Farm stresses can take emotional and physical toll

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JANET HAMOUS
“God put the farmer here to be steward of the land, not only for our lifetime, but for generations to come.” -Juanita Buschkoetter, a Nebraska farmer whose story is profiled in the film “The Farmer’s Wife”

Running the family farm isn’t just a job; it’s an identity, a way of life and a legacy for the future.

But today more than ever before, farm families are in jeopardy of breaking under increased pressures coming at them from all sides.

Farming has always been plagued with uncertainty and ambiguity-weather, crops, insects, diseases and the market.

But add to that global competition, the high cost of land, crippling debt load and urban sprawl, and you have a powerful mix of forces that threaten family-based, owner operated farms.

Financial hardship and feelings of helplessness can lead to stress, depression, substance abuse, increased illness and accidents, breakdowns in marital and family relationships, domestic violence, and even suicide.

“There is a breaking point,” said Marion County extension agent Rickey Roberts.

“Most of the stress that comes to my office deals with financial stress. Because if we’re talking about losing a farm, it’s always because of financial reasons.”

Roberts said his office offers financial tools and resources to assist farm families in analyzing their debt load and their enterprises.

“We try to help determine what enterprises are profitable and which ones are a drag on the farm and to help them with those decisions,” he said.

Roberts said the young producers seem to be struggling the most.

“Most of our older producers are more established and they can take a pretty good bullet and still be standing,” he said. “If a young producer who is highly leveraged has a crop failure one year, he’ll be hurting.”

Roberts connects people with professionals who have expertise in a specific area of need. Most of his referrals are to financial and legal experts.

The emotional toll

The pressures of farm life also take a heavy emotional toll on farm families as they face an ever-growing number of external forces.

“It’s that whole sense of lack of control of weather, prices, and expenses,” said Prairie View therapist Don Schmidt. “The cost of fuel has just gone through the roof for everyone, but particularly for high fuel users like farmers. That’s another stress of added expense without any control.”

Time pressures add to the stress of farming, Schmidt said.

“A lot of farmers work off the farm as well as farm,” he said. “They have to work two jobs to make ends meet.

“To the farming-community folks, it’s a way of life they hate to give up. So they work night and day to make it happen. It takes a toll over time on health.”

Schmidt grew up on a farm and understands the pressures being placed on today’s farm families.

“People handle those stresses differently. Some folks internalize that pressure and may become more withdrawn,” he said.

Stress may also play out in other unhealthy ways such as drinking too much or domestic violence.

“If the stress isn’t managed properly, it has a huge effect on families and kids,” Schmidt said. “That would be true in any family, but particularly with the increased farm pressures.”

Research has shown that the farm wife often carries the heaviest emotional burden.

“She bears the brunt of the husband’s depression and the kid’s demands and pressures as well,” Schmidt said.

It is often the wife who takes a job off the farm to make ends meet, adding to the pressures on her time.

Health and family problems

Over time, the stress can lead to a variety of health and family problems. Studies have shown farm couples at risk for stress-related diseases such as heart and artery disease, hypertension, ulcers and nervous disorders.

“What happens too is that with all those distractions, people become more careless, more prone to injury,” Schmidt said.

Unchecked stress may also lead to anger and rage that becomes uncontrollable.

Many farm families see stress as a “farm problem” rather than a “health problem” and are reluctant to ask for help.

“They think they are just supposed to take it,” Schmidt said.

“They are less likely to seek counseling or mental health help or just to talk to anybody,” he added. “They feel like they’re a failure when oftentimes those are factors they didn’t have a whole lot to do with.”

Warning signs

Schmidt encourages people to get help when they begin to see warning signs that the stress is affecting their daily lives.

Watch for behavior that is out of the norm.

“If you can’t sleep, quit eating, have difficulty concentrating, are irritable or on edge,” you may need help, Schmidt said.

Therapy won’t solve the farm family’s problems, but it may help people deal with those problems better, he said.

“Counseling or therapy is not a cure-all by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. “It doesn’t make the fuel prices go down, it doesn’t make the wheat prices go up, but there is something amazing about sharing the load. It’s hard to know that until people have experienced it.”

Schmidt said some people, particularly in rural areas, worry that there is a stigma attached to seeking mental health care.

“It really takes more courage to say, ‘I’m struggling,’ than it does to swallow it,” he said. “There would be a lot of folks, particularly in Marion County, who would be astounded at the numbers of people who have come in for help.

“If they talk to a neighbor or friend or pastor who themselves has gone for help, they can see that it’s not such a scary thing or a bad thing to do.”

Schmidt said people find relief very quickly through therapy.

“The average number of visits is probably three to six times,” he said. “So it’s not like you have to come in forever.

He suggests people “come in a time or two to see what it’s like and whether it’s helpful.”

“What I do in therapy is walk along in the journey with people. My role is not to give great advice or answers, but to listen and share and be available,” Schmidt said.

“I don’t always know how or why it works, but people find great relief in just sharing the story.”

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