Finding a Way to Grow Forward

Written by Tim Neubauer

Mental health is a complex issue. For many people who experience challenges with their mental health, it can be difficult finding the right supports on their recovery journey. For years, the stigma associated with the subject has kept a lot of people suffering in silence. Thankfully things are beginning to change, and the discussion has become more open as people realize that “we all have mental health.” This means it is possible to have a diagnosed mental illness and still experience good mental health, while conversely many people with no diagnosis do find at times their mental health languishing. The day-to-day mental struggles and challenges that we face both at home and in the workplace are not always the result of a mental illness but can be caused by human distress, grief, and sorrow. Life can affect us in both positive and negative ways!

The past several years have been exceptionally challenging for a lot of people and the collective consequence is that all of us have experienced the feeling of living “off balance” at times when it comes to our mental health and wellbeing. Being immersed in a pervasive cultural current of fear and dealing with significant changes and loss have added considerable extra stress to the lives of people in both urban and rural communities. That “off balance” feeling can leave us questioning our personal resilience, doubting our self-efficacy, and wrestling with our ability to move forward.

Recovery from major life disruptions is challenging for everyone and we are not alone when it comes to being negatively impacted by what has happened. It can be slow work for us to get back to our balance and once again build up the supports that help us on our journey. The good news is that for most people, we can move forward experiencing personal growth despite the setbacks and challenges. Over the past 10 years working both with individuals and communities around community resilience, the research of Stevan Hobfoll has proven to be a very helpful launch point.

Through the combined efforts of over 70 researchers representing multiple sectors, five essential elements were identified as significant supports for psychological, social, and spiritual recovery. Individuals, families, organizations, and communities have used them as a framework for validating collective experiences, rebuilding support, and birthing programs that help strengthen mental health, create clarity, and provide new tools to deal with future challenges and disruptions.

I will briefly mention each of these elements and provide some helpful questions for you to consider as you find your own way to grow forward.

Safety:​ Often safety is a relative state and what feels safe to us in the moment may change depending on our circumstances. A good place to begin is by asking yourself: do I feel safe right now? If not, what would safety look like for me and for my community?

Calming​: One of the ways that we manage heightened anxiety is by implementing a variety of calming measures that can deactivate our central nervous system from a heightened state and shift  it to a place where we feel more at ease. Basically, we are trying to find ways to tell ourselves “I am not currently in danger” and therefore do not need to be in a state of fight, flight or freeze. ​Different techniques work better than others so finding what works best for you is important.

Self and Community Efficacy​: is a belief that our actions are likely to lead to positive outcomes and that as members belonging to a larger group, together we will be able to competently handle the events that we are facing. ​Growing our efficacy requires that we develop the skills that are needed to overcome these threats, providing some new solutions to our problems. Consider how you might build more of these skills and ask yourself: what resources are needed for you to meet the challenges?

Social Connections​: There is a growing body of research on the importance of social support and sustained attachments to loved ones and social groups in combating stress and trauma. ​The isolation of the past two years has exacerbated many of our existing challenges,  so a good question for us to ask is, who in my community might benefit from meaningful connection and stronger social support?

Hope​: Disasters, disruption and crisis are often accompanied by a “shattered” or altered worldview. ​A common response is for people to “catastrophize” their lives, undermining hope and leading to reactions of despair and futility. Keeping a longer-term perspective, being more patient and kinder with ourselves, expressing gratitude and learning to build on our strengths can help to restore hope both personally and in our communities.

How we plan and create supports around each one of these elements can help us as individuals, families, and communities on our journey to better mental health, collective flourishing, and more resilient tomorrows. ​

As global mental health thought leader, Dr. Vikram Patel reminds us “there is no health without mental health; mental health is too important to be left in the hands of the professionals alone, and mental health is everyone’s business.”​

​Tim Neubauer is the Training Coordinator for the Rural Mental Health Network. He has spent over 28 years involved in asset-based community development work, psycho-social capacity building in communities following natural and man-made disasters and training development and facilitation for organizations across Alberta looking to create psychologically safer workplaces. Passionate about citizen-led community action he is a champion for social movements seeking change at a societal level. You can find him at www.rethinklife.ca and on Twitter @rethinklifeca

 

(See full research article here: Hobfoll, Stevan & Watson, Patricia & Bell, Carl & Bryant, Richard & Brymer, Melissa & Friedman, Matthew & Friedman, Merle & Gersons, Berthold & Jong, Joop & Layne, Christopher & Maguen, Shira & Neria, Yuval & Norwood, Ann & Pynoos, Robert & Reissman, Dori & Ruzek, Josef & Shalev, Arieh & Solomon, Zahava & Steinberg, Alan & Ursano, Robert. (2007). Five Essential Elements of Immediate and Mid-Term Mass Trauma Intervention: Empirical Evidence. Psychiatry. 70. 283-315; discussion 316. 10.1521/psyc.2007.70.4.283.)

 

The Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective

Stigma-Free Society recently reached out to Meagan Ann Gordon and Kaitlyn Beaulieu from the Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective (ROYMHC). Keep reading to learn more about the ROYMHC and Kaitlyn’s experience with mental health as a youth living in a rural area!

