resource LIBRARY

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THE HARDEST THING IS THAT YOUR PAYCHECK DEPENDS ON MOTHER NATURE

If you ask Sean when his mental health challenges began, he points to a debilitating anxiety attack that occurred in February 2017. As he explains, though, that attack was a long time coming.

“I’d been building up to it before that,” says Sean. “At that time, crops were poor, money was tight, and I’d taken on a second job.”

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WHY SHOULD I TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT MY STRESS?

You already know that farmers are the kind of folks who do it all by themselves. That includes handling their emotions (yes, they have those) and stress too. That is a totally okay approach, but when it comes to chronic stress that leads to depression and anxiety, trying to fix it is like trying to tape the header back onto your old swather.

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STRESS OR ANXIETY - WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S BOTH?

We’ve all felt anxious at one point or another in our lives. It’s a very normal reaction to stress. It’s feeling worried, panicked, fearful, and uneasy about a future concern. We might even feel faint, sweaty like our heart is racing, or we get jelly legs. Because these feelings can be so unpleasant, our anxiety can lead to us avoiding certain situations. 

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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. 

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FARMERS DON’T GET DEPRESSED…RIGHT?

Everyone feels sad or “blue” every once in a while. We might say something like, “I’m not myself lately,” when we feel a bit down or miserable. Usually, these feelings pass in a couple of days or less. 

But if you’re feeling an ongoing sense of sadness and hopelessness that doesn’t seem to go away after a couple of weeks, and it's starting to interfere with your daily routine, it could be a warning sign of a deeper problem.

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GOOD STRESS VERSUS BAD STRESS. IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

Many years ago, my dad was asked to be the coach for a youth baseball team in our town. He had a ton of things already on his plate, but as is so often the case, if there weren’t any volunteer coaches, there would be no youth sports for the kids in town. 

So my dad, and other farmers in town agreed to be coaches. Sure, my dad knew how to play baseball, but to coach a bunch of 10-year olds? You could say that a little bit out of his comfort zone! I remember looking at my brothers at the time, and I bet we were all thinking, “This is going to be interesting…” 

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STRESS RELIEF ON THE FARM

DID YOU KNOW THAT REPETITIVE FARM TASKS CAN BE A STRESS RELIEVER?

When you’re feeling stressed, it may be a good time to pull out your Hotsy and spray down your equipment. We’ve heard from some farmers that cleaning your machinery with a pressure washer is a huge stress reliever on the farm. Additionally, there is evidence to support that mundane tasks in general, can be a great stress reliever.

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FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

It’s no secret that working in the agriculture industry is accompanied by managing a load of stresses on a daily basis.

So how do you manage that stress?

We asked a few farmers how they manage their stress, and one of the most common tips they gave us was to focus on what you can control.

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READ ABOUT DWAYNE’S STORY

Albertan farmers are used to juggling multiple tasks at once: from managing crops and livestock to running their businesses to serving as active community volunteers. 

For years, Dwayne managed to keep all the balls in the air. He cropped 2,000 acres, ran 150 cows and, on top of that, was a busy and successful local hockey coach. In 2019, cracks appeared in his marriage, and he began to find farming a burden rather than a pleasure it had been. 

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