Julie Crawshay on Mental Health Support for Carers in Australia

Nobody warns you how heavy the emotional load of caring becomes. Alongside the practical work of appointments and medications, there is grief that arrives long before any goodbye, anxiety that peaks around every scan, and a loneliness that can settle in quietly and stay. I am Julie Crawshay, and having carried this myself in Sydney, I want carers to know that looking after your own mind is not optional or self-indulgent.

Where Australian carers can turn

You do not have to wait until you are in crisis to reach out for help. In Australia there are accessible starting points, many of them free or low cost, and knowing them before you need them makes all the difference:

• Your GP can discuss a mental health care plan, which may give you Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist.
• National helplines such as Lifeline and Beyond Blue offer support any time, day or night.
• Carer Gateway provides counselling and peer support designed specifically for carers.
• Cancer Council runs support lines and groups for people affected by cancer right across NSW, including services aimed specifically at the carers who so often put themselves last.

If you ever feel unsafe or in immediate danger, please contact emergency services or a crisis line straight away, without hesitation. Reaching for help in a dark moment is a sign of strength, not weakness, and it is exactly what these services are there for.

Small habits that protect you

Between appointments and long broken nights, the big self-care ideas can feel almost laughable. What genuinely helped me were small, repeatable things: a short walk near home each morning, honest conversations with one trusted friend, and permission to feel angry or sad without judging myself for it. Connecting with other carers who simply understood, whether online or at a local Sydney group, eased the isolation more than almost anything else did.

I also learned to name what I was feeling as anticipatory grief, and understanding that it had a name made it a little less frightening and a little less lonely. Talking to a counsellor who works with cancer families helped me hold both hope and fear at the same time, instead of feeling torn apart by them.

Your wellbeing matters in its own right, not only because it helps you care for someone else. Please reach out to your GP or the relevant service for support suited to you, as the right help is often far more available than we assume when we are exhausted. Julie Crawshay hopes every Australian carer hears this: your mental health deserves the same care and attention you so freely give to others, and asking for support is one of the strongest, most loving things you can do for your whole family.

— Julie Crawshay, Sydney, Australia