Month: November 2019

It is December, and the onset of winter has come before us.  Usually, crops are in, farm equipment has been put away, and farmers can finally sit back and chalk it up to another year. Yet, Mother Nature has the final call – farmers see in plain sight the fear of freezing temperatures or accumulated snow in their fields.  Harvesting is a month behind already, and farmers hope and pray that their corn will soon dry sufficiently without the leering risks of foreseen elevated costs and a disappointing bottom line.

Yes, farmers either know the hazards before they take on the lifestyle, or learn all about it by living in its trenches.   Each farmer is called to determine their own risk level and their ability to manage the rollercoaster of the occupation.  There are blessings and risks abound, and the lifestyle is likely one of the primary motives to keep on keeping on.

So, why is the suicide rate among farmers more than double that of veterans and 5 times higher compared to that of the general population, reported by the 2018 Center for Disease Control (CDC).   Why is depression and anxiety rampant among this group? 

For farmers, their work is who they are, and oftentimes considered their life purpose.  To change careers is way beyond consideration as farming is a way of life.  Most difficulties are beyond the control of farmers.  Some of the challenges faced by farmers and those living in rural and remote communities include dealing with fluctuating crop and input prices, shifting interest rates on land and loans, weather changes, current politics around tariffs, trade and the farm bill, and difficulty accessing services. 

Primarily, the culture of farming takes on a number of principles that may also lead one towards increased mental health struggles or suicide. 

1. Overall, farmers do their work alone, and they suffer with depression and anxiety alone.  Seeking help or talking to friends about their struggles goes straight against privacy and independence. A typical phrase in farm communities include; “Don’t air your dirty laundry in public”.  They simply “suck it up” and push through the emotional pain.  It is part of the culture.  It is part of that independence. 
2. Unfortunately, the farming culture views their high rates of anxiety and depression as weaknesses, and not common conditions.  The perception of personal failure when things don’t go right feeds into the need to do it all; work harder, work longer, breathe endurance.  It’s like the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”.

With all this, farming does have its mental health vulnerabilities.  Suicide is an isolated decision; and with the forced winds of today’s obstacles, a culture of independence, isolation and privacy, an erroneous belief that mental health issues are not for the strong, and self-identification is determined by their success or failure, “checking in” with them once in a while could save a life.

Claudia A. Liljegren, LICSW

Usually, we look at Thanksgiving as a holiday started by the pilgrimage of our ancestors who celebrated a successful harvest in the new land.  Being grateful this day is usually the tradition.  It may also be of interest to know that if you take the words, “Thanks” and “Giving”, you also have two primary keys to improved mental health.  As is oftentimes the case, those who feel over-whelmed with negativity easily lose perspective on the part of their lives that they otherwise might feel more grateful.   

Gratitude is a choice, and it isn’t necessarily easy.  In the end, you have to choose between being thankful or remaining in the habit of reveling in negative emotions. Of course, you can remain luke-warm with gratitude by reflecting on it during special occasions, like Thanksgiving; but you may be sure that in the midst of mental health problems, negative emotions will remain dominant.

If you do indeed choose gratitude, there is increased research showing that gratitude exuberates both physical health as well as mental and emotional well-being.   According to the National Institute of Mental Health’s research and numerous other resources, gratitude expands self-esteem.   As it is difficult to blend depression or resentment with a grateful heart, bad thoughts take a back seat while gratitude takes the lead.  Similarly, gratitude expels worries and ruminations with a growing habit of thanksgiving and a focus on others.   Gratitude also helps calm down stress and improves symptoms of trauma.  It also supports and encourages resilience while fighting off the worst of times.  Of course, this doesn’t mean that with gratitude, there are no more mental health issues, but it does help to manage them better.

Gratitude opens the door to more and truer relationships through appreciation, cooperation, enhanced empathy, reduced aggression and acknowledging others’ contributions.  In addition, gratitude improves physical health with a tendency to experience fewer aches and pains, increased motivation towards a healthier self and an overall focus on feeling healthier.  Another advantage of gratitude is that it helps people sleep better, just by jotting down a few grateful sentiments before bed.  Being grateful is a way we can back away from a place of lacking to a place of contentedness.

So, if gratitude spawns enhanced empathy as is implied with the word, “Thanksgiving”, giving is also a natural next step for improved mental health. Within society, many of us think well-being in terms of what we have, such as our level of comfort, or our income, or our possessions, or our status as the markers. But evidence shows that what we do and the way we think actually have a far more meaningful impact on mental health and wellbeing.  According to neuroscience, increased activation and strengthening of certain parts of the brain occur when we give to others.  So, “Thanks” and “Giving” may be the way to go to improve our mental well-being.

