Help Are you a young carer?
Are you a young carer?
Caring for someone else is hard. Being a Young Carer can feel very lonely at times as looking after someone takes time. This means finding time for school work, activities and seeing friends is harder. 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.
Looking after yourself
Being a young carer, and caring for someone else, especially a parent, 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? Find ways to take care of yourself, or look at the links below for more support and help.
If you feel you cannot talk about your feelings with the person you are caring for then there may be other people you can turn to. Find your MindMates to help you think about who these people might be.
One of your friends or someone you know may be a young carer. Perhaps they have told you about their caring role – but they may not feel able to because they are scared of being laughed at or bullied. Sometimes it can be difficult trying to support your friend with their caring role and knowing what to say.
Through caring for others, young carers are likely to develop a range of skills and be particularly good at some things. They may also find some things harder because of their responsibilities.
What do young carers want you to know?
Bullying
Young carers report being bullied or a fear of being bullied by others due to their caring role. Young carers may also be bullied due to having a mental illness or caring for someone with a mental illness. No form of bullying is acceptable whether or not you are a young carer or have a mental illness. Visit our Worried about bullying page to find out where you can get support.
Resilience
Young carers are probably very resilient. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult situations and adapt to change. Young carers continue their role and attending school despite the challenges that they may face.
Emotions and wellbeing
Being a young carer can be tough – and it might include guilt, worry and anxiety. They might need extra support because of these difficult feelings. But young carers can also develop the ability to listen, be compassionate and to cope under pressure.
Isolation
Young carers may feel isolated because they have less time to spend socialising with their friends. They may miss days at school which will affect their learning and also their opportunities to be around their friends.
Things you might find useful
Young Carers Support App
Information about support for young carers in West Yorkshire including information about a support app.
Find out more
Are you a parent or carer?
If you’re looking for more information to support a young person you care for with their mental health, visit our parent and carers page.
