Mental Health: You Can’t Just Put a Band-Aid on It

The phone rang and my mother said, “There is something wrong with your father, come quick.” It was a 45-minute drive to the ranch from New Braunfels and I left immediately. When I arrived, I talked for an hour with my Dad. I couldn’t detect anything wrong. But Mom insisted there was something wrong. She scheduled an appointment with the doctor. Months later and many doctors later, but no one could find anything wrong with Dad.

I discovered what was wrong with Dad, and a genetic test confirmed it. He had Huntington’s Disease. Unlike most Huntington’s patients, dad did not shake or have a whole lot of other symptoms. But he did do some disturbing things. For instance, one morning he took the toaster to the woods and buried it. That was a real head scratcher.

Farmers and ranchers are not immune to mental health issues. And quite a few are reluctant to talk about their feelings. Heck, I would rather walk through a prickly pear patch than talk about my feelings. That might be because of the way I was raised. I was the oldest of four boys and we were always taught to “buck up” and endure. We were sometimes taught to deny physical pain and keep working. We were told “Just put a Band-Aid on it”.

I once ran a cross country race on a broken ankle after being kicked by my FFAshow steer. I just thought it was swollen.An Xray proved otherwise. Ranchers often get banged up by the work they do day in and day out. But again, they rarely talk about their pain. It wasn’t until my ankle swole up so badly that I couldn’t put my boot on that I got a doctor’s appointment.

America needs healthy farmers and ranchers. The ones we have are getting older, and fewer of their children plan to take their place. During this time of the year, many farmers and ranchers get depressed. Some, (like me) will get depressed on gray days. When it rains and is overcast for days, I don’t get outside. It’s then I suffer from a lack of sunlight called Seasonal Affective Disorder. This can be a real problem. No drugs needed, just bright light or sunlight for a complete cure.

Depression medication is one of the most prescribed medications in America today. Two years of drought, and rising inflation are a hard row to hoe. Farmers and ranchers can be depressed by the cost of just about everything and the additional expenses that come with a drought. They might be depressed about the illness of a spouse or grandchild. I saw that brain tumors in children are up 400%. The article attributed it to soft drinks and cell phones. That’s enough to stress anyone. Depression medication is not necessarily the answer.

I am not a doctor or psychologist. But I would advise anyone suffering with depression to talk with someone. It could be a close friend, an old friend, a pastor or religious leader, or a total stranger. However, if the depression is severe, I would recommend that they talk with a professional. You don’t even need to be in the same state today to talk with a counselor or psychologist. You can talk over Zoom and no one but you needs to know. Here is a link to the “13 Best Online Therapy Services” https:www.verywellmind. com/bestonlinetherapy-4691206.

Mental illness is often a “hush-hush” subject. My mother could not handle my father having Huntington’s’ and it only got worse when my brother Alan was diagnosed with the same disease. In part, because of stress and denial, she became ill and needed to go into a hospital for treatment. It seemed like something snapped in her.

A number of years ago, I had a series of things happen that motivated me to see both a counselor and a psychologist. First, the next-door farmer drifted my tree and native plant nursery with Roundup. It killed almost all my nursery crops. Then I adopted two boys with behavior challenges. One boy was my grandnephew, the other his half-brother. Next, I became the legal guardian for both my parents when they were ill and had to run the family ranch without help. Talk about stress. The counselor and the psychologist both helped. But I first had to admit that I needed help.

If you know someone that is depressed, under a great deal of stress, is not very happy or has retreated from their friends and family, try to get them to talk with someone who might be able to help.

As I said, I am not a doctor nor a psychologist, but I am willing to help people with their farming and ranching problems. I will listen and make whatever suggestions I can to help. My contact information is below.

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

David E. Will is a rancher and consultant in Fayette County. He can be reached at (830) 629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.