More Awareness Please……….

 

I personally think there needs to be more awareness of mental health conditions.

Whenever something is in the press they usually talk about DEPRESSION, DEMENTIA, Alzheimer's, which is great because we do need to be educated about these conditions, but there are so many more Mental Health Conditions. We never hear anything about the Cluster Conditions. My husband has what they call Cluster B. Even as I'm writing this blog I'm having trouble finding links about the Cluster Conditions, so how on earth how am I to help my husband if I can’t find much info on the condition?
Also, because this condition is never mentioned in the press, people think you’re mad whenever you mention it or they want you to explain it in more detail, which in itself is a nightmare to explain.

I personally think there should be more press about all mental health conditions, because I think the more we hear about these different conditions the more we can recognise them and help people with any of them.

   

It was recently Time To Talk Day, but how many of you knew this? I only knew because I follow @timetochange on twitter. I watch the news and even sometimes watch breakfast TV and I didn’t see anything about the Time To Talk Day.

I also feel the press only talk about older carers (50+) or carers that are children. I personally think no child should ever have to be a carer and I have a lot of respect for those that are, but what about the carers that are say 40+ and are caring for someone in that age range? There never seems to be any press or awareness of these carers or the people they care for. It can be very frustrating for me being someone in this age range and caring for someone in this age range. Also I noticed that a lot of the charities will only help either the really young carers or older carers (50+). What about the middle aged carers? We need help too!

I’m just glad that there are so many carer groups on Facebook that understand that carers come in all shapes and sizes.

 

Anyway …. Here’s a couple of mental health groups on Facebook:-

Carers Connected

Making Mental Health Positive

 

Remember Take Care Of Each Other,
Carer’s Vent

 

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The Unwanted Guest … (ROB)

I’m sure many of you had unwanted guests at Christmas, some of which you are able to turn away, some that you can’t and you just wish they would go away.
Any of you that read my blog on a regular basis will know who ROB is. For those of you that are new to my blog, may I suggest that you read the 3 people I live with before reading any more of this blog entry.
My unwanted guest decided to come Christmas day, just before serving up Christmas dinner, which was just perfect timing don’t you think? ……
I was not expecting to see Rob at all and I was certainly not prepared to speak to him. Unfortunately Rob comes out to play when he feels like it and he doesn't care what else may be going on. I was not in the mood for Rob, so when he started verbally attacking me, I broke down in tears. And, as usual, even though I broke down like this I still tried to calm my husband (Rob) down. But the more I tried the more angry he got and more of Rob came out. I even lost my temper a bit at one point and shouted at my husband and I even threw a glass bottle outside (fortunately it didn’t break!). I know I shouldn’t have done this, but I was so frustrated that Rob decided to come round for a Christmas fight.
Like I have already said the more I tried to calm my husband down the more he got into a rage and used me as a verbal punch bag. That is certainly how I feel when he goes into Rob mode. Also, even though his mother and step father were here, it was still me who got the full brunt of Rob’s verbal abuse. L
I felt so frustrated afterwards for several reasons. Not being able to hold it together was the main thing, but also that I didn’t even notice he was coming out to play. I was also frustrated that there is nothing I can do for my husband when he gets like this. I’m sure other carers out there that care for someone with mental health issues feel this way too.
Don’t know what the answer is, but I do know both me and my husband need some help with managing this side of him. Will we get the help we need this year?

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The madness that is Christmas ...

So, it’s only so many weeks until this thing called Christmas which always seems to create such madness every year.
As most of you know, my husband has trouble going out of the house at the best of times just to do some shopping with me. So we try and do shopping at quiet times to reduce the stress to him and myself. I actually hate food shopping anyway and just find it so much more stressful when I have a disabled person with me - I have to be so alert and try to stay calm …… nightmare.

So this year rather than leaving our Christmas food shop until a week before, we have bought things over the last few months.
“But that's not so easy to do with meat” I hear you say. Well this year we have ordered our meat from our local butcher. All fresh from local farms and we’ll be picking it up on 23rd. And it’s all better quality and slightly cheaper than the supermarkets!
Most of the vegetables will be frozen. Yes, I know fresh is better, but frozen veg is a lot less hassle …...
Our kitchen is tiny, so there’s normally only enough room for one person (me!). Last year there was two of us prepping the food and 2 others constantly coming in and out and it was a complete nightmare. So that's the other reason to have frozen vegetables – no prep, chuck it in a pan of water!

What about naughty bits?

Again, as soon as this stuff was in the shops we bought what we wanted. I have to say though that, despite what the papers keep reporting, the supermarkets seem to get the Christmas things in later and later each year, not earlier. We also had to go to several different supermarkets to get everything. Maybe I should shop online next Christmas?

Now for some general advice:

• If possible make sure you rest when you can, Christmas is a very hectic time.I’m lucky this year as we will be having my mother in-law and her partner staying with us. So no matter what there will always be someone with @raspberrytalk.
• Make sure all meds have been collected and there’s plenty to cover over Christmas and New Year.
• Get the Flu Jab.
  (If your registered as a carer at your G.P you should of been offered this for FREE.)
• Get as much of your Christmas food before December. This can include all the naughty food as well.
• Try not to get stressed out, it’s only Christmas!(easier said than done I know).
• Ask for help if you’re not coping to well.There is always someone who can help you’d be surprised by the kindness of people especially this time of year.
• Keep warm.You may be entitled to get a warm home discount.

Have fun, it’s Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone & remember take care of each other.
carer’s vent & Aka the raspberry

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