A campaign launched at the beginning of this month by the Do More Agriculture Foundation aims to raise awareness of the importance of having open conversations about mental health in the agriculture sector.
“Conversation is really the first step in reducing that stigma,” said Board Chair of Do More Ag Lauren Martin when talking about the campaign called #Talkitout. “We seek to champion the conversation of mental health in ag. For some, it’s still very hard to take that first step and open up, and for anyone who’s been in a mental health crisis, or just low times, often that first, hard and brave step that we to take is talking about things, so our campaign is geared toward that first step: talk it out, have a conversation, share what’s on your mind.”
People can join in on the conversation or share their story on social media using #Talkitout or tagging the organization @DoMoreAg. A big component of the campaign, Martin says, is promoting another Do More Ag initiative called AgTalk, a peer-to-peer online support platform people can share how they feel anonymously and is monitored by clinicians 24/7.
Another part is sharing recent findings from the National Survey of Farmer Mental Health, led by Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton at the University of Guelph, to drive home the importance of starting a conversation about mental health. It found 58 per cent of producers surveyed across Canada meet the criteria for anxiety, 75 per cent reported experiencing mid-to-high stress levels, and 40 per cent are hesitant to seek professional help due to fear of judgement. Martin says while the latter statistic is common in the farming community, she believes its also common among Canadians who struggle with mental health.
“It’s just a very challenging thing to ask for help and to put your hand up, it requires a lot of bravery and the flip side of the bravery that it requires is that fear of judgement, so knowing that it is okay is something that we continuously want to bring to the community we serve.”
Martin adds access to resources, especially in a rural or remote area, is another barrier, which is why platforms like AgTalk were created to ensure someone can get the support they need.
When asked if Do More Ag has been able to make progress on reducing the stigma around mental health within the farming community, Martin believes they got to a point where people are understanding that the topic is “deserving of conversation”, but believes we’re at the stage of “internal stigma”.
“We might be able to understand somebody else who has a mental health crisis but we are still judging ourselves, we’re going through that same mental health crisis, and that is the stigma we still need to work on. Progress made, but there’s still more to do.”