Our Story by Louise O’Neill
How good is life on the land? It gives us space, freedom and a connection to mother nature that often cannot be found in suburbia. We would not be anywhere else or do anything else. We love the life it has given us, and I am so proud to be part of this demographic.
But that is not to say that where we are right now – with positive health and well-being has always been that way. Everything I just mentioned about connection to mother nature seemed non-existent and inconsequential a few years ago. We may as well have been living in a high-rise apartment in the middle of a city, isolated and lacking connection. It gives me goosebumps to think back to that moment when we could have lost everything.
Farming has unhealthy paradigms about working 24 seven. For example, ‘if you’re not working, what are you doing?’ This farming mantra could have lost more than the connection to the soil and farm life; I could have lost the connection to my husband.
At the beginning of our relationship, my now husband, Warren, was all work, work, work. To him, this was not strange, and it was normal to the industry and our immediate farming community. His dad had done it before him, and this was the standard that was set.
Warren’s awareness of mental health risks associated with this mindset was non-existent; he had not really given it a second thought, and why would he – by all accounts, he was travelling along fine, but this was only on the surface. As our life together got more serious, and as I spent more time on the farm with him, I started to see how pervasive this mindset was.
The work overload finally came to a head at a time that should have been one of our happiest. We were about to welcome our first son, and in the middle of seeding, our machinery suffered a devastating breakdown. Warren did, too…right there in the paddock. He hit rock bottom, and we did not know where to go or what to do. He literally fell to his knees in tears. He was overwhelmed and did not know how to pull himself out of this foreign spiral that he was drowning in and all because of these unhealthy and unconventional paradigms around farming. If seeing your husband reach that point does not inspire you to make a change, I don’t know what will.
At the same time, I was battling my own demons. I was so sick during pregnancy that it was not a happy time for me. Truthfully, I hated every second of being pregnant and wanted nothing to do with it. So long as Hamish was healthy, that was all that mattered. In saying that, I did not want a bar of anything that came with pregnancy and that included Warren. God forbid he should try to talk about the pregnancy with me or want to feel my stomach when Hamish was playing soccer on the inside. So, I took my pain and unhappiness out on him; I did not know where to go or who to turn to. We often do that to the ones we love; throw all our hurt, anger, fear, and misery at them because we are safe in the knowledge that they will always be there and not hold it against us.
I did not help Warren’s de-escalating emotional and mental well-being, and although we were very much together, we were worlds apart. That image of him and me in that paddock, feeling lost, burnt out and helpless, will probably stay with me forever.
No job should expect a person to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and farming should be no exception, but unfortunately, it is the norm. In addition to this unhealthy expectation and subsequent vulnerabilities, rural communities have limited to no access to essential services that improve mental, emotional, and physical well-being. It really is a recipe for disaster! That is a lack of social connections and movement, complex family relationships, and the stigma surrounding mental health all build up and create stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. Many of whom struggle to get themselves out of this rut.
I have witnessed too many community members and friends mourn another life lost due to these unhealthy farming paradigms. One life is too many, but when our demographic, which is often seen as strong and resilient, has nearly doubled its suicide rate compared to our metro counterparts, things need to change quickly.
And so, out of our own personal storm and because of these alarming stats, Farm Life Fitness was founded. We are challenging the conventions preventing people in agriculture from having a happier, healthier, and more productive farming lifestyle. So, they can spend more guilt-free time away from the farm and with their family, friends, and community. We are holding space for the farmer and beyond the farmer who wants to talk, connect, and change. Finally, we are here to help them realise that they need to step back to push forward.
Where are the mental health services in our rural communities?
Mental health in rural communities is a complicated and sometimes contentious topic. The reality is if we do not talk about it, the landscape will stay the same. However, here at Farm Life Fitness (FLF), we are all about the tough conversations; so here we go!
The most recent research indicates that while the suicide rate in metropolitan areas has stabilised, it is a different story for rural communities. The findings show an alarming upward trajectory of about 30%.
Let that sit with you for a minute—or as long as you can tolerate. The number of people in rural communities who see no other option than to take their own life is a third higher than in metro areas. These are our friends, our family, and people we see every day in the supermarket or do business with regularly.
Before we go further into why that may be, I want to impress upon you that this article is not a political piece is about people. As people living in rural communities, this is something we must talk about because it impacts us all either directly or indirectly.
I also want to clarify that any improvements and interventions directed towards mental health, irrespective of location, are positive and have my 100% support! As a country, we need to improve the well-being of ALL communities. However, my passion and mission are people living rurally.
Access to mental health services
Whilst the state budget has recognised the need for money and interventions to improve mental health services, only a 9th of the roughly $650 million invested is explicitly allocated for rural locations, around $70 million.
You could argue that any investment in mental health is better than nothing, but will this reach our most vulnerable rural communities where it is most needed? For this to occur, telehealth and online services need to be rolled out nationwide. However, telehealth service relies on phone reception and internet and not all areas of Western Australia have consistent services. Some areas do not have it at all! These telecommunication gaps have resulted in inconsistent telehealth services to date across Western Australia, where some doctors offer it and some do not. Furthermore, if you are fortunate enough to achieve a reliable line of connection to a metro-based qualified practitioner, there is a burning question inside if the person at the other end truly understands the lived experience of farm life. There is much to do in supporting rural health practitioner services and having them present in rural communities.
Most practices and models taken into rural communities are based on those in metro areas where factors like anonymity and access do not hold the same importance. With stigma and prejudice still attached to reaching out for help in our rural communities, using a prominent space in a small community where clients must park outside is not going to work.
Unique regional challenges
The struggles we face in rural communities are not the same as those in the metro; we must focus on addressing this rather than the top-down models used in metro areas.
This means that we need professionals who approach rural mental health services with an understanding and empathy that can only come from experience or knowledge regarding farming.
My own experience of the challenges farmers face season after season is why here at FLF, we only work with and advocate for people from rural locations and vocations. This is because, at FLF, we get it. We live it, see it and hear it. To an extent, I believe we need this same practice for rural mental health services.
The research clearly shows that the current government approach is leaving our rural communities behind. It is time for a targeted, intentional, and sympathetic mental health services strategy for a situation that is much different to this country’s larger city centres.
There are people who understand. If you live or work rurally and are struggling to find support that understands what it’s really like living remote and working in agriculture, please reach out to our team to see how we can help.
More information is available on Louise – https://farmlifefitness.com.au/