Rural Health Includes Mental Health

There are additional challenges to mental health that are often inherent in a rural lifestyle, which can include:

• Self-imposed barrier of asking for help when taught to pursue self-reliance as a virtue;

• Lack of trust in anyone to maintain confidentiality in a small, close-knit community;

• Fear of negative judgment from others as being incompetent or less capable;

• Difficulty getting an appointment with limited availability of mental health professionals;

• Time and transportation required for long-distance travel to meet with a mental health professional;

• Lack of adequate health insurance coverage;

• Feeling of isolation without having access to talk with someone outside of the community who understands mental health challenges in rural America;

• Weakening agricultural economy, financial instability; and,

• A solitary way of life.

Stigma is part of the probleM

Some people in rural communities don’t understand or accept that mental illness is a disease. Rather, a mental illness can be viewed as a personal weakness or character flaw. A lot of the stigma around mental illness results in unwarranted shame, which adds to the burden for someone already suffering from mental illness. Sometimes what you can’t see hurts the most.

Awareness is part of the solution

• Overcome stigma in rural communities by raising awareness that mental illness is a disease – just like cancer, heart disease or diabetes.

• Normalize conversations about mental illness as you would with other diseases.

• Talk openly about lived experiences with mental health challenges.

• Recognize that sharing experiences can be an important first step for people to seek help for their own mental health challenges and encourage others to recognize when they are struggling.

• Be honest with yourself and others in acknowledging when help is needed.