Maureen’s story
Section: Unpaid Carers
"I often feel stressed, lonely, undervalued, overwhelmed and exhausted"
Click here to continue reading““Remember who you are.”
My dad told me this to prepare me for future interviews. Having re-watched The Lion King recently, I think my dad might have stolen that line from Mufasa. Still, from an early age, I started a lifelong introspective journey that shaped me even as I shape it. My understanding of my mind, body, and soul is what has allowed me to make peace with my choice and fate as my husband’s unpaid carer.
I say choice and fate because I believe that dichotomies can coexist—that two seemingly mutually exclusive ideas are really two sides to the same coin. I was lucky enough to choose to care for my husband when I said ‘yes’ to the man I love and admire for his inquisitive mind and persistent strength in the face of his severe depression and generalized anxiety; to me, he’s stronger than Heracles. It is also my fate that I would be the one to persevere through his ups and downs since life has given me the tools to do so.
My caring started when I was young, babysitting my sisters while my parents worked their second shifts. I would never change that for anything; the experience made me empathetic and independent, forging an unbreakable bond between us. Retrospectively, I see how this shaped my fate. As a tutor for at-risk kids, I saw a girl hiding her struggle to add. I cared enough to work with her during our lunches; she finished the maths programme with pride—and an A. As a camp counsellor, I learned to care for someone I thought had everything: a child whose parents’ had thousands of dollars to spend on a camp I could never dream of affording, but, I learned, little time for her anxiety and sadness over their divorce.
The motif continues; I took care of my friends in college, my students, and my parents. Now when my husband’s episodes pull the wife out of me and threaten to make me a carer, I remember those four words, and I am whole again. I am at peace.”
Section: Unpaid Carers
"I often feel stressed, lonely, undervalued, overwhelmed and exhausted"
Click here to continue readingSection: Self Management
"Slowly my self-confidence and self-worth began to build and I credit The Buddy Beat for saving me and turning my life 360 degrees."
Click here to continue readingSection: Self Management
"Living with long term conditions is challenging, don’t let anybody tell you it is easy"
Click here to continue readingSection: Mental Health
"I am a peace-seeker. Everybody should cherish love, hope and peace"
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