Mind your mind - looking after your number one asset

Author: | Date: 12 Feb 2019

Take home message

  • Your mind health is just as important as your physical health and shouldn’t be neglected.
  • Mind health means keeping your brain and emotional health in tip-top shape.
  • Use some or all of the nine evidence-based tips to keep yourself going well.

Introduction

It is so easy to get caught up in the continuous cycle of work, sleep (sometimes not enough) and more work. Whether it’s time for planting, spraying, harvesting, transporting, selling, shearing or machinery maintenance, as a farmer, you are constantly minding this side of your business.

After a while, your body and mind lets you know (for example; sore shoulders, tense neck, stomach issues, feeling anxious, being abrupt) that you need to pay attention to its needs. When this happens, you need to listen. Your mind and body need some rest. For just a few minutes a day you can find small ways to take care of yourself that doesn’t cut into the busy farming program, your family life and helps you to feel more relaxed but also in control. To follow are nine helpful and easy-to-do tips to keep yourself going well, along with some resources and on-line sites to assist you.

1. Keep active

It is not a good idea to stop your exercise routine when you get busy and are under time demands. Exercise can boost your self-esteem and can help you concentrate, sleep, look and feel better with the effect lasting for up to 12 hours. It does this by releasing beta endorphins (the body’s own feel good hormones). Endorphins repel stress, relieve anxiety and can reduce pain assisting you to feel relaxed and positive as well as giving you heart and lungs a work out. Regular exercise also assists if you are suffering with depression or anxiety (Brumby et al., 2013; Szuhany, Smits, Asmundson and Otto, 2014).

2. Eat well

What we eat can affect how we feel. Your brain needs a mixture of nutrients to stay healthy and function well, just like the other organs in your body. A diet that’s good for your physical health is also good for your mental health (Sarris et al., 2015). There is amazing new data about the relationship between mood and food, microbiota (gut bacteria) and the role of nutrition in psychiatry and emotional wellness. If you are interested visit the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University.

3. Get enough sleep

When you’re a busy worker on the land, or working to juggle the farm, family and off farm work, life is hectic. Seasonal challenges create havoc with our circadian rhythm and turn us into semi shift workers that work long hours. We don’t give our bodies as much rest as we should, nor do we give our mind enough rest. Our urge to sleep is greatest at night with a small increase at midday. Poor performance is strongly linked to lack of sleep (Dorrian J and Almond T, 2017).

Figure 1. Normal circadian sleep rhythms (Source:  Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, Pennsylvania State University).

But there are things you can do to help you get through busy times where sleep patterns are disrupted.

  • If you know you are approaching a busy time where sleep will be less; prepare for it. Exercise, sleep well and enjoy a healthy diet. Load up on carbohydrates like preparing for a marathon.
  • Take a short break. It may or may not improve performance, but it will reduce the subjective sense of being tired.
  • Have a nap. Naps are most successful in the afternoon; however, typically your performance drops in the hour post nap, so avoid driving. Sleep inertia typically lasts 60 minutes post nap.

4.  Drink sensibly

We often drink alcohol to change our mood or to reduce pain. Drinking is not a good way to manage difficult feelings or pain. More than four standard drinks in one occasion is high risk consumption (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2009). Stay within the recommended alcohol limits and seek advice for any ongoing pain.

5. Talk about your feelings

Talking about your feelings can help you maintain good mental health and gives you the ability to deal with times when you feel troubled (Beyond Blue, 2018). Research conducted with farmers and rural men who had suicidal thoughts and/or attempted to take their own lives reported that they wished they had talked about their thoughts and how they were feeling. If you are interested in hearing and seeing their digital stories, please go to The Ripple Effect website. As it was a research project there are still surveys to complete. For those people going through tough times, you can listen to and watch inspiring stories from Inside the Farm Gate.

6. Keep in touch

Strong family ties and supportive friends and community can help you deal with the stresses of life and lets you provide support to others. Staying socially connected is good for you, good for others (Saeri, Cruwys, Barlow, Stronge and Sibley, 2018) and good for your industry.

