Dr LeCrone
03-24-2006, 03:10 PM
Scenes of rural life in America used to bring to mind a relaxed state after a day of physical labor in the fields, a feeling of getting back to the land and out of the pressures of urban life. Today farming is big business, and stress has invaded the agricultural industry.
Sam was a third generation farmer and had inherited the “family place” from his father and his father’s father. The land was his life and pride. His goal was the continuity of the farm for future generations.
Having been able to make a decent living as a farmer in the past, he was dismayed and depressed to become caught in high interest rates and falling farm prices. His banker and long-time friend nervously talked to Sam about foreclosure, but neither thought it would come to that. But he was having a hard time coping with the reality of a possible farm failure.
Statistically Sam found out that he was among the 40 percent of U.S. farmers who are in serious financial trouble, some of them having to declare bankruptcy. He was determined to keep trying because he knew that for every farm that fails, other businesses related to the agricultural industry also fail. It’s like a pebble thrown into a still pond, the ripples spread far and wide, he said.
The agricultural industry represents a well-educated group of men and women who use complex machinery in the field and computers in their homes and offices to help run their businesses. Factors such as weather, interest rates and political decisions about farm commodities affect daily lives and cause stressors unlike those of their predecessors.
As a group, farmers are a proud lot and in the past have probably had less need than other vocational groups to utilize mental health services. They were reluctant to seek help, feeling that it was a sign of weakness, and weakness didn’t fit the image of the healthy farmer. But stress from financial pressures and the lack of ability to control their fate has led many of them into depression and emotional difficulties. The suicide rate among all farmers has dramatically increased, as has the number of broken marriages, problems with substances such as alcohol and drugs.
Many states have developed outreach programs for helping farmers and their families cope with stress. State and federally funded mental health/ mental retardation centers are often available and in tune to their special needs. They often have sliding fee scales and staffs of professionals with a broad range of expertise in psychiatry, psychology, social work and nursing. Support groups are designed to help the individuals share their experiences and solutions to their problems. These support groups provide the realization that no one individual is alone in this terrible predicament.
Rural churches are banding together to hold seminars and educational presentations on stress management, coping with depression and seeking solutions to problems that previously have defied any solution. Stress by economic hardship is often reflected in the families of the farmer. Their children may have problems in school or may begin to experiment with drugs and alcohol.
Next week I will look further into the study of agricultural stress and look at specifically defined stressors, as well as practical suggestions to help farmers deal with them.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1985
Sam was a third generation farmer and had inherited the “family place” from his father and his father’s father. The land was his life and pride. His goal was the continuity of the farm for future generations.
Having been able to make a decent living as a farmer in the past, he was dismayed and depressed to become caught in high interest rates and falling farm prices. His banker and long-time friend nervously talked to Sam about foreclosure, but neither thought it would come to that. But he was having a hard time coping with the reality of a possible farm failure.
Statistically Sam found out that he was among the 40 percent of U.S. farmers who are in serious financial trouble, some of them having to declare bankruptcy. He was determined to keep trying because he knew that for every farm that fails, other businesses related to the agricultural industry also fail. It’s like a pebble thrown into a still pond, the ripples spread far and wide, he said.
The agricultural industry represents a well-educated group of men and women who use complex machinery in the field and computers in their homes and offices to help run their businesses. Factors such as weather, interest rates and political decisions about farm commodities affect daily lives and cause stressors unlike those of their predecessors.
As a group, farmers are a proud lot and in the past have probably had less need than other vocational groups to utilize mental health services. They were reluctant to seek help, feeling that it was a sign of weakness, and weakness didn’t fit the image of the healthy farmer. But stress from financial pressures and the lack of ability to control their fate has led many of them into depression and emotional difficulties. The suicide rate among all farmers has dramatically increased, as has the number of broken marriages, problems with substances such as alcohol and drugs.
Many states have developed outreach programs for helping farmers and their families cope with stress. State and federally funded mental health/ mental retardation centers are often available and in tune to their special needs. They often have sliding fee scales and staffs of professionals with a broad range of expertise in psychiatry, psychology, social work and nursing. Support groups are designed to help the individuals share their experiences and solutions to their problems. These support groups provide the realization that no one individual is alone in this terrible predicament.
Rural churches are banding together to hold seminars and educational presentations on stress management, coping with depression and seeking solutions to problems that previously have defied any solution. Stress by economic hardship is often reflected in the families of the farmer. Their children may have problems in school or may begin to experiment with drugs and alcohol.
Next week I will look further into the study of agricultural stress and look at specifically defined stressors, as well as practical suggestions to help farmers deal with them.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1985