Claudia A. Liljegren, MSW< LICSW

Clinical Psychotherapist

Have you ever worked at “the power of positive thinking”?  Have you ever met someone who mostly felt optimistic and upbeat?  You know; the kind that easily throws out a litany of jokes and readily smiles with an easy laugh; the person that stands out in a crowd and easily makes others feel good; the one that infects others so that the happy feeling is contagious.  How do they do it?  Maybe it’s heredity, or they had a positive family or good environment while growing up. Or, maybe it’s in the genes.  Well, whatever it is, what do the rest of us do if we aren’t so lucky? 

It is a lot easier to ruminate about the negative things in life; you know, our short comings, other’s deficiencies and how they affect us, all the bad things that have happened to us or that we are currently experiencing, the money we don’t have, the fun we aren’t having, the unfairness of it all, the famine and large poverty base throughout the world, etc., etc., etc.  With all this, how then do any of us succeed at positive thinking?  Well, there are ways.

One strong restorative approach is called “Turning the Mind”, a skill learned in therapy groups to improve a client’s mood and perceptions of themselves, others and the world at large.  Turning the mind is actually a hard process to do.  It takes a lot of work.  Unfortunately, many attempts fail just because we give up when we return to our old ways.  You may not have known, but our brain motherboard bends according to how we think and feel.  So, if you are a negative thinker, your brain has developed a neural electrical system that has supported and reinforced depressing thoughts for as long as you have had them.  It becomes harder and harder to break that brain circuitry.  However, it is possible.  Learning and practicing positive ways of thinking and feeling can result in a change in how you view your life and how to move forward.

In order to change the brain, we need to become more aware of what we are doing to ourselves; how we feed and get stuck with the bad thoughts and emotions, and how we pull away or discard the positive ones.   We have to learn ways to be more mindful of our thoughts and feelings and how we can better manage them.   Oftentimes, spending time meditating or in prayer can be key factors in learning how to see yourself at a distance and guide yourself through this awareness.  As you become more aware of how you get stuck with your emotions or your negative thoughts, you then are more able to recognize that you are in charge and you can make decisions about how to regulate your emotions and thoughts.  No longer are you clutched into the grips of negativity by your thoughts and feelings.  Instead, you have the ability to learn new skills and move towards a more positive you.  With continued practice, “turning the mind” towards an optimistic outlook is indeed within reach.  It takes time and practice, but it does happen.  Just think, you may end up being the one who carries the jokes and moves the crowd with your jovial self. 

Claudia A. Liljegren, LICSW

St. Williams Mental Health Services

Do you have an Unhealthy Relationship with Food?

Eating is a required action we all share as a means to maintain our health.  There are those who struggle with eating due to a medical condition, but there are others who struggle with a medical condition due to their eating disorder. 

General statistics indicate that at least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S., and at least one person dies every 62 minutes as a direct result from an eating disorder. Eating disorders are a serious medical problem that can have long-term health consequences if left untreated.  Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness of which adolescents and women over 50 are more prevalent.  

There are several types of eating disorders:

• Anorexia Nervosa or a focus on weight loss in which the individual has a poor body image and believes they are never thin enough, prompting excessive dieting, exercise, purging or use of laxatives.
• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder or restrictive eating or avoiding certain foods because of its texture or odor.  These symptoms usually begin early in childhood.
• Bulimia Nervosa or the cycling of extreme overeating or binging to purging or other behaviors to compensate for overeating. 
• Binge Eating Disorder or excessive overeating

An unhealthy relationship with food is oftentimes a symptom of an underlying problem.  Usually, it is prompted by various life stressors combined with psychological struggles, such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and/or overall difficulty coping with emotions.  Overuse of substances, genetic traits or a having a family pre-disposition can also be contributors. Oftentimes, those with an eating disorder initially use eating, or lack thereof, as a way to control at least one aspect of their lives.  However, their eating behavior progressively spirals out of control and they end up not being able to manage their own eating. 

Treatment is complicated.  You may have a friend or relative that has an eating disorder, but do not even know it.  Oftentimes, those with eating problems hide their behaviors and deny having a problem, interfering in their first step in treatment; admitting they have a problem.  Mostly, individual or group out-patient or in-patient psychotherapy and possibly psychotropic medications are required to work through the denial, comply with a food monitoring plan, and deal with secondary symptoms of depression, anxiety, etc., through stress management, modification of unhealthy relationship patterns and learning adaptive ways to feel in control of their eating and other aspects of their lives.  Unfortunately, symptoms of an eating disorder can last for many years and return during times of stress, despite previous treatment.  Catch yourself if you have an unhealthy relationship with food.  There is too much at stake.

Claudia A. Liljegren, MSW, LICSW

St. Williams Mental Health