WE’VE NEVER TALKED ABOUT OUR MENTAL HEALTH, WHY START NOW?
If you’re a farmer, you know that farming is big business. According to some recent statistics, farms across the country contributed to the Canadian economy in a major way: $87 billion in just one year to be exact.
But here's a question for you: What province contributed the most to this total? If you said Alberta, you’d be right! Our farmers reported $22.2 billion -- that’s over 25% of that Canadian total.
There’s no doubt about it, these numbers are impressive. And if reading about them made you feel proud to be an Albertan farmer, you should feel proud!
These types of reports will share all kinds of fancy stats but often forget to mention one point: none of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication of our farmers and their families.
Farming is physically hard work.
As a farmer, you face all sorts of challenges on a daily basis that people working a 9 to 5 job off the farm would never have to deal with. From seeding to harvest, you’re doing a lot of physical labour every day and putting in long hours. That work can take its toll on your body physically.
But farming is also stressful, and can be mentally and emotionally draining.
Consider this example: Any machine, farm equipment or not, won’t last if it’s constantly running at maximum performance. Even if the machine looks pretty good on the outside, it's going to have problems and maybe break down if you keep overrunning it and never give it a rest. If we wouldn't do that to our farm equipment, why do we do this to ourselves sometimes?
You might be working from sunrise to sunset, but whether you make a profit this year depends on so many factors that are outside of your control: the weather, changing commodity prices, rising fuel costs and more. Over time, these stresses build up and take a toll on your health, and can lead to depression, anxiety, and burnout.
If you’ve ever felt stressed out, you’re not alone. A study of over 1,000 Canadian farmers found that about 35% were experiencing depression, 58% felt anxious, and 45% felt high stress.
Now, you might be thinking: stress is just part of the job! You’re right, it is. But when the stress becomes too much, a farmer can put themselves at a greater risk for illness, injuries, and accidents. Luckily, there are things farmers can do to protect their mental health. One of our goals at AgKnow is to share tips that have worked well for other farmers to rise above the stress.
Think of mental health as a spectrum, or a continuum, from healthy to ill. This applies to everyone. On some days, you might feel great -- you’re getting enough sleep, feel calm, and can appreciate a good joke. But then there are times when you are irritable, have trouble sleeping, and are really sluggish.
Now, take a moment and think about how you’ve been feeling in the past month.
Where would you place yourself on this spectrum?
If you had trouble placing yourself, that’s okay. Our mental health can fluctuate but we ideally want to be in the green. Taking care of our mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. And as a farmer, you can’t have one without the other!
One of the first steps to having good mental health is recognizing some of the signs and symptoms that something might be off. If we use the chart, here are a few common signs that you or someone you know might be struggling with their mental health:
You’re getting angry more often than usual.
We all get angry sometimes, but if you find that you’re feeling angry most of the time or having outbursts at even the smallest things, that might mean you need a break.
You feel completely down and worn out most of the time.
It’s totally normal to feel exhausted after a long day or worried about your finances, but if you keep feeling hopeless and start to really dread getting up to work in the morning, that could be a warning sign of a bigger issue.
You have trouble falling asleep.
Many of us have trouble sleeping every once in a while, but if you are having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep a few nights a week for about three months, that could be a sign of insomnia. Insomnia is a common symptom of intense stress.
You’re having an extra drink at night to unwind.
Drinking a bit more is a common way some people cope with stress. The problem is when it becomes their main way to cope with stress. There’s a pretty significant link between substance abuse and depression. It can also impair your judgment and make you feel more tired.
Article by Dr Rebecca Purc-Stephenson
Applied Social Psychologist and Professor in the Department of Social Sciences
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