I was delighted to be asked by Wendy Maxwell of chill4us.com to do a hosted chat for carers. This was the first time I have done this and there was a great deal of interest around stress and the stress of carers. It was clear that they were all under stress with the pressures of caring and I really wanted to highlight the difference between stress and pressure and the impact of long-term stress on carers. Stress is the adverse reaction to a build up of excessive pressure when it gets to a point when an individual is unable to cope.
It is essential that carers do take care of themselves and look after their own health and this is by making sure that they eat a regular nutritious meal daily and one vitamin which is reduced when under stress is Vitamin C. It helps the immune system and can be found in citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit also mangos, kiwi fruit and another good source is blueberries. Blueberries are one of the best sources of immune boosting plus anti-aging antioxidants so you can either buy them fresh or dry and ready-to-eat.
We should all take some time out which can be very difficult but vital, try and have a relaxing bath or long shower and pamper yourself – you will feel better after it.
Chill4us is a great support for carers and is run by carers and ex-carers with a forum to support each other. It was lovely to find out more about their work and also the fact that it is all unpaid. If there is anyone who is reading this blog who has any spare ‘old’ laptops, then Chill4us will be able to make good use of them, so get in touch with Wendy.
Having written my book ‘Stress Management for Carers’ I am always very keen to give advice and training to carers and carer organisations on how to manage stress. It has such an impact on life.
I just had an email from a carer who attended one of my courses and had just read my book, she said “the book is excellent and a great support to so many people as well as a real personal achievement”.
The stress assistance website is a new resource of tips and information for all to access freely and sign up to a monthly newsletter.
http://www.stressassistance.co.uk/