Five simple ways to support your mental health on the farm

Mental health conversations in agriculture often happen only when things reach a breaking point — and that’s something Erica Parker wants to change. 

Parker works as a Canadian Certified Counsellor at Lakeland College with a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, and has spent years working with farmers and ranchers. She wants people to know that there are proactive ways to incorporate mental health awareness into everyday routines.

Here are five practical ways she recommends producers can use to support their well-being. 

1. Check in with yourself 

“We check in with ourselves when we’re hungry — we go for lunch. But how do we check in with the rest of our brain and body?” asks Parker. 

She explains that one of the most practical things that we can do when we “check in” with ourselves is to focus on “the big four.”

• Face – Relax your jaw and lower your tongue from the roof of your mouth 

• Shoulders – Drop your shoulders 

• Glutes – Unclench your glutes 

• Feet – Plant your feet on the ground 

Parker explains that these four steps ground the body and can help bring awareness to where we might be holding tension. 

2. Reframe daily thoughts 

Think about the last conversation you had — was it about the weather, the market, or something else beyond your control? Did it lean towards negativity? Parker says that while it’s great to have these conversations and it is important to connect with community in this way, a negative mindset can wear a person down. 

She explains that we should keep having these conversations, but turn them into something
more productive by trying cognitive reframing. 

“Cognitive reframing is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based,” she explains. “The idea is that you take your thought, you provide evidence for why that thought’s true, but then you provide the alternative
thought.”

In other words, we ask ourselves — is there another way to look at this situation? 

3. Focus on what you can control 

Many of the stresses that people working in agriculture face — from unpredictable weather to changing market — are beyond their control. It’s easy to worry about what could go wrong.

Parker recommends shifting that focus. 

“Focus on the things you can actually control. If it’s outside that — like the weather — there’s nothing you can do, right?” 

4. Match the tool to the season 

In addition to her work with producers, Parker has also counselled high-performance athletes. She noticed that both professions share intense “seasons” of stress and downtime — and what works in one season doesn’t always work in another.

From this realization, she worked with AgKnow to write an article focusing on these similarities, coining the term ‘High Performance Calving.’  

“Sometimes, if you’re really in the thick of it, all you can do is focus on your main big things like sleep, water, and food,” she says. 

Supporting our well-being ebbs and flows with lifestyle. It’s about finding the tools that work at that time, which might mean learning to let go of other expectations.

5. Find community and connection 

Agriculture can be isolating — which is why Parker emphasizes the importance of community. Conferences and industry events, for example, provide valuable opportunities for people to take time off
from their operations to find a community and connect with other people who have similar experiences.

Even simple acts can help. Another simple tip Parker suggests is calling friends when you have the time.

“A lot of farmers will go for coffee in their off-season. So I tell them, why not connect with people while you’re sitting in the combine?” 

Make a lasting difference 

The unique features that come with working in agriculture also make it one of the most demanding industries. However, adding these tools to a daily routine can help everyone check in with their mental health in a way that fits into their lifestyle.

For more resources created specifically for people working in agriculture, visit AgKnow.ca.