SHELDON—Those in the agriculture industry are not immune to mental health challenges, and mental health first aid trainer Calli Thorne discussed the importance of mental health awareness.
Thorne was the first to take the stage and speak to more than 230 women in various agriculture-related industries at Cooperative Farmers Elevator’s third annual Women in Ag event Friday, Feb. 20, at Crossroads Pavilion in Sheldon.
Her presentation, “Mental Health + Ag: Breaking the Stigma to Continue a Legacy,” focused on mental health and its stigmas in agriculture.
Mental health first aid is an evidence-based training program that helps people understand, identify and respond to those experiencing a mental health challenge.
“You really look at: What are the signs and symptoms of somebody who is maybe facing a challenging situation?” Thorne said.
She said the nature of life is split between good days and challenging ones.
“Life is 50-50. Fifty percent of your life is going to be when the sun comes out, but 50 percent of the time means it’s hard,” she said.
Thorne said a question she asked North Dakota State University’s head psychologist at a conference a few years ago was why it seems like some people’s lives are perfect and put together.
The psychologist, without missing a beat, told Thorne that people today do not know how to cope.
“So, if you need to pass that 50-50 message on to some other people in your life or teach your kids that,” Thorne said. “We want our kids to enjoy life. We want it to go smoothly for them, but sometimes maybe we step in a little bit too much, and if they don’t learn how to handle the hard, they’re going to have a pretty tough life.”
She said when people do not know what to do when life gets difficult, they often turn to their cellphones, drinks or food when feeling overwhelmed.
“There’s some things that can spiral out of control,” Thorne said.
Mental health challenges
Thorne presented the definition of a mental health challenge to those in attendance.
“That is when there’s a major change in a person’s thinking, how they feel, how they act. It interferes with their ability to maybe show up and live life. That could be within their family or in the community,” she said. “And then also it doesn’t go away quickly and longer than maybe you expected it to.”
People in the agricultural industry face many factors they cannot control, such as bad weather, animal and human health issues, and machinery breaking down.
These uncontrollable factors may cause mental health challenges if one holds onto them for too long.
As an example, Thorne instructed the crowd to pick up their drinks, extend their arms and hold the drinks in front of them. The speaker said how easy it is to hold out the drinks for a few short moments, but as time goes on, the drink will become harder to hold up.
Thorne said there is a stigma surrounding the agricultural industry and mental health challenges. In a small town, people may hesitate to seek help for fear of other’s people’s perceptions.
The mental health first aid trainer shared some statistics about agriculture and mental health.
The suicide rate is two to five times higher than the national averageOne in five people will have a diagnosable mental disorder in a yearAlmost 50 percent of adults will experience a mental health challengeMore than 40 percent of people did not seek treatment the prior year.
Trauma, such as loss and abuse, increases the risk of a mental health challenge.
As a mental health first aid trainer, Thorne said she does a lot of mindset training with people, and she shared a story of when her perspective flipped.
After the pandemic in 2020 and a drought in 2021, Thorne was anxious while driving with her husband in an April blizzard in 2022. However, her husband called the blizzard “awesome.”
“I looked over at him. I’m like, ‘Why would you say this?’ He’s like, ‘Because we have been in a drought for the past year and a half, and we’re going to have green grass right now for these calves in the spring,’” Thorne said.
When her husband provided his optimistic view, Thorne realized she had a choice to change her negative thoughts into positive.
“If I’m feeling like there’s got to be an opportunity, I’m going to feel a little bit more optimistic instead of devastated,” Thorne said. “The power of your thoughts can be life changing.”
Mental health first aid
Being a mental health first aid trainer does not make one a therapist or counselor, but it helps people look for the signs of a mental health challenge in others.
Thorne recalled a conversation she had with a friend before she had mental health first aid training.
She asked her friend, “How are you doing?”
Her friend responded, “I’m not well.”
“I just stood there and froze because I have never had somebody say I’m not well,” Thorne said. “I expected the typical response of, ‘Hey, doing OK, busy, but good.’”
At that time, another person came up to the friend and separated them.
After that conversation, Thorne said she did not follow up with her friend as it felt awkward and she was unsure how to bring up that moment.
A few months later, Thorne’s mother told her that the friend attempted suicide. The friend’s mother-in-law found her and called an ambulance, and the friend received treatment.
Thorne reached out to friend, asking her to share about the mental health challenge so Thorne could learn.
“The one big thing that I took away that day from that conversation was when she said, ‘I can’t even explain it to you, Callie. It was not my brain,’” she said. “That’s a big thing that we miss is that we try and figure it out. Anybody, if you try to figure things out, I want to solve the problem. And we can’t always do that with mental health, but what I can do is I know how I can help people.”
Thorne provided another example of someone who shared a concerning remark after she had the mental health training. After running into a friend at the grocery store and asking her, “How are you?,” she noticed the woman put her head down.
“It took me about three seconds to realize and remember Judy had lost her sister just a few days earlier,” Thorne said.
Thorne asked, “How are you guys doing?” to her friend at the grocery store.
“She stood there and told me so many stories about her and her sister growing up, the family, the funeral arrangements, everything that they’re working on right now,” she said. “Had I not slowed down to walk a little bit slower through the crowd, I would’ve missed that. I want you guys to think, ‘I don’t want to miss those opportunities.’”
With the mental health first aid training, Thorne realized the importance of slowing down.
“If there’s anything I can leave you with and remind you, it’s to walk a little bit slower through the crowd,” she said.