HOW AGRICULTURE AS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF THERAPY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO MENTAL HEALTH?

An interview with Nikos

by Paolina Elezi

During “100 VOLTS Supporting ARGO” volunteering teams, I had the opportunity to talk with Nikos and learn about his experience being a member of the social enterprise against drug addiction. I learned things about him, how he got here, how he feels about his participation in the program in general and specifically how agriculture has contributed to his mental health.

I would like to thank him for opening and sharing his thoughts with me.

P: Can you tell us a few words about you and ARGO?

N: I’m Nikos, I’ve been a member of the ARGO therapeutic community since March. I have been in another department, which is the first stage of ARGO, since January. Here, our duty is to change behaviors that involve drug use. You see why you behaved like this and you correct your behavior, you recognize what makes it difficult for you in your daily life and you try to correct it (the behavior) and move on.

P: How did you get here?

N : I came by myself. There are people who came because of the prosecutor’s order, people who would live on the street, so they came because they had no other choice. I felt that my pleasure was manipulating me, that I lived to drink. So, I decided on my own to stop and come.

P: How has the work you do here, especially the agricultural work, contributed to your mental health so far?

N: It helps me because, when I often grab the hoe and dig to let the plant breathe, I release my anger, my negative energy. It also brings back memories from the past, when I used to do things like this with my grandmother on the farm. In general, it is a relief and it brings me a sweet tiredness, calmness.

P: How do you feel when you are on the farm?

N: I express my feelings through physical exercise. I can tell when to dig hard, when to dig because I’m nervous, when to dig carefully so I don’t hurt the plant. I know that if I dig when I’m angry I’ve damaged the plant or my hands have been hurt.

P: So, is it also a way to release other emotions, like anxiety or sadness?

N: Yes. For example, when I came after a surgery I could not lift a single kilo. The first three weeks they didn’t let me work on the farm, but I had to be here. This was incredibly annoying to me, because I wanted to be creative and productive. I can’t just watch others do things and not participate. They let me take the hose and water the tomatoes that weren’t planted yet. After a month I saw the plant becoming an actual tomato. You see your work and it brings you joy and fulfillment.

P: Getting in touch with nature has also changed your perception of life?

N: It changed a little, not too much. It’s a small step, but it’s a step. I wouldn’t do that before. Now this has changed not only through the farm but also through the work I have done here for 4 months now.

P: When you are on the farm do you think more or less about the rehab process or about your past?

N: I don’t think that much. I’ ve got flashbacks, but I don’t think about them, they just pass that time and help me bring them here later.

P: Is working with other people positive or negative? For example, can you be influenced by someone’s experience or is it positive because you are moving forward together? How do you get along with others?

N : Certainly, some things you hear in the groups are harsh. This is a piece we all have to work on. The first two months, I couldn’t sleep from what I heard, because I was thinking that I did this too, but I didn’t. I took them (the stories) with me and made them mine. There are some mental blocks that you have to put in and say “No, you have to leave this here”. It’s a difficulty we all have. You are definitely happy when time goes by and you see the other person changing as well, you know that you have contributed to it too. We mirror each other, we all move forward together. They are individual matters, but we all have more or less the same behaviors and it doesn’t matter what each person’s usage (of drug) was.

P: You said that you made the decision to come yourself. Is it generally difficult to motivate someone to come and attend such a program? How can you motivate someone, if they can be motivated?

N: You can motivate someone. If they don’t want to quit, they’ll leave, because it’s a difficult program. When I go forward and see a barrier, I give up and start all over again. And it’s something I want to work on. It’s also one of the reasons why I am a part of the project (with the volunteers).

As for ARGO it is a difficult community, but a special one. You are with different people, different experiences, different thoughts, different beliefs. As for motivating someone to come here, I had my friends telling me for a whole year that I have a problem and I need to quit. If you don’t feel like you’re a slave to the drug, you can’t come easily. That’s how I felt about coming.

P: While you’re here, have you thought about quitting? And if so, what’s holding you back?

N: Yes, many times. The habit holds me back a bit. Also, the fact that I think that I have many people around me telling me that I’ ve changed and that I look better, I think to myself that someone has to be right.

P: Have you developed any skills through therapy that you think you will use elsewhere?

N: I have learned to understand the other person’s reaction when I ask them something and to understand if the question went deep or not. I have learned to be patient and to move on gradually and to wait. I have also learned that everything will happen on time.