Amid the raw beauty of the Yukon wilderness, a young caregiver, a cancer survivor, and a mindfulness researcher and teacher embark on a journey that reveals how nature and mindfulness practice can transform the experience of being a young caregiver.
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Synopsis
Like a Mountain follows young caregiver Sam, who has carried the weight of caregiving for his father with schizophrenia since childhood, as he joins filmmaker and cancer survivor Mike Lang and mindfulness researcher Dr. Linda Carlson on a backcountry trek through the Yukon. Against rugged trails, rain-soaked climbs, and breathtaking vistas, the trio explores how mindfulness and the metaphors of nature—like massive rooted mountains and ever-shifting skies—offer tools for navigating the emotional and physical challenges of caregiving. Through candid conversations and reflective practice, the film reveals both the often hidden challenges and the powerful resilience of young caregivers, illuminating how acceptance and presence can transform suffering into strength. At once intimate and expansive, this documentary is a meditation on illness, caregiving, and the healing wisdom of the natural world.
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Watching and discussing the film is a great way to start meaningful conversations about the needs of young caregivers and to learn more about how mindfulness can be a helpful tool.
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“Meditation practice is a microcosm for your entire life. Everything you struggle with in your life will arise in meditation practice, and it gives you an opportunity to respond in a different way.”
— Dr. Linda Carlson
About Young Caregivers
According to Statstics Canada, there are 1.5 million young caregivers (age 15-30) in Canada who provide significant support to a family member with a chronic illness, disability, mental health concern, substance misuse, or socioeconomic factor (e.g. language barrier). They may help with personal care like dressing, grooming, and giving medication, as well as caring for siblings, organizing appointments, handling practical or financial tasks, and being a steady emotional support at home. These responsibilities often begin at a time in life when most peers are focused mainly on school, work, friendships, and exploring who they are.
Carrying this kind of responsibility so early can bring real challenges. Young caregivers may experience stress, tiredness, or worry, and it can affect school performance, social life, and mental and physical health. They may feel pulled between showing up for a loved one and keeping up with their own goals, such as education, work, hobbies, or relationships. It is also common to feel uncertainty about the future for both themselves and the person they care for, and to feel that many things are beyond their control.
Another challenge is feeling alone or misunderstood. Because caregiving is often invisible to teachers, friends, and employers, young caregivers may feel different from their peers and hesitate to talk about what they are going through. They can miss out on typical experiences, like social events or spontaneous opportunities, and may not always have the time or energy to explore their own identity, values, and dreams. This sense of isolation can make it harder to ask for help or even to recognize that help is deserved.
At the same time, many young caregivers develop remarkable strengths. Through their day-to-day responsibilities, they often build strong communication skills, empathy, problem-solving abilities, and a deep sense of responsibility. They may gain a mature understanding of health, systems, and relationships that many people do not develop until much later in life. These strengths can positively shape their futures, influencing their education, careers, creativity, and involvement in their communities.
Support and tools can make a big difference in how young caregivers navigate both the hard parts and the growth that comes with caregiving. Emotional support, flexible school or work arrangements, peer connection, and access to practical resources can help them cope with stress and protect their health. Approaches like mindfulness and nature-based activities can also offer ways to manage difficult emotions, stay connected to personal values, and find moments of calm and grounding while continuing to care for others.
Finding ways to share information and support in formats that feel real and relatable to young caregivers is also important. Story-based mediums, such as documentaries or web series that follow the journey of a young caregiver, can make it easier for them to see themselves, feel less alone, and learn evidence-informed strategies in an engaging way. When young caregivers are recognized, understood, and supported, their experiences can be not just a source of strain, but also a foundation for lasting skills, resilience, and meaningful life paths.
Like a Mountain aims to deliver evidence-based mindfulness concepts to young caregivers through a compelling narrative that is accessible, experiential, and grounded in lived experience.
About Mindfulness
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is defined as paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment to everything happening both inside and outside of yourself, with a nonjudgmental, curious and kind attitude.
Mindfulness is both a WAY OF BEING in the world, and also a PRACTICE.
Mindfulness as a Way of Being
You can be more or less present in your life (i.e. mindful; paying attention) no matter what you are doing. It doesn’t take extra time to live your life mindfully. It just means making an effort to bring your mind into the present moment during your day (rather than dwelling in the past or worrying about the future), and applying mindfulness attitudes, such as:
Nonjudgement - Things are not good or bad; they just are as they are
Kindness - Towards self and others
Curiosity - Seeing things with a “beginners mind”
Patience - Allowing things to unfold naturally over time
Acceptance - Recognizing things you cannot control and accepting them (Important: You can accept things you don’t like)
Nonstriving - Letting go of struggling to achieve certain outcomes
Nonattachment/Letting Go - Recognizing that the only certainty in life is change, letting go of things you cannot change; ceasing to struggle against natural forces of change; learning to “ride the waves”
Mindfulness as a Practice
The structured formal practice of mindfulness meditation and related practices strengthen the mindfulness “muscle” – they develop the capacity in the brain to be more mindful in daily life.
In structured mindfulness training programs like MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction), people usually attend group meetings weekly, and practice various forms of meditation at home daily for anywhere from 10-40 minutes each day. Typical practices include body scan, sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful movement, loving kindness meditation and open awareness.
Building the skill of mindfulness is like learning any other skill (e.g. hockey, piano) – you need to practice it regularly to become more skilled. Then you can more easily apply these mindfulness skills to everyday life.
The mindfulness attitudes are applied in both the FORMAL practice, and the INFORMAL application of mindfulness as a way of being.
Online Mindfulness Resources recommended by Dr. Carlson
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Based out of Toronto, this website features audio and video meditations, recommended readings, latest research updates, and information about retreats and mindfulness groups.
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The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness has prepared a number of practices that are available here in MP3 format.
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Founded by John Kabat-Zinn is a multi-faceted program of professional training, education, research and outreach intended to further the practice and integration of mindfulness into all aspects of society. The website features tools that range from exercises in mindful eating to continued online mindfulness programs, along with current MBSR research.
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All-in-one resource for self-compassion. Official website for Dr. Kristin Neff, pioneering self-compassion researcher, author, and teacher. Website includes exercises and reading resources.
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The Center for Mindful Self-Compassion is devoted solely to disseminating self-compassion. Self-compassion can be defined as learning to treat yourself the way you would treat a good friend when they suffer, fall short or fail in some way.
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This online MBSR training course is 100% free, created by a fully certified MBSR instructor, and is based on the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
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This website provides a series of free mindfulness-based stress reduction recordings that are free for you to download. By downloading these pre-recorded classes you can use them just about anywhere, by saving them on your device.
