction manual and certainly no wages.

You just start showing up, day after day, and somewhere along the way, ‘carer’ becomes a part of who you are. Before long you don’t even realise how much of your own essence of life you’ve given up.

What often goes unnoticed is the toll it can take.

Why self-care is not selfish

Carers are so used to putting others first that they rarely stop to ask themselves, ‘Hey am I doing OK?’.

This is exactly why the people around them need to ask. Our Mind Wellness team exists for exactly this reason: to support not just our clients, but the families and friends quietly getting onto the job of caring.

Through confidential, professional counselling, our team helps individuals and families work through grief, anxiety, and emotional distress, offering practical strategies to build resilience and get through even the most challenging days.

3 ways to support a Carer

If you know someone caring for a loved one, here’s how you can actually help:

1. Check in – properly: Not just ‘How are you?’ but really listen to the answer. Let them know their feelings are valid, and that what they’re doing matters.
2. Offer something specific: Don’t just say ‘Let me know if you need anything’ – carers rarely will. Instead, offer to do the school pickup, drop off a meal, sit with their loved one for an hour so they can have a coffee alone, or simply go for a walk with them.
3. Remind them they matter too: Encourage carers to look after their own physical and emotional
   wellbeing – and let them know that reaching out for support isn’t a failure, it’s a strength.

When you need professional help

If you’re a carer reading this and things feel like too much – you don’t have to carry it alone.

Our Mind Wellness team takes a holistic approach to your wellbeing, addressing the emotional, psychological and practical challenges that come with caring for someone else.

Our multidisciplinary team – a qualified social worker, counsellor and registered nurse – provides culturally sensitive support for clients living with dementia and the people who care for them.

We offer guidance, information, and real, practical resources, along with access to in-home and
centre-based respite through Co.As.It.’s programs and services because sometimes what you need most is simply a break and your head space.

Throughout the year, our Mind Wellness team also works closely with coordinators to make sure every care plan responds to what each client – and their carer – actually needs, emotionally, cognitively and physically.

If any of this sounds like you or someone you love, please reach out.