By Sheena Roszell

harvest mental health

Slow harvests could be a mental health concern for some area farmers

Oct 10, 2019 | 7:11 AM

A lot of rain this summer and now the snow has made for a stressful harvest season and it’s bad news for farmers who rely on quality crops for income.

The stress could be a mental health concern for some farmers in the province and locally.

“Trades, industry and agriculture are high-risk occupations for suicide, and we know this because of the numbers. We also know how difficult it is for those people to reach out for help,” said Faris Atkinson, Program Coordinator for the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre.

There are many supports in Grande Prairie for those struggling with anxiety and depression including the Men’s Support Group at Nordic Court.

“It’s a wonderful group of men with new people that show up. There will be people that have come before, there will be people that come regularly. We are getting excellent feedback. We have wonderful facilitators for it. We have a really, really strong group of helping right here in Grande Prairie for men specifically,” explained Atkinson.

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The men’s group meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. It’s free and open to newcomers.

“It’s a facilitated, drop-in, free, group of guys that talk about what’s going on in their lives and help support each other.”

Atkinson says it’s important people who are struggling know there is help and where to find it. It’s also important as friends, family and coworkers we pay attention to and notice changes in people.

Some changes to watch out for include their attitude, their behaviour, looking tired all the time, changes in their eating habits, isolation, and self-destructive behaviour.

Atkinson says another sign is physical health issues.

“A lot of people don’t understand how connected the physical and mental are. When someone is having mental difficulties that can manifest in physical ailments as well. There will be aches and pains and physical health issues associated with stress and being overwhelmed with some of the things that are going on in your world.”

She says when you need help, a good place to start is by finding someone that you trust that you can open up to.

“Just talk. That’s one of the biggest things you can do is talk. And the biggest help you can be is to listen.”

The website www.sp-rc.ca is another good place for resources and help. If you don’t know who else to turn to there is Health Link (8-1-1) or there’s 9-1-1 if it’s more serious.