Farm Stress and Mental/Behavioral Health

Many agricultural workers with disabilities face challenges beyond their physical issues, such as depression, stress, addictions, and other mental/behavioral health concerns. In addition, certain mental/behavioral health issues are considered disabilities in themselves.

New: Opioid Misuse Prevention

Opioid misuse has been identified as a national public health crisis. AgriSafe has developed a series of trainings for health care professionals to help them better respond to the unique and often overlooked needs of people working in agriculture. https://learning.agrisafe.org/opioid-misuse-prevention

Talking to Farmers About Pain
Assessment of Opioid Misuse Risk Among Farmers
Safety-Sensitivity of Opioid Use in Agriculture
Using Naloxone to Reverse Opioid Overdose

Listed here are resources recommended by AgrAbility staff members for addressing mental/behavioral health issues.

USDA/NIFA Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN)
Helplines
Resources for Addressing Mental/Behavioral Health Issues of AgrAbility Clients
Recommended Videos/Webinars
National Mental Health Organizations and Resources
Diagnosis-Specific Assistance
Lay or Self Screenings
Search Engines to Locate Local Mental Health Agencies
Getting Involved

Helplines

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline : 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Text Line: Text “CONNECT” to 741741

Resources for Addressing Mental/Behavioral Health Issues of AgrAbility Clients

Colorado State University Extension AgrAbility
Includes links to a series of family fact sheets for child/youth, elderly, relationships topics that include information on stress and coping, suicide, emotions, and family relationships.

National AgrAbility Project
A link to the rural caregivers web page that contains links to a variety of materials and resources for Caregiver Workshops.

Maine AgrAbility
Includes a variety of published resources discussing mental health and stress management resources for agricultural communities.

University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Information from Nebraska Extension’s Rural Family Stress and Wellness Team as it promotes the wellness of rural Nebraska by working with community partners and the University of Nebraska.

Virginia AgrAbility
Mental Health Topics for Farm Families and Caregivers: An AgrAbility Virginia Program Resource serves as a resource to support those experiencing mental health concerns and caregivers/families by providing demographic information of various mental health conditions, copying strategies, and additional resources.

Wyoming AgrAbility
Includes links to a variety of publications on stress, emotions, crisis, disasters, and coping from the University of Wyoming Extension.

National Mental Health Organizations and Resources

Ag Behavioral Health
The website of Michael Rosmann, rural psychologist, it contains resources related to behavioral health for farmers and ranchers.

Val Farmer, PhD
Contains Val Farmer’s many writings on rural mental health and family relationships.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
NAMI is a strong grassroots organization that conducts tuition free courses for families of individuals with mental illness and organizes support groups for those individuals. Their Web site contains information on disorders, symptoms, treatment, medications and advocacy.

Mental Health America (MHA)
MHA’s goal is to educate the public about mental health and mental illness. It maintains the Suicide and Crisis Hotline, 800-273-8255, and provides information on disorders, symptoms, treatment, medications, clinical trials, referrals, appealing denials, payment help, advocacy, and community screenings. The site contains online screenings for various disorders that can be used to determine symptoms and direct the person to professional treatment if required–just type screening in the search window.

National Council for Behavioral Health
The National Council for Behavioral Health is a not-for-profit organization with serves as a voice for health care organizations across America who provide mental health and addiction treatments and services. The organization also serves as the driving force behind the Mental Health First Aid movement and provides a variety of mental health related resources.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIMH is dedicated to research, and its site contains clinical trials, research publications, and general information on disorders, medications, symptoms and treatment. A timely publication available here is, “Guide: Getting through Tough Economic Times.”

The Rural Health Information Hub
Links to additional rural health organizations in which support mental health concerns including demographic specific resources.

Diagnosis-Specific Assistance

Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) supports individuals experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression by providing education, training, and up-to-date research. The ADAA website includes additional information including diagnosis specific facts, treatments, and support groups.

Depression and Bipolar Disorder
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is a peer-directed national organization which provides resources and support to individuals with mood disorders. The site provides links to educational materials, treatment options, peer support, and resources for helping others.

Substance/Opioid Abuse

SAMHSA is a federal agency that provides grants and national leadership and determines effective treatment and prevention. Its statistics and publications are delivered for the public in a not-too-technical format.
FarmTownStrong is a partnership between the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union to combat the opioid epidemic by providing links to hotlines, getting treatment, prevention, and proper disposal of drugs in an effort to provide resources and support to farm and ranch families.
Purdue Extension’s effort to address the opioid crisis through various publications and programing including a webinar series, Mental Health First Aid courses, and the Strengthening Families Program: For Parent and Youth 10-14.
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s effort on opioid misuse in rural America which provides national and state resources, funding, and project links.

Stress Management