COLUMN | NEWS | FEATURE
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Health BY: NICHOLE GOULDIE, MKC COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND MANAGER
Have you ever heard the expression, don’t judge a book by its cover? That expression can relate to more than just books; as humans, we too often judge each other by physical appearances. But it is important to remember there is more that lies beneath the surface of a human being, even the hardworking men and women involved day-in and dayout in agriculture. It’s no secret that farmers and ranchers have particularly demanding jobs, which can be physically and mentally exhausting. Producers are independent and resilient people. However, even the toughest among us are facing nearly insurmountable challenges. Lesley Kelly is the farmer behind the popular blog, “High Heels and Canola Fields,” and a passionate advocate for supporting mental health within the agricultural industry. A wife, mother and farmer from Saskatchewan, Canada, Kelly believes the success of any farm operation hinges on the well-being of the farmer. “Mental health was something that was never a priority for our farm
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family until things really escalated,” Kelly says. “There soon came the point where we made the promise to make each other and ourselves a priority and put mental health on the forefront.”
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN Mental health is a topic that is near and dear to Kelly’s heart. Through struggles with her own family, and seeing friends and fellow farmers go through struggles, the topic really became a priority she wanted to share with others. “For the last few years, I have been trying to reduce the stigma and break the silence that so many of us in agriculture are living,” she says. Kelly originally started on social media to bring producers and consumers together to share her love of agriculture, but that shifted to share the connections to farming, food and people and the importance of mental health. After recognizing that she had postpartum depression after their second child was born and her husband, a farmer, was living with anxiety mainly attributed to farm
stress, she and her husband shared a live video together that received a tremendous amount of positive feedback. “Other people were looking for hope, and some people were looking for that extra bit of encouragement to raise their hand and say they were going through something similar,” Kelly says. The response from others made Kelly want to provide support and resources to the entire industry. Kelly’s own journey started with getting help through counselors, as well as having her entire family onboard for help and support.
CHAMPIONING MENTAL WELL-BEING Through her blog and social media sites, as well as the Do More Agriculture Foundation, Kelly is focused on combatting the mental health crisis in agriculture. “We are trying to do three things through our outreach efforts, including bringing awareness about mental health, create a community and provide more research in the agricultural industry,” Kelly says. Kelly added the agricultural industry hasn’t talked about mental
