Start a conversation about mental health in your community

PEOSTA, Iowa — Times are tough for many farmers in rural America. Now more than ever, it’s important to check on loved ones who are under stress.

Tara Haskins, nurse and National Rural Health Association Fellow, discussed mental health during a webinar hosted by AgriSafe.

“Listening is probably the most therapeutic thing we can do,” she said. “Sometimes taking the time to listen, even though there may be periods of silence, and just acknowledging that you’re there, can help start the conversation.”

Haskins shared more advice about how to start a conversation during the webinar.

• Acknowledge what you see or hear — for example, “We haven’t seen you for a while,” or “It sounds like you’re under a great deal of stress.”

• Express your concern — for example, “I’m worried about you.”

• Normalize the context — for example, “Man, there are a lot of farmers struggling. How are you getting along?”

• Offer to help. Don’t wait for them to call.

• Remember that asking about suicide won’t make things worse.

• Try to avoid automatic statements — for example, phrases such as “things will get better.”

Community programs that provide mental health-related resources are a strong way to help rural areas.

Rural communities are blessed with many gifts, including self-reliance, resilience and presence of good neighbors.

Haskins believes communities should capitalize on those strengths.

“When you’re looking at starting a community project, you need to think about motivation, manpower and money and resources,” she said.

“Start by building a core group. Try to identify individuals in the community who have a passion about it. They don’t have to have a passion about all of the aspects. Maybe it’s passion for agriculture, or passion about suicide prevention. Bring all of those players together in a group.”

Haskins also encouraged youth leaders to get involved in community-based initiatives.

“We want to pay it forward as we do this hard work in communities,” she said. “When we bring in youth leaders, we’re setting the stage to leave this place better than we found it.”

Leaders from churches, banks, hospitals, schools, merchants, colleges and other groups can all get involved in mental health-related forums.

“There are a couple of tools to help you get organized, such as the Mental Health in Rural Communities Toolkit from Rural Health Information Hub, or CHANGE tool from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Haskins said.

Visit www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits or www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/change-tool to learn more.