Jenny is a carer

I’ve been caring for my husband Jonathan now for more than 10 years, since his health first began to deteriorate. Jonathan has multiple physical health conditions and caring for him takes up a considerable amount of my time. It has had a huge negative impact on my self-esteem and my ability to feel comfortable in normal social situations. As Jonathan’s health declined and my caring role became more complicated and more time-consuming I found that I was constantly feeling anxious and very low emotionally, as well as my own physical health conditions deteriorating. This is when I first contacted Richmond Carers Centre with a view to accessing their counselling service. I feel lucky to have found them relatively early on as I have been receiving emotional support, advice and information from them on a regular basis now for about eight years. There are days when I simply feel unable to cope with the day ahead but after speaking with one of the Carers Support Workers at Richmond Carers Centre I find I feel better and able to carry on. A little while after registering with the service I began receiving counselling and I found the courage to attend some of the social activities run by Richmond Carers Centre. Being amongst other carers has been really helpful. It’s given me back some of my confidence and it’s a great comfort to know there is a support worker nearby who knows my situation. Thanks to the support I have received over the years at Richmond Carers Centre I feel less alone and I know where to access the support I need when I need it. I feel that I am more in control of my caring situation. The kindness and understanding of the support workers has got me through some very difficult times. It is a fantastic and vital service, without which I can’t imagine how I would have coped all these years.

Jenny