20 August 2025 TOP: PEOPLEIMAGES.COM - ADOBE STOCK STRESS BUSTERS ARTICLE BY HELEN LAMMERS-HELPS Stress can negatively impact our mental health, our physical health, our relationships, and our ability to make good decisions. Incorporating good stress management practices into our days, even when we’re busy, pays off. That’s according to Kathy Somers, who runs the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic at the University of Guelph. She teaches clients, including farmers, how to calm the mind, the emotions, and the nervous system. This can help people better cope with the effects of stress which include poor sleep, stomach issues, inability to focus, and more. After you’ve taken all the steps you can to minimize stressful situations, Somers says what’s left is to manage your reactions to stress. Getting the brain and body to a place where you are making it more resilient to stress will help you weather life’s storms. Somers, who grew up on a farm near Woodstock, Ontario, says there is strong research to support the effectiveness of the techniques she teaches her clients. These techniques fall into three categories: self-calming, self-care, and self-talk. SELF-CALMING “If you’re rushing around to beat the rain or to get equipment ready, but you take a few minutes to self-calm on your lunch break, you’ll have better digestion,” explains Somers. Likewise, if you can calm yourself before bed, you can also get a better night’s sleep. Self-calming techniques include gentle stretching to loosen up the muscles, self-massage, meditation, relaxation exercises, or focusing on the breath. “Focusing on your breathing is maybe the easiest and most powerful and not noticed by anybody else,” emphasizes Somers. “You can do it in social situations, while watching TV, at the dinner table when stressful topics are discussed and no one will notice.” She recommends aiming for a four second breath in and a six second breath out unless that’s uncomfortable. SELF-CARE As the saying goes, self-care isn’t selfish. In fact, it can go a long way in making it easier to cope with the stress of long days, equipment break-downs, pest problems, finances, bad weather, market instability, etc. Being active is good for your cardio system and for health overall, says Somers. She also recommends protecting your sleep and eating nutritiously. When you don’t eat for more than four hours, stress chemicals are released. She suggests planning for busy seasons by having some healthy snacks (a combination of carbohydrates and protein) on-hand in the tractor or in the barn. Somers explains that some stresses such as financial pressures or fear of letting your family down are long-term stresses. There are no quick fixes for these problems which can lead to farmers experiencing chronic stress. While adrenaline is released as a result of short-term stress (e.g. equipment breakdown or rushing to town for parts), cortisol is released during long-term stress which hurts the immune system. While a few minutes of breath work may be sufficient to calm the nervous system when coping with short-term or acute stress, longer calming techniques are needed to deal with chronic stress. Somers suggests 20 minutes of meditation, calm breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation. Physical activity can also help burn off cortisol. MENTAL HEALTH
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