Managing Carer Stress

What you will be able to do

• recognise the signs of carer stress and burnout in your body, mind and behaviour.
• track your stress and spot your own triggers and patterns.
• use quick calming techniques, such as a simple slow-breathing exercise, during a caring day.
• ask the HSE and other services for support as a carer, and prepare for that conversation.
• build a support map and make specific requests for help.
• plan regular breaks and an emergency plan for the person you care for.
• write a realistic self-care plan covering food, drink, sleep, movement and boundaries.
• recognise when to get help and which services to contact.

1. 1Understanding carer stress

   Recognise yourself as a carer, understand why caring is so stressful, and learn the signs that stress is building in your body, mind and behaviour.

   • You are a carer, and that counts
   • How stress shows up in your body, mind and behaviour
   • Starting your stress tracker

   Carer stress trackerCarer wellbeing check: am I running on empty?

2. 2Everyday skills for stressful moments

   Learn quick, practical ways to calm your body in the moment, understand what fills your stress bucket, and handle the hard feelings that come with caring.

   • Triggers and the stress bucket
   • Quick resets that fit a caring day
   • Guilt, anger, grief and other hard feelings

   Five-minute breathing reset for carersCarer stress tracker

3. 3Your rights and practical help

   Understand how to ask the HSE and other services for support as a carer, where money and practical help may come from, and how to make your GP practice and employer work with you.

   • Asking for support: who to talk to and how
   • Money and practical help
   • Your GP, your own health and your job

   My support mapMy carer self-care planCarer stress tracker

4. 4Building your support map

   Map the people, services and helplines around you, learn how to ask for specific help, and find carers who understand what you are going through.

   • Mapping who is around you
   • How to ask for help, and accept it
   • Carers' groups, helplines and online support

   My support map

5. 5Breaks, respite and planning ahead

   Learn the different kinds of breaks, how they are arranged and paid for, how to plan breaks that actually happen, and how to make an emergency plan.

   • Kinds of breaks and respite
   • Planning breaks that actually happen
   • Making an emergency plan

   Respite and breaks plannerMy support map

6. 6Looking after your body and setting boundaries

   Keep your energy up with simple food, drink, sleep and movement habits that fit a caring day, set healthy boundaries, and pull everything together in your self-care plan.

   • Eating and drinking well on a caring day
   • Sleep, rest and moving more
   • Boundaries and your self-care plan

   My carer self-care planCarer stress trackerFive-minute breathing reset for carers

• TrackerCarer stress trackerLog your stress level, sleep, breaks and what helped each day so you can spot your own patterns over four weeks.
• PlannerRespite and breaks plannerPlan a daily pause, a weekly longer break and who will cover care, with a backup for when plans fall through.
• TemplateMy support mapWrite down everyone and everything that can help you, from close family to helplines, so you know exactly who to turn to and for what.
• TemplateMy carer self-care planBuild a realistic, one-page plan for looking after your own body and mind while you care for someone else.
• CheckerCarer wellbeing check: am I running on empty?A quick look at common signs of carer strain, with clear next steps, including when to get help straight away.
• Guided audioFive-minute breathing reset for carersA short guided breathing exercise, based on a simple, widely used slow-breathing exercise for stress, that you can use in the kitchen, the car or the bathroom.