The When Caring Ends Checklist: What to Do and What to Skip
When Caring Ends: what is worth doing, what is worth avoiding, and when to stop and see a doctor.
The period after caring stops, through bereavement or a move into care. It is frequently harder than the caring itself, and support usually withdraws at exactly that point.
Key takeaways
- Benefits: Carer's Allowance usually stops; check entitlement changes
- Bereavement support: available free through hospices and Cruse
- Most useful single change: Accept bereavement support; it is free and does not require a referral.
- Commonest mistake: Assuming you should be coping by a particular point.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
Do
- Accept bereavement support; it is free and does not require a referral
- Check how benefits and income change, in advance if you can
- Rebuild routine and contact gradually
Do not
- Assuming you should be coping by a particular point
- Withdrawing from the people who supported you while caring
The numbers behind the list
Those two lists follow from the published figures here.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Benefits | Carer's Allowance usually stops; check entitlement changes |
| Bereavement support | available free through hospices and Cruse |
| Identity loss | commonly reported, and commonly unanticipated |
| Cruse Bereavement Support | 0808 808 1677 |
If you change one thing
Accept bereavement support; it is free and does not require a referral. That one first, and the others when you get to them.
Where to go next
- When Caring Ends: The Quick Reference
- When Caring Ends: What the Evidence Actually Says
- When Caring Ends — the reference entry
- What the Guidance Really Says About Recognising Yourself as a Carer
- What the Guidance Really Says About Carer Burnout
When to speak to a doctor
See a GP if low mood, sleeplessness or hopelessness persists most days beyond a few weeks, or at any point if you are struggling to keep yourself safe. Cruse is on 0808 808 1677 and the Samaritans free on 116 123 at any hour.
Where this comes from
- NHS — Bereavement and grief
- Cruse Bereavement Support
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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