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Signals of higher stress levels

A family life specialist says signs of mental stress shouldn’t be ignored by farmers.

Sean Brotherson with North Dakota State University Extension was the keynote speaker at the University of Missouri Crop Management Conference.

“If you’re more irritable, if you find yourself with drawing from social relationships, or, physically if you’re having a lot more fatigue. If you’re having difficulty with sleeping…”

He says there are lots of small signals of higher stress levels, “Those signals are like the warning light on the dashboard of your farm equipment or vehicle you drive on a regular basis. We might be inclined to ignore it but it’s an indicator that something that might be going wrong, a malfunction or wear and tear.”

Brotherson says at that point, farmers should slow down and get checked. He recommends starting with a primary health care provider because stress affects both physical and mental health.

“Depression is a medical condition and so a doctor is able to do an assessment for that, give a baseline of where you are. Then, if you need to be connected with other resources they can help you to do that for that.”

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-TALK (8255)