Humans tend to pick up things they think they need to carry – it can be anything from a side comment from a colleague or an awful interaction with a family member to an unavoidable decision on the farm.
“When we have something that emotionally stung, we tend to pick it up and carry it with us. I call those rocks,” Athena Diesch-Chham, a clinical social worker and owner of Restorative Path Counseling and Wellbeing explains. “All of a sudden, those rocks get pretty heavy.”
Everyone has a choice about how long they are going to carry around those rocks, she says.
“There is some power in acknowledging that this happened, that it impacted me, that I am potentially changed by what has happened in a situation,” she says. “But also, I can leave it here and I don’t have to carry it with me.”
From epidemic illnesses impacting pigs to falling commodity prices to increasing farm debt load, many factors cause stress among pig farmers today. Find out how to recognize the warning signs of stress, practical ways to deal with tough times and 3 tips to get your health on track in Farm Journal’s PORK’s new e-book, “Your Guide to Mental Health.”
Click here to download the eBook.
Read More:
Employee Emotional Health: The Crisis No One Wants to Talk About on the Sow Farm
Invest in Employee Mental Health to Maintain a Successful Sow Farm
