6 Tips for Farmers to Battle Burnout

When farm pressures mount and one difficulty after another hammers your operation, your stress levels rise. Emotions run ragged. Your business can suffer, and even your health can deteriorate if the stressors are prolonged.

Stress and Burnout are Real

“When we are stressed, the cortisol levels in our blood go up and can potentially affect blood pressure and heart health,” said Monica McConkey, a Minnesota-based counselor who works with farmers face-to-face and by phone. “Uncontrollable variables, like weather, commodity prices, and natural disasters, cause stress. When farmers suffer stress for a number of years, burnout can result. As a result, they might say to themselves that they can’t do this anymore, but they can’t not do it either because they believe they have few options.”

This sort of chronic stress complicates decision-making and other aspects of managing a farm or ranch. “When experiencing chronic stress, people find it hard to make decisions,” McConkey said. “It’s hard for them to remember things, and hard for them to be rational because they’re acting out of a place of emotion rather than a business perspective. Just making decisions relating to purchases or sales is difficult.”

She added: “I’ve talked to farmers who have looked back on decisions they made while they were in emotional turmoil, and they have often told me, ‘Whatever was I thinking!’ When left unmanaged, stress has a huge impact on your business. It is going to affect your profitability in one way or another. Your operation is only going to be as healthy as you are.”

Whether you’re experiencing the stress or you’re the concerned person watching from outside, be alert for the signs that stress and burnout are getting out of hand.

“Isolation or pulling back from socializing, like not going to farm meetings or church, is a huge red flag,” McConkey said. “Other red flags are mood changes; increased alcohol use; a reduced desire to communicate; sleeplessness; disrepair on a farm where everything was once maintained; little excitement for the coming growing season; or expressing a desire to sell land, livestock, or equipment when this was not previously part of the overall plan. This suggests that the individual is looking for a way out and can be a precursor to a suicide attempt.”

Taking Precautions 

If you recognize signs of stress and burnout, do these six things to help yourself cope or recover:

1. Take care of your physical self.

Understand that better physical health contributes to better emotional health. “Paying attention to your physical self is a basic thing you can do to help yourself,” McConkey said. “Go for walks, and get on top of your habits relating to eating, sleeping, and drinking water. Getting back to healthy eating or fixing your sleep patterns [is] not always easy to do, but every little improvement moves you toward taking better care of your physical self.”

2. Surround yourself with good people.

“If you’ve noticed yourself pulling away from people, force yourself to stay around good, supportive people,” McConkey said. “That could mean your church family or members of a farm business management group. One farmer I spoke with plays cards with friends. He knows he needs that.”

Because a farmer or rancher typically gets support from a team of various business professionals, McConkey advised to keep reaching out to that team. Yet, if you sense an uncomfortable disconnect between yourself and any member of your support network, consider replacing that individual with someone more supportive.

3. Take charge of your thoughts.

“There is so much power in our thoughts and mindset; thoughts dictate and drive how we feel,” McConkey said.

For that reason, she said she encourages clients to take a close look at the thoughts they permit to come into their minds. She encourages farmers and ranchers to examine what they’ve been telling themselves.

“It’s most helpful to look at things from a problem-solving rather than a worrying perspective,” she said. “Focus on what you can control, and work out a plan. Focus on positive or hopeful thoughts. See the good things that are happening around you. If negative thoughts come into your mind, choose to reframe them. Rather than thinking about worst-case scenarios, choose to expect good outcomes. You can choose to think, ‘This is going to be a good year.’ Or, ‘I’m a good farmer; I’ve been through tough times before. I’m so thankful I’m a farmer; I get to do what I do every day.’ We can choose the thoughts that occupy our minds.”

4. Build spiritual capital.

The things that give us spiritual strength are those things we’ve built into our lives to help us through tough times, McConkey said. You can build spiritual strength and resilience by devoting time to what gives you hope and feeds your soul.

“For some people, that’s prayer, meditation, exercise, spending time surrounded by nature, being involved in a hobby, being around animals, or being around grandkids,” she said. “It’s committing time to some activity you can lose yourself in.”

5. Find ways to reduce stress.

Focus on problem solving and closely examine your operation with an eye toward pinpointing the sources of your greatest stressors. Be willing to ask yourself tough questions.

“Brainstorm the options available to you to alleviate some of the stress,” McConkey said. Some might include sharing equipment, and changing or diversifying crops, as well as exploring alternative financing and marketing strategies. Even downsizing the operation could be an option.

6. Seek help.

Listening, supporting, and gentle guidance can come from counselors, faith leaders, neighbors, and friends. These people can offer caring support and, in 

some cases, a fresh perspective on problems.

“The most important thing is to realize that you don’t have to go it alone,” McConkey said. “If help from others reduces stress and burnout begins to subside, that in itself lets you see things in a different, more positive way.”

Learn More

Monica McConkey
Eyes on the Horizon Consulting
(218) 280-7785
[email protected]
eyesonthehorizon.org