|
|
|
Cooperative Extension Service
The
University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences
and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
cooperating
|
|
|
Farm
Stress Management Plan
Farm
families can reduce or eliminate stress if they plan ahead.
With these nine steps, family members can tailor a plan
to fit their situation.
Farm families
experience some of the same stresses that non-farm families
do, such as rising food and energy costs. In addition,
they face the stress of machinery breakdowns, unpredictable
weather conditions, and the heavy pressures that accompany
planting and harvesting. By meeting together to plan ahead,
farm families can reduce or eliminate much of the stress
that they feel. This final leaflet in the series provides
nine steps to create a farm stress management plan that
will work for you.
|
 |
|
1. The specific
stressful problem we want to solve is (e.g., our short
tempers during harvest):
|
|
2. The roadblocks
and barriers to solving this problem are (e.g., not taking
time to notice symptoms early and to think before yelling):
|
|
3. Some early
warning symptoms of this stressful problem are (e.g.,
family arguments, Dad’s neck aches, Mom’s
withdrawing):
|
|
4. Some stress
relief methods that work well for us are (e.g., neck rubs,
talking about the pressures):
|
|
5. Some possible
ways we could solve the problem identified in Step 1 are
• by
controlling events (e.g., postponing daughter’s
elective surgery until after harvest):
• by
controlling our attitudes (e.g., the worst that would
happen if we didn’t get this field’s hay baled
by nightfall is that our hay would get wet — we’ve
survived worse problems):
• by
controlling responses (e.g., instead of using our usual
“you” statements to blame each other, we could
use “I” statements to ask directly for what
we want):
• by
using resources (e.g., asking a family member for a neck
massage before falling asleep at night):
|
|
6. We are
aware that we know ourselves better than anyone else.
So if we were to write the best prescription available
to cure the problem identified in Step 1, here’s
what we’d plan:
|
|
7. The personal
benefit we’ll get from using our plan is (e.g.,
we’ll eliminate the stress of being short-tempered
with each other during harvest):
|
|
8. The price
we’ll have to pay is (e.g., we’ll have to
remind one another to think before yelling and ask for
what we want):
|
|
9. A way we’ll
make sure we get a reward for our new behavior is (e.g.,
when we notice fewer arguments, we’ll point it out
and cheer us on):
|
After you have put
your plan into action for a week or two, you might meet together
again to evaluate your progress and perhaps revise your plan
or set up a new one to solve another farm stress problem
Released
by Don Bower, Extension Human Development Specialist,
College of Family and Consumer Sciences, the University of Georgia
Adapted
from Farm Stress Series, Robert J. Fetsch, Cooperative
Extension Service, University of Kentucky, 1984
The University
of Georgia and Ft. Valley State University, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and counties of the state cooperating. The Cooperative
Extension Service, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences offers educational programs, assistance
and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national
origin, age, sex or disability.
An
Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Organization Committed
to a Diverse Work Force
| CHFD-E
36 |
HD-4
|
August 2000
|
Issued
in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 18
and June 30, 1914, The University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
cooperating.
Gale
A. Buchanan, Dean and Director
 Go to Georgia Extension Service publications |