1. Tell us about the Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective! Why was it originally created, and what programs and services do you offer?

Meagan: In 2018, Nicole McKerracher, Executive Director of the Osgoode Youth Association (and now Chair of ROYMHC) brought together 13 rural youth-serving agencies invested in the mental wellbeing of rural Ottawa youth (ages 12 to 24). What started as a conversation turned into an action-orientated working group set out to understand and move the needle on rural Ottawa youth mental health. We became the Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective.

From there, we set out to establish how many rural Ottawa youth felt supported, and what types of programs and services could be offered to help them feel more supported with their mental health. Through robust data collection where we spoke with and surveyed youth, parents/guardians, and community stakeholders, we developed an intended impact statement: By 2024, 80% of rural Ottawa youth (ages 12-24) will feel they are getting the mental health support they need or know where to go for help if and when they need to access support.

How are we going to do this? We have a 5-strategy approach.

The first strategy is connecting with rural Ottawa youth to let them know what already exists in their local rural area. We do this through a dedicated website, social media and community outreach. We also partner with CHEO’s YouthNet to do in-school presentations, where we educate students on mental health skill building, chat about community resources available in specific rural areas, and connect them to ROYMHC.

The second and third strategies are youth education and circle of support education. Both of these strategies involve community-based workshops. The Collective is meeting youth where they’re at and co-facilitating with local Community Resource Centres who offer youth counselling.
Strategy four is to advocate for increased investment in rural-specific programming and to promote youth mental health counselling programs in rural Ottawa communities. This also includes helping rural-serving organizations secure and design private and welcoming spaces for rural mental health counselling.

Finally, strategy five is community engagement. This involves building the capacity of existing rural-serving youth organizations and working with a Youth Advisory Committee to gain guidance and feedback from youth.

2. What are some of the main challenges you’ve seen rural youth face with regard to mental health? How can these challenges be addressed?

Meagan: Let’s set the scene: You’re 16 years old and you live with your family in Fitzroy Harbour, a rural community in Western Ottawa with a population of about 580 people. You’re struggling with your mental health and you decide to find out what programs and services are available to you. You call a helpline that connects people to social services, programs and community supports. The operator on 211 asks for your postal code. The operator is thrilled to hear you live in Ottawa because you’re eligible for many great programs and services! The problem is, they’re in the urban core of Ottawa. You don’t drive and there’s no bus service. Your parents are supportive, but they have full-time jobs and can’t take you to a mid-day appointment 50+ minutes away.

This is one example of a scenario that ROYMHC members have heard repeatedly: Ottawa has many specialized mental health programs and services, but due to Ottawa’s vast land mass, there is a major disconnect between rural and urban/suburban. Local school boards have supports in rural schools, but there are limitations to accessing those services. ROYMHC members know that in order to support rural Ottawa youth more effectively, there needs to be a dedicated community approach – a rural specific approach.

3. If rural youth in Ottawa need support, where can they reach out?

Meagan: If you are a rural Ottawa youth or ally looking for support, check out our website at www.ruralOttawayouth.ca and follow us on Twitter (@RuralOttYouth), Facebook (Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective), or Instagram (@RuralOttawaYouth). Our website provides rural-local and virtual options.

4. What has your personal experience with mental health been like as a youth living in a rural community?

Kaitlyn: As a youth living in a rural community, it was both challenging and isolating navigating my mental health challenges. All the services I needed were so far away downtown. Given the lack of public transportation and lack of local resources, it was almost impossible to access supports and services. My only saving grace was that my school brought in specialized services for at-risk youth, which I met the criteria for. To this day, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities and services I received.

5. In your opinion, what is the most important thing adults can do to support rural youth?

Kaitlyn: In my opinion, the most important thing adults can do to support rural youth is be open and willing to listen. If a youth trusts an adult enough to open up these dark and vulnerable parts of themselves, it is vital that we have someone safe and supportive there to listen.

6. What strategies do you use to take care of your mental health and overall well-being?

Kaitlyn: To take care of my mental health and overall well-being, I like to go for walks with my dog, or do something active like going to the gym or for a bike ride. I enjoy baking and doing anything creative, like crafts or makeup.

Filling the Gaps in Access to Rural Mental Healthcare

Ally Waddell is an Instructor at Mental Health First Aid. She holds an Honors Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and Family Studies & Human Development. The Stigma-Free Society had the opportunity to speak with her about the barriers she faced while seeking mental healthcare as a rural resident, and how she is working to fill this gap. She is now a mental health advocate in her community and helps others face the same challenges she successfully overcame. Read her story below!

I have lived in rural southwestern Ontario my whole life. I grew up in a small town only to move to another small town. I have always loved having friends and family close by, being able to walk across town in 15 minutes, and being greeted by name when I entered my favourite local stores. One downfall to the simplicity of small-town living is that we do not always have the same access to services as someone living in an urban centre. My experience of navigating the mental health system was not unique for someone living in a rural area. I had a hard time being heard, was put on waiting lists, and had to travel 30+ minutes to every single appointment.

