This is a good overview of the effects of a rough economy on rural folk.
From: Better Health Channel online
Rural issues: Coping with StressRural issues - coping with stress Farming families are under increasing pressure. Financial hardship and other difficulties can lead to stress, depression, relationship breakdown, substance abuse, increased risk of farm accidents and, in some cases, suicide.
Many farm families respond to hard times by tightening the household budget and spending less on food, clothes and maintenance of equipment. They may also rely more on credit. The effort of trying to provide for the family and keep the farm going can be intensely stressful. For a farm family in dire straits, the options may seem bleak - to struggle on is stressful, but to sell the farm and leave the industry would be highly distressing too.
A different kind of work-related stress
Most people experience work-related stress, no matter what their occupation. However, farm families can sometimes respond to work-related stress in different ways to other people. Some of the issues faced by farmers include:
Most farmers could never imagine doing anything else for a living, since farming is part of their identity.
The farm is not only the workplace, but the home too.
The welfare of the family depends directly on the fortunes of the farm.
Family tradition is strong, since the farm may have been in the family for generations.
The farm may be the only real investment the family has and the sole legacy for the children.
Selling the farm would feel like a terrible betrayal of past and future generations.
People who farm the land tend to pride themselves on self-sufficiency and independence, so asking for help can be hard to do.
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