Farming families and communities are being challenged as never before. These changes and challenges are creating problems for individual citizens, families and entire communities. Accumulating pressures and stress especially when prolonged can create feelings of anger, shame, failure, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness. Sleeping and eating habits can become disturbed. Relationships can suffer when facing problems which feel overwhelming.
People respond to pressure in a variety of ways.
Sometimes people respond by isolating themselves and or by trying to ignore the affect that the stress is having on them or their family. Rural stress is a community problem that touches everyone whose life, livelihood and identity is linked to the land and agriculture. You are not alone and you are not the problem. You have worked hard and perhaps the most important thing you can do now, both for yourself and family, is to talk to someone. There are a lot more services for people having difficulty in our rural communities than we sometimes realize.