Q: My wife had an affair, which was really bad. I was caught up in all of the bad feelings highlighted during the divorce, and that destroyed my good judgment. Rather than negotiate with her in good faith so that both of our kids could see their way through this, I let my anger at […] Read more
Tag Archives mental health
Rural addiction has special challenges
More than half of farmers meet the diagnostic threshold for anxiety and more than a third meet the criteria for depression
“When it started, it was liquid courage. Alcohol works wonders for anxiety — for the first hour.” So says Gerry Friesen from his home office in Manitoba. With his heavy glasses and warm smile, the former hog farmer, now a stress and conflict management specialist and mediator, has an easy way about him. He’s thoughtful […] Read more
Treatments are available for seasonal affective disorder
Q: Our mom goes into major depressions every year in early December. If we don’t get our mom off to see her doctor in early December and get him to prescribe an antidepressant for her, we are in for a long and depressing winter. Even with the medication, life can get testy. My only reprieve […] Read more
Free counselling available soon
Roberta Galbraith, who farms near Minnedosa, Man., understands how farmers think. Most producers are problem solvers. If a tractor or machine on the farm is broken, they want to fix it, immediately. That may explain why some farmers struggle with the health-care system, especially when it comes to things like depression and anxiety. Such issues […] Read more
Man. farmers offered free counselling
A new program is hoping to fill a gap in Manitoba’s agriculture sector — one-on-one counselling for farmers and their families. On Jan. 18, the leaders of the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program launched their initiative, which has a mission of providing “confidential, no-cost counselling and support to Manitoba farm families.” One of the people behind […] Read more
National farm mental health line made a priority
DoMoreAg says a variety of support resources are available but it can sometimes be a challenge for producers to find them
It would cost about $7 million to establish a national farm mental health support line that all Canadian farmers could access 24/7, according to DoMoreAg. Co-founder Lesley Kelley said there are lots of mental health resources available; the challenge is for people to locate them. That’s why the non-profit organization, which was established four years […] Read more
Farm stress lines in a time of need
The December 30th print edition of The Western Producer contained at story that suggested several phone numbers that relate to farm stress lines in Western Canada weren’t working appropriately and related the difficulty reporters had connecting with live resources at the end of November. In that story, a number for DoMoreAg was confused with the […] Read more
Farming already stressful before drought
Drought has been an issue for farmers and ranchers since the first field was plowed and the first domesticated herd was rounded up. Along with drought comes the inevitable stress that adverse growing conditions can put on people. Recognition of how such stress is managed has changed over the years and the calls have grown […] Read more
Despair turns into kids’ book about mental health
After hitting rock bottom, including a suicide attempt, Sask. man writes book to help children with mentally ill parents
INDIAN HEAD, Sask. — It was a very dark night that eventually led Todd Rennebohm out into the light. In the middle of a drinking and smoking binge in his garage, Rennebohm began thinking about how his kids, then aged 10 and 12, viewed his emotional struggles. Rock bottom had come after many challenges with […] Read more
Mental health issues continue to be a struggle in agriculture
Mental health is an important issue for the agricultural community. As someone who struggles with my own mental health, I know it is a big problem that affects people in many ways. When you think of farming and agriculture, the words wheat, farmers, animals and food come to mind. People do not think about the […] Read more
