Storm's story

Being a young adult carer during a pandemic

Lockdown has been different and unique as a young adult carer. I think my experience is different from those who aren’t carers. There is constant fear, and I don’t want to put the person I care for at risk. I would rather miss out on going to the shops or seeing someone social distanced then have someone I care about not here when this is over. I have had to miss out on work as a result, but it is just not worth risking the person I care for. I adapted to communication by talking to my dad on video call. We have all become human chameleons and adapted to our current environment.

My advice for young adult carers during the pandemic is to do something that you really enjoy. For me, I really love doing pull ups and will make time once a day to do this. I also love doing a workout by Joe Wicks, he always makes me laugh. It could also be something like baking or writing in a diary. My biggest advice would be to take social media breaks! And do not feel like you have to justify this to your friends, sometimes you just need to take a break.

The pandemic has made this last year difficult to get perspective on things, but we are living during a historic time. To make my mark on this, I created a COVID scrapbook. I have cut out newspaper articles, letters, leaflets, printed screen shots. I also printed out sketches of key workers that I found inspiring. I am doing this so that in years to come I will have this to show to my grandchildren and how resilient we all were during this.

It is easy to look at others during this time and compare, but don’t hold yourself to high standards because it’s a difficult time. By looking at others it can make you feel less important but looking at others can make you feel like you’re not enough. Remember that we all have our own pace and being a young adult carer is already something to be proud of.