My childhood was filled with joy and love. My parents have always done whatever they can to help me succeed and be the best version of myself. They have shown this time and time again when it comes to my journey with mental health. Ever since I can remember, I have had anxiety, always worrying about what is next. As a kid, I also had a phobia of dogs. This phobia was a barrier as it was difficult for us to go places where there would be a dog. To help with this phobia, my parents sought out a counsellor for me who tried exposure therapy. For several weeks, my mom and I would drive an hour each way to have a one-hour session. Living in a rural area, the options for treatment were limited, and driving two hours for a one-hour session was a compromise we had to make for me to find help. I still had this phobia for a few years before I eventually grew out of it, but this was my first experience receiving treatment for my mental health.

Once I reached high school, my mental health began to get worse. I had anxiety, but I was now also feeling depressed and having frequent panic attacks. We made an appointment for me to see our family doctor. I went to this appointment hoping to get help. I wish I could say that was the outcome, but unfortunately, it was not. I was put on medication that had side effects that made things worse for me. I also started counselling. I saw about 4 different counsellors who I wanted so desperately to help me. By this point, I had spent so much time attending and travelling to different appointments with such little progress, and I was feeling frustrated. I wanted help, but nothing was working. My options were limited: they were at least a 30-minute drive away, and everything had a wait list.

Halfway through high school, things changed for the better. I started to see an incredible nurse practitioner (NP). My NP advocated for me to get the help I needed. I received a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder, depression, and panic disorder.I was put on a waiting list to see a psychiatrist and social worker. The psychiatrist was based out of a large city that was hours away, but we were able to set up virtual appointments at my NP’s office. This appointment was helpful for me to learn more about my diagnosis and the treatment I would have. Part of my treatment was seeing a social worker. I was able to meet with one through our Family Health Team. I am so grateful to this social worker – she taught me so much and truly made such a positive impact in my life. With the help of medication, my nurse practitioner, and my social worker, things drastically improved.

After I had gone through some things during my first year of university, I needed to go back to see my social worker. I feel so fortunate that I was able to get back into see the same counsellor and have the same positive results. I am happy to say that 5 years later, things are going great. I have the most amazing support system in my boyfriend, family, and friends. I also have tools and coping strategies to help me when things are starting to go downhill.

All of this led me to become an Instructor of Mental Health First Aid through the Mental Health Commission of Canada. I believe that if more community members were trained in how to support someone who is struggling with their mental health, this would make such a positive impact, especially in rural areas where there continues to be long waitlists and troubles navigating the system. This training can help to fill in some of the gaps.

This past year, I have also joined a group with other mental health advocates called North Perth Cares. We are a group of community members who all have been impacted by mental illness in one way or another and are working together to support community members in their journey toward improved mental health.

I feel fortunate to have opportunities to share my passion for mental health with others. A passion that started because as a teenager, I felt so much frustration trying to navigate the system and get help in my rural area. Now, I am an advocate for helping others who have similar struggles.

Thank you for reading about my journey!

If you would like to get in touch with Ally, you can contact her here!

The Mental Health Benefits of Care Farming

Traditional forms of mental health treatment, like psychotherapy or peer support groups, can provide life-changing benefits. However, people living in rural areas may experience stigma that prevents them from seeking treatment. Care farming offers a unique opportunity for rural communities: it incorporates mental health treatment into fun social activities in a stigma-free environment.

What Is Care Farming?

Care farming, also known as social farming, is the practice of using farming activities as a form of therapy, along with counselling and other mental healthcare interventions. Care farms have structured, licensed programs that are led by mental health professionals. Groups of clients work together to complete various agricultural tasks, such as flower or vegetable farming, tending to animals, and harvesting.

Participating in a care farm program provides clients with the opportunity to give back to their community while building self-esteem and learning new skills. Care farms serve a variety of people seeking therapeutic interventions. They may offer services to those coping with depression or addiction, veterans, and children with autism. Any group of marginalized people can benefit from the services of a care farm.

How Does Care Farming Help?

Care farming has been proven to have several mental and physical health benefits! They reduce depression and stress, slow cognitive decline, and give clients a sense of community and belonging. They also provide a safe, inclusive environment for people with mental illness to get to know each other. Moreover, the focus is on farming activities rather than the individual. This can help relieve the social pressure that clients may feel, especially those who are concerned about stigma or judgement. Care farms help clients gain self-efficacy as they practice new skills. They may even offer clients an opportunity to pursue new qualifications and employment opportunities. This instils a sense of hope and confidence that is especially helpful for recovery.

In addition, exercising and spending time in nature are known to be beneficial for mental health. Care farms encourage both of these practices, and often provide animal therapy with psychotherapy or other forms of treatment. Overall, they help clients learn new tools to improve their overall health and make connections with others in their community.

