Psychological impact of caring

The ripple effect of brain injury

Brain injury doesn't just affect individuals with the injury; it can transform the lives of entire families. This is often referred to as the ‘ripple effect’ of brain injury.

Carers often need to make considerable changes to the way they live, such as spending less time with friends or reducing working hours. These changes can be difficult to adjust to. They can also affect the carer’s sense of identity and personal life goals. Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety can be the outcome of these experiences.

If you are finding that your caring role has affected your mental health, remember that help is available.

In this section, we discuss how carers can look after their mental health.

Looking after your own mental health

Below are some suggestions for how to cope with your mental health.

Access professional support

You should start off by discussing any mental health concerns you have with your GP. Your GP might prescribe medication, or refer you to either talking therapies, support groups, mental health services or psychiatric services, depending on your needs.

If you feel nervous about getting help for your mental health, consider first contacting a mental health charity helpline service, a trusted relative or friend. This can help you to become familiar with having these conversations.

Talk to others about how you are feeling

Sharing your feelings with others can help you to feel less alone with your emotions and thoughts. It may also help others such as friends or colleagues to understand why your mood or behaviour may be different since you have become a carer. It can also be helpful to connect with others with similar mental health issues so that you can talk to others who understand your experiences.

Learn about brain injury - learning about brain injury can help you to make sense of why things are difficult and can also help you to find ways to manage some of the changes that you are experiencing. Information on Living with brain injury can be a helpful starting point.

Be regular with medication

If you are taking prescribed medication to help with managing your mental health, make sure that you take your medication as prescribed and never change the dosage without first discussing this with your GP.

Recognise that things can and do get better after brain injury - experiencing a brain injury can cause significant life changes for everyone involved, that can be difficult to accept and adjust to, especially in the early days. However, try to remember that things can and do improve for many over time.

Consider your triggers

There may be certain factors that trigger your episodes of mental health, for example situations that make you feel anxious or locations that are associated with the trauma surrounding when the injury happened (such as being in hospital). Taking on a caring role can itself be a trigger, due to the stress of caring and changes in relationships or circumstances, which can sometimes lead to depression or anxiety. Work with family, close friends, therapists and local services to identify these and how best to cope.

It might be helpful to keep a diary with dates and details of what you were doing on days when your mental health has been particularly affected. This can help you to identify both triggers and patterns, which might also be helpful with diagnosing some forms of mental health conditions, as well as giving you a space to express your emotions to help you recognise areas where you can develop coping strategies.

Try relaxation techniques

Some mental health symptoms can be helped by learning relaxation techniques such as breathing techniques, mindfulness, meditation and spending time in nature. Use NHS’ guide to breathing exercises for stress, NHS’ guide to mindfulness.

Have a healthy lifestyle

Having a healthy lifestyle includes getting enough good quality sleep, eating healthily and exercising.

Consider requesting support with your caring role, for instance asking family and friends to help out where they can, asking work to be flexible around your caring duties, or contacting your local adult social care team to find out about how they can support carers.

More guidance on looking after yourself as a carer is available on Caring for yourself.