7. Ask for help

None of us are superhuman. We all get tired and sometimes overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan. Farmers are particularly good and very willing to help others, but not so good at asking or accepting help for themselves. The tendency is to not get support until things are desperate. For some simple tips to manage stress download a copy of Managing Stress on the Farm (Kennedy AJ and Brumby 2016). If you feel you need to get some advice but are finding it hard to get into town, visit the ifarmwell website, which provides access to a free online tool kit to help farmers cope with life’s challenges and get the most out of every day. ifarmwell has been designed based on what Australian farmers have said they want and what research shows will help (University of South Australia, 2018).

8. Take a break

A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental health and can increase productivity. It could be a five-minute pause from cleaning or driving the tractor, or a half-hour lunch break at work. A few minutes can be enough to de-stress, get space, get some movement in, grab some fresh air or take some deep breaths…. i.e. they don’t call it having a breather for nothing! Give yourself some ‘me time’. The evidence around taking a break to improve productivity is strong (Selig, 2017).

9. Remind yourself that you are only human

Don’t let deadlines get you down. Remind yourself of things you have accomplished and don’t get caught up on the things that are out of your direct control. Focus on those things that you can change.

Conclusion

Your mind health is just as important as your physical health and shouldn’t be neglected. Mind health means keeping your brain and emotional health in tip-top shape. It means looking after your number one asset – you!

Useful resources and references

Beyond Blue. (2018). Men in rural and remote areas.   Retrieved from https://www.beyondblue.org.au/who-does-it-affect/men/what-causes-anxiety-and-depression-in-men/men-in-rural-and-remote-areas

Brumby, S., Chandrasekara, A., Kremer, P., Torres, S., McCoombe, S., & Lewandowski, P. (2013). The effect of physical activity on psychological distress, cortisol and obesity: results of the farming fit intervention program. BMC Public Health, 13, 1018. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-1018

Dorrian J, C. S., Colella A, Devine L, Dingle C, Galindo H, Pantelios S, Brkic G, Bull C,, & Almond T, D. V., Carskadon MA, Banks S. (2017). Coping with Shiftwork: Understanding and Communicating Resilience Strategies for Performance, Safety and Health. Retrieved from Adelaide http://library.safework.sa.gov.au/attachments/69055/Coping%20with%20Shift%20Work%20Final%20A4%20Nov%2017%20(3).pdf

Kennedy AJ, & Brumby , S. (2016). Managing Stress on the Farm. Hamilton: National Centre for Farmer Health.

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2009). Australian  Guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia Retrieved from https://nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-guidelines-reduce-health-risks-drinking-alcohol

Saeri, A. K., Cruwys, T., Barlow, F. K., Stronge, S., & Sibley, C. G. (2018). Social connectedness improves public mental health: Investigating bidirectional relationships in the New Zealand attitudes and values survey. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52(4), 365-374. doi:10.1177/0004867417723990

Sarris, J., Logan, A. C., Akbaraly, T. N., Amminger, G. P., Balanza-Martinez, V., Freeman, M. P., . . . Jacka, F. N. (2015). Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry. Lancet Psychiatry, 2(3), 271-274. doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(14)00051-0

Selig, M. (2017). How Do Work Breaks Help Your Brain? 5 Surprising Answers. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/changepower/201704/how-do-work-breaks-help-your-brain-5-surprising-answers

Szuhany, K. L., Smits, J. A. J., Asmundson, G. J. G., & Otto, M. W. (2014). Exercise for Mood and Anxiety DisordersA Review of Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Barriers: Oxford University Press.

University of South Australia. (2018). ifarmwell: growing farmers' wellbeing. About this website for farmers. Retrieved from https://www.ifarmwell.com.au/

Emotional and Social Wellbeing Support Resources

Helpline Contact Numbers

Contact details

Susan Brumby
National Centre for Farmer Health
susan.brumby@wdhs.net
0355518460
www.farmerhealth.org.au
@farmerhealth