Advice
Guest Blog: How do I take care of myself when my loved one is sick?
February 21, 2024
This month’s blog post has been written by Abi, one of our young people, who has shared some fantastic tips on how to look after yourself when someone you love has a serious illness…
It can be such a tricky time when a loved one is sick. Feelings of fear, grief, sadness and anger can emerge, along with many other confusing, uncomfortable emotions. You are not alone! This is totally normal. It is important to take care of yourself when your loved one is sick. Here are some handy self-care tips that helped me through when my loved one was sick.
Take time out for yourself
It’s okay to give yourself some down time. In fact, it is important. It’s easy to feel guilty about taking time for yourself when a loved one is sick. However, when we are going through these difficult times, it is even more important to take time for yourself.
Do something you enjoy with yourself! Have a bath, watch your favourite movie, do some baking!…Anything that you enjoy doing, make time to do.
Connect with others
When a loved one is sick, it can feel pretty isolating. This is why it is really helpful to connect with others. Hope creates a community of young people who understand what it is like to have a parent severely ill. Maybe try and find some local community spaces that provide places where people understand.
Also, meeting up with friends and family can be a real help. Having fun with others is so good for your wellbeing. If you’re not sure where to start, or who to connect with, maybe try joining a club of something you’re interested in! It is a great way to meet new people and is a good distraction.
Let yourself feel down sometimes
Although it can feel uncomfortable sometimes, letting yourself feel the uncomfortable emotions is important. Give yourself space and time to feel sad, angry, or whatever emotion is surfacing.
Exercise
Exercising is an excellent way to destress and to let out your emotions. It also increases the happy hormones! Find some exercise that you find fun, such as Zumba, or playing football. It doesn’t have to be big. Simply going on a walk can be so beneficial for your mental health.
Do some nice things with your loved one who is sick
It can be so hard when a loved one is sick. It’s important to remember they are still them. Finding some fun things to do together can help with that, and also create happy memories. For example, watching your favourite TV show together, or listening to music, or reading a book together.
Talk to others about how you feel
Sharing how you feel with others you trust is so important. Talking to others can help you process your feelings, and make you feel less alone. Remember, you don’t have to go through this alone. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to people you know, there are helplines, such as the Samaritans or CALM (the numbers are at the end of this blog). Talking to people who understand, like our community at Hope can be helpful. You are not alone.
I hope these tips on how to care for your mental health are helpful. It can be so tricky but remember you should be so proud of yourself for everything you are overcoming. Be gentle and kind to yourself, and most importantly, remember that you are not alone.
Useful Helplines:
Samaritans (a charity for anyone in emotional distress, open 24/7):
116123
CALM (for anyone over 15 in emotional distress. Open from 5pm till midnight, 365 days a year):
0800 585858
SHOUT (a text service that supports people in emotional distress or crisis. Free 24/7 mental health support):
85258
