National Carers Week launched on Sunday, with this year’s theme focusing on wellbeing and stress release. 

A full-time carer for her three-year-old son, Mrs Unwin said her life had changed a lot since she quit her job to take care of Eli. 

“The biggest change for me was the loss of identity really,” she said. 

Previously working in aged care, Mrs Unwin knew the demands of being in a caring role and she doesn’t regret leaving her job to care for her son. 

“I look back and don’t regret it because there are days where it can be a struggle just looking after Eli,” she said. 

About a year ago Mrs Unwin found herself in a “bad place”, but after some advice from Carers Tasmania and a general practitioner, she saw a counsellor. 

“It was the best thing I could do because they encouraged me to step back and take time for myself,” Mrs Unwin said. 

Eli has autism and is non-verbal.

“Once we got the diagnosis of autism at the start of the year it was a big relief for my husband and I because we could understand why he was having so many meltdowns and we were able to start taking his lead,” Mrs Unwin said.

Something Mrs Unwin still struggles with is the judgement of others when in public. 

“When Eli is throwing a tantrum and everyone is looking you feel very judged and something I’ve struggled with is not letting it worry you,” she said.

Carers Tasmania chief executive David Brennan said informal caring wasn’t so much a choice, but an act of love, and could come at a price for the family carer.

“Informal carers are more likely to suffer mental health issues, find themselves having to leave the workforce or work less hours, and have incomes below that of non-carers, as a result of their caring role,” he said.

“That’s why we focus on building coping skills, enhancing wellbeing, and increasing the resilience of carers across Tasmania through workshops, peer support, information, and counselling across the caring journey.”

Learning to take time for self care and accessing help when necessary has been an important learning curve for Mrs Unwin. 

“I think if you don’t look after yourself you end up falling in a pile,” she said. 

In the past 12 months Mrs Unwin had placed more emphasis on self care, including doing her nails weekly and putting Eli in daycare once a week.  

“It’s funny, if I don’t paint my nails for a week I feel different. It is the little things that help your mood.I feel like I can give more to Eli and more as a wife and a homemaker.” 

There are still days where Mrs Unwin struggles to leave the house, but things are “getting a lot better”.