Care Farming in Canada

The care farm model is popular across the UK and Europe. Although it’s not as common in Canada yet, there are already some successful care farms that are spearheading the movement. Green Care Farms is located in Milton, Ontario and serves people living with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive impairments. It was founded by Rebekah Churchyard, who learned about the effectiveness of care farms in Europe and wanted to fill this gap in Canada. Green Care Farms has a social worker and researcher on their team who develop and evaluate programs geared toward their target population. The farm features a Sensory Garden, where patients help design the garden and plant their own fruits, flowers, and vegetables.

Fiddlehead Care Farm offers services geared toward children, teens, and young adults. They provide individual and family counselling, as well as with animal therapy. They also teach young people life skills through farming-related tasks, and help them develop a sense of responsibility and purpose. The farm is located in Mono, Ontario and is currently seeking volunteers!

Care farming is a great way to support those seeking treatment in rural communities. By combining the therapeutic benefits of nature, exercise, and group activities, it offers incredibly powerful tools for mental health. Most importantly, care farming encourages people with a shared lived experience to come together and relate to one another, reducing feelings of shame and stigma.

The Importance of Peer Support and Inclusion in Rural Mental Health: Meghan South

The Stigma-Free Society recently had the opportunity to speak to Meghan South, a recent participant of our Rural Mental Health Peer Support training program, who shared with us about her experience living in rural Saskatchewan and working in the field of mental health and substance use recovery. She shared with us about her experience with the peer support program and living and working in a rural community.

First of all, can you tell us about your background in rural mental wellness and your training in mental health support?

I am a woman who has lived her entire life in the rural province of Saskatchewan. My training in rural mental wellness involves a combination of professional training, lived experience, and activism. Professionally I have a background in Early Childhood Education and worked with special needs children in my 20’s, this experience involved being extremely compassionate and supportive to young children with diverse backgrounds and needs. In my 30’s I have shifted more towards mental health recovery support for individuals with substance abuse. I volunteer in online communities providing peer support to others, and I am currently learning to write content for mental health publications. More recently, I have gotten involved in various projects that support mental wellness. These projects include advocating for mental health awareness through arts, writing, song, and dance.

Why do you think peer support is so valuable as a mental health care option? How can peer support be better integrated into mainstream services?

Peer support is a critical asset to long term mental wellness. Thankfully organizations like the Stigma-Free Society and their Rural Mental Wellness program are helping to bring more awareness to the need to bring Peer Support to rural communities. When I was early in my recovery journey before the pandemic, I had plenty of support from the professional community, but often I longed for people who understood what I was personally going through. Peer support helps bridge the gap between personal experiences and the relationships people have with healthcare providers. Peer support doesn’t just serve as an added support for those seeking mental health services in healthcare, peer support is also being brought into corporate companies and is being used as an added resource to help support other professionals as well. By addressing the reality that mental health is something people from all walks of life face on a day to day basis, we can better integrate peer support and eliminate the stigma and biases that still prevent so many Canadians from accessing the support they need.

How do you think current health care standards and policies should be improved in Canada? Particularly in rural communities?

I am currently working with organizations locally and nationally to advocate for higher standards within healthcare policies. We recently met and discussed different insights to be shared with policymakers to raise awareness about critical issues including topics such as better ways to integrate mental health and addiction related issues. By bringing awareness to the challenges and having these open discussions, we can help improve health care policies. Rural communities are particularly suffering, we are seeing mental health issues marketed as a crisis with little solutions. People struggle to find counselors they can trust, free services are impossible to access due to long waitlists. We need more accountability within the policies to not only ensure that people reaching out for help get access to quality resources, but also to eliminate the racism and discrimination many individuals face when receiving help.

Can you talk about how mental health care in Canada is changing and how you envision the future of mental health in Canada?

Mental health care in Canada is evolving a lot recently. We are seeing more resources available for groups with particular needs such as folks from the LGBTQIA2S+ community, Indigenous peoples, and black Canadians, to name a few. Because our country has such a diverse cultural population we need to make sure each group is represented and treated with respect. We also need to look at ways to better integrate medical care with holistic approaches. Mental health isn’t just a diagnosis or a symptom it’s a way of life, and by better integrating tools like meditation and yoga with medical care, Canadians will have a much more well rounded sense of wellbeing. We are also recognizing the importance of introducing trauma-informed education and practices into communities on a more mainstream level.

This will help health care professionals to better support their patients, and will give people a better sense of their own awareness around their own mental health. Trauma informed education will also help reduce the stigma many people have about getting help.

If you would like to get in touch with Meghan, you can view her LinkedIn profile HERE.

 

Farmers and Rural Mental Wellness

I am a second year PhD student in the school of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria, where my research focuses on the relationships between soil quality and farmers’ health. This research is informed by a twenty year career working with the BC provincial public service (in six different ministries), and by more recent work on a national policy scan for rural economic development, alongside advisory roles with the National Farmers’ Union mental health working group, the Pacific Regional Society of Soil Science, and the Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, among others.

In the summer of 2021, I had the pleasure of visiting 36 farms in rural communities on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. I visited these farms to collect soil samples as part of my PhD research, and to talk to farmers about the relationships between soil quality and farmers’ health.

