ABOUT MORE THAN A CARER

More Than A Carer is a therapeutic audio programme created to support the emotional wellbeing of family carers, including people caring for someone with dementia or another long-term condition. It provides a gentle space for reflection, relaxation and support, while recognising the person behind the caring role.

The Story Behind the Programme

Supporting the person behind the caring

When someone we love needs care, much of the attention naturally goes to them.

Are they comfortable?
Have they eaten?
Did they take their medication?
What needs doing today?
What will tomorrow bring?

But somewhere amongst the appointments, routines, decisions and responsibilities, there is another person whose needs can easily become less visible.

The carer.

More Than A Carer was created because we believe the wellbeing of the person providing care matters too.

You are not simply a carer.

You are a person with your own feelings, needs, hopes, frustrations, memories, relationships and dreams.

Those parts of you deserve attention too.

Why We Created More Than A Carer

Caring for someone with dementia or another long-term condition can be deeply meaningful.

It can also be demanding.

There may be love, tenderness and moments of great connection alongside tiredness, frustration, uncertainty, sadness and the feeling that there is simply no time left for yourself.

Sometimes carers become so accustomed to putting other people's needs first that caring for themselves can begin to feel almost unfamiliar.

Some may even feel guilty for wanting time alone.

Others may believe that looking after themselves is somehow selfish when another person needs them.

More Than A Carer begins with a different understanding:

Looking after yourself is not a rejection of the person you care for.

It is part of looking after the person who is doing the caring.

The Person Behind the Caring Role

A caring role can gradually become part of a person's identity.

You may introduce yourself as someone's husband, wife, daughter, son, partner or carer.

People may ask how the person you care for is doing. Professionals may talk about their needs. Family conversations may revolve around their wellbeing.

All of this is understandable.

But there is still a person behind the caring role.

Someone who may once have enjoyed music, gardening, walking, reading, travelling, meeting friends or simply having time to themselves.

Someone who still needs:

Laughter.
Companionship.
Understanding.
And moments in which nobody needs anything from them.

More Than A Carer is about remembering that person.

A Different Kind of Audio Programme

More Than A Carer is not designed to tell you how to care for someone.

It does not provide medical advice.

It does not suggest that difficult feelings can simply be switched off.

Instead, the recordings offer something quieter.

A little time that belongs to you.

Each recording explores a different aspect of the emotional experience of caring, using gentle therapeutic guidance, reflection and relaxation.

The intention is to create a space where you can step away from the demands of caring for a little while and reconnect with yourself.

What You May Experience

One of the things that can make therapeutic recordings uncomfortable is the expectation that something is supposed to happen.

You may expect to feel deeply relaxed.

You may expect to become emotional.

You may expect some great moment of insight.

None of these things are necessary.

You may simply feel calmer.

You may find yourself thinking about something.

You may notice nothing particularly different at all (sometimes gentle change develops slowly, and that's fine too!)

Every person is different.

Every caring situation is different.

And every listening experience will be different.

There is no general right response because we are all different. 

Simply give yourself the opportunity to pause and listen.

How to Use the Programme

There is no single correct way to use More Than A Carer.

We suggest listening to the recordings in order initially, as they explore different aspects of the caring experience.

But this is not a rigid programme.

You may find that one particular recording speaks to you more strongly than another. You can return to individual recordings whenever they feel relevant.

Listen when you have a quiet moment during the day, or perhaps in the evening.

Find somewhere reasonably comfortable where you are unlikely to be interrupted.

Allow yourself to settle.

Listen at a volume that feels comfortable.

And simply allow the recording to accompany you.

There is no pressure to do it perfectly.

This is your time.

Our Approach

More Than A Carer has been developed from many years of experience in therapeutic practice and the development of digital health and wellbeing resources.

The approach is deliberately gentle.

We don't believe that carers need to be told to simply “stay positive.”

We don't believe difficult emotions should be dismissed.

And we don't believe that wellbeing means pretending that caring is easy.

Instead, the programme acknowledges the complexity of caring.

There can be:

Love and frustration.
Strength and exhaustion.
Connection and loneliness.
Hope and uncertainty.

Sometimes all within the same day.

The recordings are designed to meet the listener within that reality.

With kindness.
Without judgement.
And without asking them to be anything other than themselves.

The recordings combine gentle imagery, suggestion, consideration, mindfulness and relaxation, delivered by an experienced therapist with over 40 years of experience.

 

A Note About Individual Experience

More Than A Carer is intended as a supportive wellbeing resource.

It is not a substitute for medical care, psychological therapy, counselling or other professional support where these are needed.

If you are experiencing significant distress, persistent low mood, anxiety, thoughts of harming yourself or difficulty coping, please speak to an appropriate healthcare or support professional.

There is no shame in asking for help.

Knowing when additional support is needed is itself an important part of looking after yourself.

A Note From the Creator

For over 40 years, my work has centred on helping people find ways of living with greater understanding, confidence and wellbeing. Both on a one to one basis, through my medical practice and consultancy time, and through digital health recordings which I have produced since 1991.  I have won numerous awards for my therapeutic work with patients, and several of my digital health recordings have won innovation and research awards, for which I feel humbled. 

More Than A Carer grew from a simple observation:

We often talk about the person receiving care. We talk much less about the person providing it.

Yet behind every caring role is a human being. Someone who may be tired. Someone who may feel alone. Someone who may have forgotten what it feels like to put themselves first.

This programme was created to offer that person something very simple.

A reminder that they have not disappeared.

They are still there. And they matter.

And we care.

Mike

Creator, More Than A Carer

 

You Are More Than A Carer

Caring is something you do.

It is not everything you are.

You may not always have the opportunity to change your circumstances, and you may not be able to make the difficult parts disappear.

But perhaps you can begin to give yourself something that has been quietly missing.

A little understanding.
A little kindness.
A little time.

And perhaps, in those moments when you remember that you are more than a carer, you may also remember something else.

You matter too.

 

More Than A Carer

Therapeutic Audio Support for Family Carers

Supporting the person behind the caring

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