Carers Week: Millions of Reasons to Care
15-21 October 2023
In recognition of the Carers Australia national theme 'Millions of Reasons to Care', BrainLink will promote stories that showcase many of those reasons throughout the week.
BrainLink’s message is to take time out from your caring role, keep active and stay socially connected and we can help you do all of that.
Learn more about Carers Week
Elizabeth's story
Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I care for my husband who has Parkinson’s Disease and my mother who is in Aged Care. I am her only family member in Melbourne. I also care for a couple of additional family members.
My role as a carer started about 25 years ago and it has increased in the last 8 years. I gave up work due to my caring responsibilities. As time has gone by, I have felt more isolated partly because of lack of opportunity to go out and partly because many people I know do not really understand what it is like to be a carer. Those relationships tend to be a bit shallower these days.
Thankfully I have managed to maintain a good sense of humour, appreciating the small, beautiful things in life, my friendships with other carers, walking as often as I can and being creative in my home art space. All of these things help me cope with the day-to-day issues of being a full time carer.
If I was to share some advice to some-one new to the caring role it would be advising them to link in with supports. If I was meeting a new carer I would have a conversation about how they are coping with their new responsibilities. Getting in touch with support organisations like BrainLink is a valuable way of learning about supports available. Get involved in some carer activities that provide time out or support groups and make some friends in the caring community. They will be there for you long term. There is nothing like a conversation with another carer who understands the challenges of caring! Look after your health, both physical and mental, and make time regularly to do things you enjoy.
I enjoy art and these are some of the things I have enjoyed making:
Circles of Support – Some people will stay close and offer support, other will be distant or move away.
Tied up in words – an artwork about difficulty communicating experienced by many.
Fading away – My father had dementia and it was awful watching him fade away. There are neurons leaving his head.
Dance of caring – This is a depiction of the delicate balance between looking after yourself and someone else.
Millions of Reasons to Care
During National Carers Week (15-21 October 2023), BrainLink has arranged a variety of activities and events with guest speakers, providing the chance to meet up with other carers and learn along the way.
Keep up with this week's activities.
Find out more