Farm Credit Canada’s new mental health resource focuses on strategies for dealing with uncertainty and isolation in an increasingly complex world.
It launched mental health magazine Rooted in Resilience on Dec. 1, and is mailing it to rural addresses across Canada, said Shannon Weatherall, FCC’s senior vice-president of operations.
The focus on resilience was, in part, inspired by the challenges of a changing world, the pandemic, labour issues and general volatility, said Weatherall. Many FCC clients also work in isolation, she added.
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The publication tackles issues including burnout, multi-generational farm relationships, and managing emotions. The latter topic is paired with tools to better identify feelings. For example, the broad category of “mad” can be better identified as frustration, hurt, hostility or skepticism.
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The pages are also peppered with small tools and strategies for building mental resilience.
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Rooted in Resilience builds on a conversation FCC sought to start with its 2019 campaign, Rooted in Strength. It mailed Rooted in Strength to 175,000 rural mailboxes across Canada, an FCC spokesperson said. Staff and field offices also had access to the magazine.
Given the number of farmers with whom they interact, FCC employees hear a lot of stories about people struggling with mental health, Weatherall said. In 2018, they began talking about how to make mental health a more mainstream conversation.
“The need was clearly there,” an FCC spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “By sharing this publication and promoting mental well-being with groups like 4-H Canada, the Do More Ag Foundation and Au Coeur des familles agricoles, FCC was able to reach a broad agriculture audience.”
It also featured mental health topics at 2018 and 2019 events, the spokesperson said.
“We received feedback that farmers appreciated and were using the tools and resources provided to address their mental health challenges. We heard from customers who said what they learned gave them the ability to better navigate problems that are often compounded by exhaustion and a sense of isolation.”
You can read Rooted in Resilience and other resources at the Farm Credit Canada website.