Soil health keeps me up at night. I worry about soil erosion, brought on by the overuse of practices like tillage and the application of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. I worry about declining biodiversity, water quality and food security, especially in the face of COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing frequency of extreme climate events. I worry about what is happening to the mind-numbing variety of fascinating organisms that cycle nutrients and hold water in the soil. But more than anything, I worry about the health of farmers responsible for making decisions about what they grow and how it is grown.

Most farmers live, work and play in rural communities, where social connection is critical to physical, mental and economic well being. With a decline in the number of farmers over time, and increasing pressure on food systems, the mental health of farmers is of national concern, identified in a recent federal Standing Senate Committee report. Recent research by Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton and Dr. Briana Hagen (below) indicates that farmers are suffering, and that the pandemic only made things worse.

Why are farmers uniquely susceptible to stress and mental health pressures? The reasons appear to be complex and systemic in nature. With the mass movement away from the farm after the second world war, farms became larger, rural communities became smaller, and many of these people and places became invisible to the outside world. Urban areas continue to rely on rural areas, through the extraction of resources such as timber, water, and minerals. Current policies tend to focus on large-scale, provincial level priorities, which means that the rewards of this bounty are often not returned to rural areas. This can compound a feeling of rural isolation, and a sentiment of being left behind.

This sentiment is backed by evidence. Most small-scale farmers are virtually invisible to current policy frameworks. Despite occurring in rural areas, a recent policy review identifies that provincial and territorial strategies, plans and programmes related to natural resources, energy, climate and agriculture almost universally ignore opportunities for rural economic development. In agriculture, the vast majority of programming and funding is designed for the large-scale farmers that support global markets. The National Farmers Union Resources website shows that mental health resources for farmers are piecemeal, information focused, and treat only the symptoms of broader systemic issues.

Farmers, particularly those in rural areas, are on the front lines of climate change, as their homes and livelihoods are tied directly to the land and unpredictable economic and environmental conditions. Where farmers live is where they work and where they play. Most farmers operate under significant debt burdens and face pressures of legacy. Margins are tight, risks are complex, and costs are increasing everywhere. Yet farmers are some of the most innovative and intelligent people I know.

Most of the farmers I visited for field work managed small scale, diverse operations on less than 10 acres, growing products destined for local markets, CSAs, restaurants, friends and family. These farmers were former chiropractors, nurses, teachers, musicians, artists, sociologists, biologists, foresters, computer network designers, dental hygienists, real estate agents, architects and counsellors, among others. I could not have been more impressed with the level of intelligence and curiosity that these individuals brought to our conversations and their work. Their primary interest in the research I was undertaking often stemmed from a desire “not to make things worse.”

When I asked about the sources of stress they experienced day to day, the primary responses (perhaps not surprisingly) were financial, time/task management, labour and isolation. Despite working full-time, most farmers didn’t earn a salary, and farming alone did not cover the costs of running the farm, or living expenses. Someone is making money on expensive food, but it doesn’t seem to be the farmers. There are virtually no financial supports for farmers working at the small scale, especially for those looking to transition to climate-friendly soil building practices.

There is a mismatch between current policy objectives and farmers’ objectives. The current framework could be designed to improve environmental, economic, and social wellbeing that leverages the unique strengths and opportunities in unique rural communities. Small scale farmers are deeply integrated into local systems, and are critical partners in the path to climate adaptation and rural development.

Guest Contributor: Brook Hayes

For more information about Brooke’s research, you can visit her project website, or reach her by email at: brookehayes@uvic.ca

Additional Resources:

· Government of Canada Standing Select Committee Report: Released in 2019, “Mental Health: A Priority for our Farmers” report outlines 10 recommendations for attention.
· National Farmers’ Union Consolidated List of Mental Health Resources specifically for farmers, organized by region.
· National Survey of Farmer Mental Health: Conducted by Dr. Andria Jones-Britton in 2018 involving over 1,000 producers across Canada. Follow-up Assessment in 2022.
· Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms: Includes a media kit, a report on mental health, and farm business management.
· Rooted in Strength: Provides an overview and assessment tool to support famers to identity and manage sources of stress and access mental health resources.
· Pan-Canadian Scan of Policies for Rural Places: Released in 2022

Farm Management & The Mental Health of Farmers

The Stigma-Free Society recently spoke with Heather Watson of Farm Management Canada to speak about the correlation between farm management and the mental health of farmers and other agricultural workers. We asked Heather about farmer stress and the results of the Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms report.

Can you tell us about Farm Management Canada’s research that connects mental health with good farm business management, and how your team initially became interested in rural mental wellness?

For 30 years, Farm Management Canada has been dedicated to helping Canada’s farmers achieve sustainable growth and prosperity by developing, delivering and connecting farmers with the resources, tools and information to advance their farm business skills and practices.

