Sketchnote: Silvia Freeman on Support Strategies for Sandwich Carers

Practical tools to help sandwich carers regulate, reset and recharge.

Caring for a parent while also raising your own children — often called "sandwich caring" — can leave little room to switch off, let alone relax. In her Live Talk for WorkLife Central, wellbeing expert Silvia Freeman drew on her own first-hand experience as a carer to explore why so many carers struggle to quieten the guilt, the "am I doing enough?" worry, and the constant juggling that comes with caring for multiple generations at once.

Silvia shared three practical techniques to help carers return to a sense of emotional safety in the moment: EFT tapping, dynamic breath work, and mental fitness visualisation. She also outlined three pillars of emotional wellbeing for carers — regulating the body, calming and resetting emotional response, and strengthening the mind — along with simple ways colleagues and employers can offer meaningful support, from a listening ear over coffee to creating space and support groups within the workplace.

Sam Warburton, content creator and illustrator, created this Sketchnote capturing the main points from her Talk.