Assessment Of Mental Health Of Farmer And Prevention Of Farmer Suicide In Media

Financial stressors combined with family-farming relationships that blur the line between business and personal lives create unique sources of stress for farmers and farm families. If not addressed, these stressors can lead to physical illness, depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Farmers are more than five times more likely to commit suicide than the general population (McIntosh et al. 2016) and are more likely to report substance abuse (Bush and Lipari, 2015). Stress and depression also increase the already above average probability of accidents and injury (Fetsch, 2012), and stress may affect factors influencing other leading causes of death in rural areas, which include heart disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke (Moy et al., 2017). Farmers, farm families, and rural communities can help to manage farm-related stress and reduce incidences of Depression, substance abuse, and suicides