Farmer mental health came into our purview after hearing Dr. David Posen (“Doc Calm”) speak about the effects of prolonged stress at a young farmer conference in 2018. He spoke about how much of the stress we feel is caused by uncertainty and worry, and how prolonged stress can cause us to lose sleep, isolate ourselves from family and friends, become quick-tempered and have difficulty prioritizing and making informed decisions. We quickly realized the detrimental effects prolonged stress could have on effective farm business management, and wanted to learn more. In 2019, we embarked on a national study to explore the connection between mental health and farm business management and how one could impact the other. We published our results in 2020 in a report called Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms, which included twenty-four recommendations to help support farmer mental health. Since publishing our results, farmer mental health has become a mainstay in our mandate and programming.

Our study results confirmed that Canada’s farmers are stressed. 75 percent of Canada’s farmers reported being moderate to highly stressed. Furthermore, the unpredictability of the agricultural sector, workload pressures and lack of time, and financial pressures were cited by farmers as the greatest causes of stress.

However, there is good news. Farm business management practices like planning ahead has a positive effect on farmer mental health – in fact, 88 percent of farmers who follow a written business plan say it has contributed to their peace of mind. These farmers are also more likely to adopt effective coping mechanisms when faced with stressful situations and are more likely to reach out for support.

What role does uncertainty (financial, environmental, etc.) play in rural mental health struggles?

Uncertainty plays a huge role in farmer mental health. Farmers are faced with incredible uncertainty brought by weather, market fluctuations affecting input costs and market prices, and changes in policy and regulations – much of which is outside of the farmers’ control. This feeling of helplessness in the face of the unknown is the number one contributor to farmer stress and mental health. On the bright side, business management practices like planning help farmers reduce uncertainty by assessing potential scenarios and putting measures in place to reduce risk and uncertainty, while gaining confidence and a greater sense of control over outcomes.

How do farm business practices help manage stress and improve mental health?

Farm business practices, like planning, facilitate important processes on the farm to assess risk and potential outcomes, helping farm managers put measures in place to reduce uncertainty (and the stress caused by uncertainty), take calculated risks and seize new opportunities. This not only creates greater peace of mind, but also greater confidence in decision-making. Our other research also shows that farmers who adopt proven business practices also realize greater profitability and prosperity. And financial health helps support mental health.

Can you explain why farmers need mental health support that is tailored to their specific needs?

Farming is unique and farmers operate in a business environment riddled with risk and uncertainty unlike any other business. Farmers face tremendous pressure to succeed against all odds. Not only must they compete with weather, markets and politics, the vast majority are also managing family businesses, which can further complicate running a smooth business. Their unique business environment requires tailored solutions that must work within the context of farming. There is often a very short window to get it right, making traditional mental health solutions unrealistic – farmers cannot simply take a break to get away from it all – seeds must be sown, animals must be cared for, and crops must be harvested. Mental health supports must work within the reality of farming. Furthermore, mental health support available to the general population are oftentimes not available in rural communities, furthering the need for tailored access to support.

What kind of impact have the research findings had so far? What’s next?

I credit Andria Jones-Bitton at the University of Guelph for really bringing farmer mental health to the forefront of discussion within Canadian agriculture. From her ground-breaking work, we have seen the creation of programs to support farmer mental health such as the In the Know program and organizations like Do More Ag who are shining a light on the importance of farmer mental health and creating valuable resources and tools. Where you would be hard-pressed to find mental health on meeting agendas and conference programs within agriculture, it’s now the norm. And, more farmers are speaking out through these events and social media, helping reduce the stigma by speaking openly about their mental health, encouraging and inspiring fellow farmers to focus on their mental health. We’re headed in the right direction and that’s encouraging.

The Healthy Minds, Health Farms report has received incredible attention from our industry, and we have had the privilege to share our findings at industry events and through various agricultural media outlets. The twenty-four recommendations contained within the report are not just for us, but the industry as a whole. And while it’s tricky to measure what others are doing with our findings, I can tell you it has inspired further research. We are currently working with the University of Manitoba who are using our research to further study the link between mental health and management practices to explore the effect various production methods have on mental health. We’ve also created and hosted a series of workshops in support of mental health and farm management, which we plan to continue. And, mental health is worked into all of our programming and tools to ensure it’s part of a comprehensive management plan to keep farmers and their farms healthy for generations to come.

For those wanting to improve their business management practices, what are the first steps?

For those wanting to improve their business management practices, I recommend starting with an assessment. There are a number of free and easy to use tools out there including the Growing Your Farm Profits: Planning for Business Success online assessment tool available at www.farmbusinessassessment.com/. From there, farmers will have an idea of which management areas might need a little help. The assessment includes a template for creating an Action Plan, which can be used as the beginnings of a Business Plan for the farm. From there, you will be well on your way to planning for success!

Supporting Children’s Mental Health on the Farm

We often think of children as happy-go-lucky, free from the burdens and responsibilities of adulthood. But children often pick up on the stressors and challenges of life on the farm. The impact of COVID-19 is still affecting the mental health of children and youth, and many rural communities are facing overwhelming challenges that can generate strong emotions for the whole family.

