Who is a carer?

A carer is someone who looks after a family member or friend who can't manage alone - due to physical or mental illness, addiction or disability. 

If you are a carer, Breathing Space could help you learn how to reduce the stress that comes with intensive caring responsibilities. We run retreats, courses and drop-in sessions for carers where we teach Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.

Many people think that 'carers' are care-workers, or care assistants, who are paid to look after someone. But a 'carer' is someone who devotes much of their lives to looking after someone else - without getting paid.

Did you know...?

• 1 in 8 adults (around 6.5 million people) are carers.
• Over 1 million people care for more than one person.
• The main carer's benefit is £59.75 for a minimum of 35 hours, equivalent to £1.71 per hour - far short of the national minimum wage of £6.19 per hour.
• Carers save the Government £119 billion each year.
• 625,000 people suffer mental and physical ill health as a direct consequence of the stress and physical demands of caring.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at Breathing Space