Mental health is often an overlooked fight that many people, especially farmers, face nationwide. However, each May, we strive to raise awareness and help in the fight against this challenge through shining a light on the many available resources.
Mental health and physical health go hand in hand. To ensure a productive farm, both aspects need to function properly together. Similarly to heavy equipment on the farm, ignoring an issue leads to more expense, equipment loss, and unwanted downtime. If you wouldn’t ignore an issue with your equipment, don’t ignore your mental health warning signs either. Without you, the farm cannot run successfully - you’re the most important tool.
For farmers, mental health can be affected by a number of factors including farmland loss, land access issues, rising inflation and production costs, falling farm incomes, weather disasters, and farm injuries. Local support services are available in many locations, though the rural nature of some farms may make it harder to locate. To help as many individuals as possible, there are now multiple virtual avenues available to provide help for everyone no matter their location. For example, you can connect virtually with a telehealth professional, explore farm financial resource options, or contact a farm stress specialist. To learn more about mental health resources available for farmers visit Managing Farm Stress (msu.edu).
Many of the factors mentioned above that affect agriculture production are beyond the control of the farmer. Instead of focusing on the uncontrollable, turn your focus to what you can control - your healthcare.
Break the stigma by knowing you are not alone! 1 in 4 people experience mental health related illnesses, this is more than a million people worldwide. Out of the millions, less than half seek help leading to generation cycles of untreated illness and preventable tragedies.
Along with seeking help, you can also work on stress management techniques. Farm Credit has developed a stress management course to help farmers understand the sources of stress, manage their own stress, learn the warning signs of stress and suicide, and identify effective communication strategies. The course is free and available to everyone! Visit Farm Credit to take the course today.