Opening up lines of communication and talking openly with your children about challenges on the farm and mental health is one of the best places to start. Research into Kansas farm families shows that children often blamed themselves for their family’s financial situation and stress. When parents tried to protect their children by keeping all challenges secret, children felt more anxious. Of course it’s natural to want to protect your children from the harsher realities of life, but often they pick up on this stress anyway. Showing that you are comfortable talking about these issues and facing them can increase feelings of trust and resilience.

Here are some tips for talking to your child about their worries and mental health:

Work on de-stigmatizing the language around mental illness in your own mind. Many adults have a difficult time even saying the words “mental illness”, never mind applying those words to a child. If you seem to stumble over those words, practice saying them out loud. Mental illness is nothing to be scared of, ashamed of or threatened by – so say the words out loud and practice using them. Normalize them as best you can in your mind before you speak to a child about this topic. Work on addressing your own stigma around mental health, so you don’t pass on the stigma to your child.

In rural communities, strength and self-reliance are especially important values. Remind your child that asking for help and talking about their emotional and mental health is a sign of strength.

Be open and honest. As mentioned above, one of the most important aspects to helping a child, whether they will be diagnosed with a mental illness or not, is open and honest communication. Talking openly about emotion and mental health may be difficult, particularly if this is a new way to communicate, but the more open and honest you are about what you’ve noticed, how you’re feeling and your true desire to help, the greater and stronger your journey is going to be.
This goes for the things that are causing great stress on the farm. If you are struggling with farm management, the effects of climate change, financial uncertainty, and other stressors, it’s okay to explain what’s going on. Usually children know when their parents are stressed and upset, and being kept in the dark can increase uncertainty.

Don’t sugar-coat. Talking about mental health and mental illness with a child can be a very serious topic. It deserves to be treated as such. Try not to sugar-coat anything or talk to a child like they’re a baby (this advice is coming from an 11-year old boy diagnosed with four mental illnesses). If you have noticed their behaviour has changed, you can almost guarantee a child has been feeling different. Having you acknowledge this change will most likely come as a relief to them. So be direct with your words and use language suitable for their age.

Try Talking While Doing an Activity: Sometimes having a conversation about mental health can feel overwhelming for you both. Here are some activities you can do for creating a relaxing environment that can help you both open up more easily to one another. Perhaps you can talk about mental health while visiting or working with animals on the farm, which can be more relaxing.

Be truthful, not hurtful. Mental illness and changes in mental health may have caused a child’s behaviour to change dramatically. It can be frustrating, nerve-wracking and daunting to
address behavioural problems, particularly if they are less desirable behaviours. As you begin to navigate along your journey, try to remain as honest and truthful as possible without hurtful or negative comments. Many of these new behaviours from a child may be just as upsetting for them as they are for you, so helping them understand what you’ve noticed and how it makes you feel will go a lot further than telling them the behaviour is “bad” or “naughty.”

Be as prepared as possible for their response. You have no idea how a child will respond to initial conversations about how they are feeling with respect to their mental health and wellbeing. They may feel relieved that you’ve noticed a change. They may feel angry that you’re talking about something that is upsetting for them. They may feel sad if they feel like they’re letting you down somehow. Try to be prepared for any reaction and validate how they are
feeling.

The best way to do that? Stay kind. Stay compassionate. Try to be as understanding as you can possibly be. This advice holds true for your entire journey understanding a child’s mental health. In addition, taking care of your own needs and mental wellbeing will demonstrate to your child how to prioritize mental health and will also ensure you can be there for them.

Finding Moments of Stillness in Seeding Season

The Stigma-Free Society recently spoke with Roberta Galbraith, whose family are 6th generation farmers running a grain, pulse, and oilseed operation. Given the stress and high workload of seeding season, we asked Roberta what kind of strategies she and her family use for winding down at the end of the day and finding stillness in the busiest moments of farm management.

Can you tell us about some of the challenges and joys of being a 6th Generation farm family?

There are always challenges with whatever business you are running as an entrepreneur. Probably one of the most important pieces of running a family farm is that you have to communicate, be committed to the process of mentoring and encouraging the next generation that this is a good place to work, raise a family and eventually own or buy into the business. Our story is a bit different in that my husband and I farm with our two sons but our farm is a 1st generation farm that my husband and I started. We had virtually no funds to invest other than our own when we started. It was the end of the 1980’s and farms were suffering from low commodity prices and high interest rates. We both worked outside of the farm and raised five children while starting the farm. I remember vividly my husband Neil coming home when he was 45 years old and saying to me that it was now or never for him to embrace full-time farming. So we made the leap. One day into seeding that year, our tractor blew and we needed to buy a new tractor. We had just bought a sprayer the day before. Talk about stress. I said to my husband “a grain farm without a tractor is like a dairy farm without cows…it doesn’t work very well!” We bought a tractor that day.

You mentioned being in the middle of seeding a crop and feeling behind because of wet weather. How do you find moments of stillness in these particularly busy moments?

Great question! I tried to focus on the fact that I live in a beautiful part of Canada surrounded by wildlife, green spaces, trees and birds. It is peaceful even when it is stressful. I really enjoyed being on the late shift with my two boys (28 and 31) this year, filling the drill at midnight so that my son Ryan could seed through the night. It was nice to work alongside these two–it made me proud to know that they are good men.

