Caring while starting treatment myself

The appointments are the difficult logistics. Finding cover for an hour is harder than any of the medical side.

Somebody in this circle said that carers are the group most likely to describe themselves as fine, and I recognised myself immediately.

Keeley, answering your question directly rather than going round the houses.

What I did not expect was how much better I have been at caring since my own energy improved. That is the argument that finally convinced me.

I have found the check-ins here more useful than the circles, because two lines on a Tuesday is what I can actually manage.

Agreed, and I have nothing to add to it.

What I would say to somebody starting is to build it into something you already do, because anything additional will not survive a difficult month.

My GP asked how I was doing as a carer, once, unprompted, and I cried in the appointment, which surprised us both.

Izolda, thank you for that. It gives me somewhere to start from.

What helped was one hour a fortnight that is genuinely mine, arranged formally, so that it cannot quietly disappear.

I would say ask about a carer's assessment if you have not. Mine took an hour and unlocked things I did not know existed.