Beginnings of seeking support as carer of Bipolar 2

[AstarionBG3]

My brother has Bipolar 2, which poses challenges for myself and our family as we try support him. It can also be very personally challenging for myself, and I find myself particularly affected by my caring responsibilities at the moment. I'm starting to seek out support for myself and welcome any advice or tips! 

[babyshark]

Hi @AstarionBG3 

We wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you to the forums.

We hope that you find the forums a great place to connect with other members, share stories and ideas, and find the support and connection you deserve.

Feel free to Introduce yourself here if you haven’t already!

We look forward to seeing you around on the forums!

Kind regards

Babyshark

[AstarionBG3]

Thank you ❤️ ❤️ So lovely of you!

[MJG017]

Hi @AstarionBG3 welcome to the forum.  I think it's great that you are looking for support for yourself as I can imagine it's incredible difficult and stressful for you, and your family, to support your brother.  We often get so caught up trying to help others that we can tend to neglect ourselves.  So helping yourself, obviously help you, but also puts you in a far better space to support your brother.

I know there is a guide here on bipolar that you may find helpful with your brother.

https://www.sane.org/information-and-resources/facts-and-guides/bipolar-disorder

But as for yourself, continue what you're doing to reach out where you can.  You will hopefully find even just sharing your story here, and just connecting with people and talking about yourself will be helpful for you.  So again, welcome, and feel free to share as much as you feel comfortable with and there's many people here that will listen to and support you.

[8ppleTree]

Hi @AstarionBG3 

Hope you're doing well today? 

The Mental Health Foundation Australia also have a Bipolar support group for carers that you might find beneficial for you: Bipolar Carers Support Group (mhfa.org.au) There may be groups that are local to you, if you wanted to look them up that way yourself, too. 

Also, you might like to contact Home | Carer Gateway to learn more about how you can be supported.  Respite, counselling, support groups. 

🙂