Why Can't You “Just Get Over” a Mental Health Condition? “Can’t you stop being so lazy?” “Why don’t you quit worrying?” “Just be happy already.” “Change your thinking.” “Can’t you just get over it?” When you or someone you know suffers from a mental health injury or...
Setting and Maintaining Boundaries for Your Mental Health Our personal boundaries aren’t as obvious as some of the boundaries we have on the farm, like a tree line protecting the farm from the wind, a fence keeping livestock in, or a “no trespassing” sign at an...
You are stronger than you know When I was about 7, I stepped on a nail while I was running outside. Wearing sandals, my foot didn’t stand a chance and the nail went right through it. I screamed and my dad came over, picked me up, carried me to his truck and held my...
Minding Your Mental Health During the Busy Seasons Farming can be both a rewarding and demanding occupation where farmers experience highs and lows and mounting stress. Everyone feels stress and there can be lots of negative stress on the farm, including ongoing...
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self? Over the last couple of years, I’ve read a few books and articles about what that one piece of advice would be for others, and it got me thinking. What would those in our industry have to say?...
Last week at the #One18 conference, Dr. Mark Lyons, President of Alltech spoke about his late father and founder of Alltech, Dr. Pearse Lyons and how he was a champion of sustainability, brewing, nutrition and innovation. He shared a list of what his non-negotiables...
Conversations about suicide are never easy. It can be incredibly hard to know whether to speak up to someone you’re worried about. If you think someone is considering suicide, you may also feel confused and scared about what to do next. But, there is one simple thing...
Empathy. I used to think empathy was a weakness. And that empathy meant agreeing. Empathy meant sympathy. To be honest, I wasn’t a very empathetic person either. It wasn’t until I saw my husband have a panic attack right in front of me and held on to him to...
No one knows more what a farmer goes through than another farmer. We know the pain of seeing a crop destroyed by hail and wind right before our eyes. We know the heartache of losing a calf and it’s mom after trying for hours during labour in the early hours of...