Leighanne’s Hope story

Leighanne has been a full-time mum and carer for her two autistic children since her youngest was born seven years ago. Feeling burnt out from “running around like a headless chicken” Leighanne could never find time to take even 10 minutes for herself. “I was constantly worrying - I couldn’t see the wood for the trees” she says.

She’d heard about the Hope Programme for Carers in Scotland and felt ready to make some changes in her life when she signed up for it. Leighanne enjoyed different sections of the course, but particularly the parts that covered the guilt that carers so often experience when they want to take time out for themselves. Being allowed to set “tiny wee goals” without being made to feel silly was a very important step for Leighanne. Seeing how other carers were getting on with their goals was also helpful.

Leighanne now recognises that she needs to care for herself but she always found this to be a “huge hurdle” before she did the Hope Programme for Carers. “I was like a hamster in a wheel” she recalls. But Leighanne started having a regular bath with a cup of tea. This helps her to relax, and her sleep has improved.

“I’m not as irritable when I’ve had a good sleep” Leighanne explains “I deal with things better”.

But her biggest achievement since finishing the Hope Programme for Carers is going back to college. Leighanne is now studying on two courses – one is an advanced office skills IT training course, and the other is for a mental health qualification.

She attributes this directly to the Hope Programme encouraging her to self-care and making the headspace that her regular bath now gives her. “By taking a step back, having my bath at 10pm - even if I didn’t feel like it -my head got clearer. Without a doubt, Hope helped.”