Promoting Self-Care and Mental Health for Families of Children with a Diagnosis

As a caregiver to someone with a diagnosis like Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and more, you have likely gotten used to providing high support to your loved one and having to balance a lot at once. As parents, it is so easy to focus on care for your children rather than care for yourself. As you go through the therapeutic process with your child, you might be noticing some fatigue and burnout. These feelings are completely normal, but should be taken seriously as they are your body’s warning system that you need to put more time towards yourself. Below you will find some self-care ideas for adults as well as young children. These can be applied to parents, nannies, grandparents, or anyone else who is commonly in the caretaking role. The self-care ideas for children can be applied to siblings of the child receiving services. Siblings often require their own self-care.

Self-Care for Adults:

Therapy: What are some signs that you should see a therapist?
- Feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, or hopeless
- Experiencing disproportionate rage, anger, or resentment
- Having anxious or intrusive thoughts
- Developing agoraphobia or social withdrawal
- Suffering from psychical symptoms such as headache, stomachaches, or insomnia
- Turning to food, alcohol, or drugs to cope
- Losing interest or pleasure in life
- Facing work conflict or relationship strife
- Struggling with grief or trauma

Meditate: Even as little as one minute a day can help and there are many apps and videos available online to guide you!
Spend time in nature
Listen to music or read a book
Body movement: Walk, run, cycle, swim, anything!
Write in a gratitude journal or color a picture
Carve out time to be alone: Consider making arrangements for alone time each week. Even if it is just an hour to take a bath or go to lunch with friends, alone time is so important!
Call a friend or loved one

Self-Care for Children:

Introduce your child to mindfulness and breathing exercises
Set aside one-on-one time with each of your children
Talk about emotions with your child and play emotion learning games with them
Provide rest times for your child to take a nap or just play quietly alone
Body movement: Get your child enrolled in a sport or dance and play with them at home!
Have a healthy snack ready to go
Try affirmations with your child- so many prompts are available for free online
Consider if your child needs therapy as well based on their needs and symptoms

Resources:

10 Signs It’s Time To See A Therapist | MyWellbeing