Farming is recognized as one of the most stressful
occupations around the world and now the Ontario Veterinary College has a
project underway to analyze data that was collected in a survey of Canadian
farmers.
Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton, an associate professor of epidemiology
in the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph, recently
told reporter Bruce Cochrane that there's been little research done looking at
the mental well-being of farmers in Canada.
“We know that stress can affect us physically,
mentally and it impacts our thoughts and our behaviors.
“Physically it can cause headache, muscle tension,
fatigue, changes in our sex drive, high blood pressure, it can increase risk of
disease like heart disease, it can affect our immune systems and make us more
prone to getting infectious diseases.
“Prolonged stress can cause us to be anxious,
irritable, angry, sad or depressed.
“It can cause us to have difficulty concentrating.
“It may result in us turning to substances like
tobacco or alcohol or drugs or overeating or other bad habits so the effects
are pretty widespread.
“It affects not just us but it can also result in us
treating others poorly, even the people we love so It affects us and it affects
those around us, our relationships, our work and our quality of life,” she
said.
