Mental health update – Staying connected in challenging times
Things that we cannot control are our biggest stressors in life. In agriculture it is mostly weather issues followed by a multitude of other factors such as commodity prices, input costs (diesel, fertiliser availability and price), machinery breakdowns. Commercial fisheries are similar.
Every season is not without its challenges, and the effects are always felt across the whole community, including downstream industries and local businesses. Everybody feels the pain.
No one can change what happens with the weather and/or influence the other factors. All we can do is manage our programs and control our business as best we can, which importantly includes looking after ourselves and each other, including our family, mates and neighbours.
Remaining connected is one way of doing this. So, what does this mean? Rural communities have an innate capacity to reach out, organise and participate in community activities, including breakfasts, sundowners and other gatherings which allow the communities to have a conversation about where they are at individually and as a collective. There are less and less of us living in regional areas, add this to the nature of modern primary industries, as well as a challenging season and isolation becomes more prevalent. It’s so important that we maintain social connection, but it takes some effort.
Isolation is the enemy of good mental wellbeing. This is both in the physical sense (less of us) and the interpersonal sense (social networks around us). Staying connected is important and something we must work on and can be achieved in part if we are mindful of living in the present and staying connected with others.
As impacted farmers and fishers, we have a propensity to self-medicate. A lot of people think that is done by sex, drugs and rock and roll however in the work we do it is mostly blokes spending more time in their cave, working harder, longer, and talking less. It is important that we continue to talk about some of the pain and distress that as blokes we tend to suffer alone.
We describe primary care as what can we do to look after ourselves and others, invariably it is about connection.
Some simple things we can do:
- Talk to a Mate® – realise that we are not alone.
- Talk to whoever needs to be informed about our situation (family, financiers, advisors).
- Keep an eye on others – drop into a neighbour and have a chat and a coffee. Take the time to ask someone are you okay?
- Slow the pace of our life a little, join a group that fits in with our passions and interests. It will make a difference.
- Maintain our sense of humour, laugh at ourselves and with others.
Australians are well known for their larrikinism and humour, Edward de Bono, one of the world’s foremost thinkers, called humour a key lubricant for life and often referred to humour as social glue and the best anti-despair device we have.
I think he is right on the money, when we lose our sense of humour, life can seem even tougher.
Find out more at The Regional Mens Health Initiative.