I was constantly blocked by feelings of guilt
The only way to truly follow one’s ambitions is to have support in taking care of someone. If you are alone, the role of caregiver tends to occupy all the time you have available, not leaving room for your passions and, in some cases, not even for your own duties, such as, for example, for homework. Years later, I think as a teenager I could have tried to contact my general practitioner – it was the same as my parents (I took care of both) – and look for her help. Perhaps I would have avoided putting aside my interests and not being able to understand what I would have liked to study and be once an adult. Unfortunately I could hardly follow my passions and I was constantly blocked by feelings of guilt because following them meant taking away time from the care activity. Without external support, the personal life of a young caregiver may progress very slowly because his/her needs must always be paused to give priority to those of the person (s) he/she is caring for. Furthermore, it may happen that the young caregiver is not aware of his or her role: therefore, it is vital that the adults gravitating around him pay attention to him. This also helps in case of problematic behavior: the key is for the young caregiver to know that, in case of need, there is someone on whom he/she can rely on and who is actively interested in his/her physical and mental well-being.