In this interview with Families for Depression Awareness, Rural Minds Executive Director Chuck Strand provided resources and information about overcoming barriers to mental health treatment for family caregivers in rural America who support a loved one with a mood disorder.

Mental health is crucial in the agriculture community due to the unique challenges farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers face. These individuals often endure high stress levels caused by unpredictable weather, fluctuating markets, long working hours, and isolation in rural areas. Such pressures can lead to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and even suicide. Ensuring proper mental health support for this community is vital for their personal well-being and sustaining agricultural productivity. Addressing mental health can improve decision-making, resilience, and overall quality of life in a sector that plays a foundational societal role.

What are you thankful for? It’s a question that often comes up at this time of year, especially as many of us gather with family and friends around the Thanksgiving table. While celebrating gratitude during the holiday season is a heart-warming tradition that can boost your spirits, practicing gratitude regularly can benefit your physical and mental health throughout the year.

My parents both showed up for all my 4-H and FFA activities from livestock shows and club meetings and always picked me up and dropped me off at leadership camp. We were a family of five, and I was the youngest of my siblings. I am sure there was stress within the family, but it wasn’t noticeable or anything out of the ordinary looking back as an adult. However, our family had an unexpected and abrupt change when I was 15.

Earlier this year, Rural Minds partnered with the nonprofit organization Horses for Mental Health in the making of a video to help increase awareness and improve access to programs that incorporate horses for mental health in rural America. You can watch this powerful story of resilience and healing here: Supporting Mental Health in Rural Communities.

In this blog, you’ll learn how involving horses in psychotherapy and counseling sessions can help individuals with mental health challenges and also find additional resources for equine-assisted therapy.

In today's fast-paced world, people often find themselves caught in a constant loop of social media updates, work notifications, and never-ending to-do lists. This persistent connectivity can lead to FOMO or the Fear of Missing Out. FOMO is the anxiety stemming from the belief that others are experiencing better moments without you. This fear can keep you glued to your screens, leaving you with feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction.

But there's an antidote—JOMO, the Joy of Missing Out. JOMO is about finding happiness in what you are doing and where you are without the constant worry of missing out on something better. It encourages you to slow down, appreciate your experiences, and prioritize your well-being.

Todd Henderson grew up in a small town in Indiana and believes he is the third generation in his family to be affected by mental illness. Generation after generation, Todd’s family struggled to access mental healthcare, traveling 60 miles to find therapists, psychologists and hospitals. Often, help came too little and too late. Todd shares his family's history in hopes of helping other individuals and families.

I was 17 years old, living in a small rural town outside of Buffalo, NY. Things had changed so much in the past few years … I was a happy child. I spent most of my time climbing trees, catching nightcrawlers for fishing, and making maps of the surrounding woods. When I hit my later teenage years, there was a shift. I was melancholy more days than not with a quick temper. At 16, I met my first real boyfriend and started hanging out with his friends in another small town called Bliss. It was anything but.

 It was there that I started using drugs and alcohol. Most of the time it was just a weekend thing. I didn’t think it was a problem. I was having fun. All my friends were doing it. Most parents knew what was going on and were “okay” with it because at least they knew where we were. 

FEELING STRESSED OR SAD ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS? YOU’RE NOT ALONE. A 2021 survey (1) found that 60% of Americans feel the holidays have a negative impact on their mental health, including higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety, as well as increased substance abuse. For people affected by mental illness, the holiday season can be especially challenging. One study (2) by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that 64% of people with mental illness said the holidays make their conditions worse.

To all our veterans who have served in the armed forces, we at Rural Minds wish to express our gratitude for the courage, strength and sacrifice you and your families have made to defend our country and keep us safe. We realize that some of you may still be struggling with both emotional and mental battles after leaving military life, as well as encountering barriers in accessing mental health support. And for the 4.4 million veterans who live in rural communities across the country, the challenges of accessing mental health services are likely to be even greater. In this blog post, we share national and rural statistics to help raise awareness of mental health challenges facing our nation’s veterans, and provide resources for additional mental health information and support.

It isn’t only for you that your truth needs written, spoken, danced, felt and heard; it’s for every survivor who needs to know that it’s possible to endure and reach that thriving time. The problem, of course, appears to be that there’s no end goal, where suddenly pain never happens again. The spiral staircase of recovery means revisiting the pain, but the more alive and creative you feel, the less often you visit that pain, and the less often that pain visits you. Plus, having a way of expressing feelings takes those feelings out of spinning and spinning around in our heads. The spiral staircase of healing continues, and the spinning in confusion stops as the tangles unwind.

To help raise awareness about mental health, the nonprofit organization Fluvanna County Arts Council presented “Always. Already. Enough: Flipping the Switch on Mental Illness” on May 6, 2023, at the Carysbrook Performing Arts Center in the small rural community of Fork Union, Virginia. This storytelling event harnessed the power in sharing stories of lived experience with mental illness, as well as provided compelling testimony to the recovery process. During the program, six storytellers shared their mental health and wellness journeys through monologues, music, poetry and visual art.

I learned that I have bipolar disorder, but I am not bipolar disorder. I may have a mental illness, but I am not defined by that illness, and I can live an amazing life. I shattered my inner shame. From that point, my life took a turn for the better. I created BipolarBabe.com, a place of understanding where people could connect who were dealing with any mental health issue. This vision eventually gave rise to the Bipolar Disorder Society of British Columbia, now known as Stigma-Free Society.

During Pride Month, Rural Minds strives to increase awareness of the mental health disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals, especially those who live in rural America. Accessing mental healthcare is often a challenge for many who live in rural communities throughout the US, but that challenge is multiplied for rural LGBTQ+ people. In addition to such issues as social and geographic isolation, shortages of healthcare professionals and transportation barriers experienced by all rural Americans seeking mental healthcare, LGBTQ+ people also risk encountering stigma and discrimination.

Addiction is a growing health issue that can affect individuals in every corner of America, regardless of their age, gender, race or financial status. However, rural Americans face more challenges in combatting addiction to alcohol and drugs compared to their urban counterparts due to a lack of adequate resources for prevention, treatment and recovery.

After years of suffering alone from severe depression, anxiety and a negative relationship with food, I sought out help from a professional who accepted all forms of insurance and made me feel comfortable. Seeking help was one of the best decisions I ever made. I have a more positive outlook on relationships with people around me, including my family, and better focus on my career and day-to-day life.

Eating disorders are a serious type of mental illness that, when left untreated, can be deadly. People with eating disorders have persistent and unhealthy thoughts and behaviors about food, which causes them to eat dangerously too little or too much. Eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice or a phase. They are illnesses that can impact anyone of any age, gender, body type, race, or socioeconomic group. An estimated 30 million Americans struggle with an eating disorder during their lifetime. In the U.S., more than 10,000 deaths each year are a direct result of an eating disorder.

Mental health is an important, but sometimes overlooked, component of overall health and well-being. What better time than the start of a new year to find ways to promote your mind-body wellness? Practicing mindfulness and having a good work-life balance, as well as incorporating a healthy diet, exercise and good sleep habits, can lead to better mental and physical health.

Read highlights about Rural Minds’ successes during our first year as a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing mental health stigma, as well as making mental health information and resources available to people living in rural America

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology Dr. Pravesh Sharma is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. His research areas include substance use disorder among adolescents and young adults and digital health equity among rural and racially diverse populations.

In this article, Dr. Sharma shares his insights on digital healthcare in rural communities.