What are some ways that you and your family unwind after a stressful day?

Sleep! I like to go for a walk with the dogs, bike ride, sit on the deck with a drink and just soak in the day and my surroundings. I developed a large backyard “park” at the start of the pandemic and have spent hours out there just gardening. Time passes quite easily!

Sometimes we think of self-care as needing to be linear and consistent. But that doesn’t necessarily work in a profession that fluctuates depending on the season. How do your self-care practices change depending on the season?

In the winter I spend more time reading, doing yoga, walking or snowshoeing, and connecting with friends. Once spring hits, we are outside more and the farm really swings into gear. I try to get up early and sit on the deck for a few moments before the day starts, sip my coffee and make lists of what needs to be done or write down thoughts. I am a community volunteer and am involved with several organizations both locally, provincially and up until recently on a national board. That keeps me busy and gives me an outlet where I focus on others, which can be grounding, as other’s challenges can many times be much worse than your own.

How can we work with the changing seasons and fluctuations in busyness to improve our mental health?

Great question and I think it depends so much on your individual situation. Being “tuned” into your stressors, levels of stress and understanding when your plate is getting too full is key to managing stress I think. Also communication is key….understanding that we all have a role to play on the farm and that ALL jobs are important makes everyone pull in the same direction and that keeps spirits up even when we are tired and things don’t go as planned. We like to try and be proactive, plan ahead, think of contingency plans, and “what if” scenarios. If you have talked about it then you are less stressed when something happens because you already know what the Plan B or C or D is. Working with Mother Nature is not for the faint at heart. She holds the last card and learning that early in your career as a farmer and working with her can be a lot less stressful than working against her. Building resilience is, in my opinion, one of the greatest gifts that we can give our children and it is a skill that enhances with experience. Pressing pause sometimes is the best decision. Giving ourselves time to reflect and gather our thoughts and actions is sometimes the best use of our resources–both physical and mental.

Running a farm can be a stressful and demanding business, but even in busy seasons, it’s possible to find and cultivate those small moments of stillness that nurture our wellbeing.

The Benefits of Animals on Mental Health

If you have pets or live with animals on the farm, you probably know that animals can be an incredible form of emotional support. Pets can have many benefits for your mental health, including increasing your physical activity, reducing anxiety through providing companionship and affection, boosting self-confidence and adding structure to your day. In rural areas where mental health services are not always plentiful, spending time with pets is one way of improving your emotional wellness. Of course, owning animals and pets comes with a host of responsibilities and can create new stressors as well. But some research suggests that people who grow up in rural areas around animals have better immune systems and fewer mental health challenges. Pets and animals aren’t going to solve mental health issues, but they can be one factor in improving mental wellness.

Therapy Dogs and Equine therapy are both gaining traction and becoming more common forms of mental health support.

Therapy Dogs

Dogs are wonderfully loving and affectionate and can make great companions. Petting dogs has been shown to improve heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. And of course, dogs can help reduce loneliness and encourage us to exercise and meet new people.

A therapy dog is a dog that has been specifically trained and certified to provide emotional support. According to Companion Paws Canada, “A certified personal therapy dog (Companion Paws emotional support dog) is a trained, temperament tested, evaluated and certified dog that brings positive mental health benefits to their owners/handlers. Often a Therapy Dog is beneficial to those that struggle with mental health conditions.” A therapy dog is not the same as a service dog, and is specifically trained to provide affection and comfort. Wounded Warriors is an organization that matches PTSD service dogs with injured veterans and first responders. The benefits of service dogs for those suffering from PTSD has been shown to be profound.

Of course, you don’t need a therapy dog or a service dog to benefit from an affectionate pooch or the other animals and pets in your life.

Equine Therapy

Equine-assisted psychotherapy combines therapy and interacting with horses, such as grooming, feeding and leading a horse while being supported by a mental health professional. Equine therapy can help build emotional awareness, social skills, impulse control, confidence, problem-solving skills, trust in self and others, and empathy. Equine therapy can be used for all ages and for many different reasons, such as managing grief, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Rather than simply sitting down and talking with a therapist, equine therapy is more experiential and brings people outdoors. People process and work through their emotions while engaging with a majestic and sensitive animal. Horses are highly observant and often mirror client’s behaviours or emotions, which builds connection and understanding. For people who struggle to be vulnerable and open in a therapeutic setting, equine therapy can help people open up and process what they’re going through.

Working with horses also takes a lot of practical effort. Exercising, feeding, and grooming a horse can provide routine and a sense of purpose and structure. Caring for an animal can also help develop empathy. As people learn to work with the horse and develop greater trust and connection, they are also stepping outside of their comfort zone and learning to take more emotional risks in a healing and non-judgmental environment.

For some people, equine therapy, service dogs and therapy dogs can be incredibly helpful for their mental health. If these forms of therapy aren’t right for you or aren’t accessible in your area, that’s okay too. Simply spending time with animals and pets can be a great way of boosting your overall physical and mental wellbeing.