.png;w=853)
ESTEVAN — Danielle Wildfong sees a lot of farmers struggling with mental health, and she wants to do something about it.
Wildfong works as a business consultant, helping families with their transition and succession planning, and she also does a lot of public speaking. Earlier this year, she was the keynote speaker at the Estevan Farmer's Appreciation Evening, when she addressed the issue of mental health and shared her own battles.
She said she wants to speak to farmers about the importance of mental health because she is a farmer herself.
"They're my clients. They're my family," she said in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday. "I see the struggle that farmers go through in being in a business and being a family. My purpose in life is to really help farmers overcome obstacles and learn how to solve problems together."
People are typically very receptive to her message. Some might not like what she has to say, but Wildfong views mental health as a very important subject because it impacts people so deeply.
The farmer's evening was the first time she had shared her mental health journey. She told the crowd how she went to Calgary to get a business degree, but didn't have a support group when she arrived.
"I'd had a few struggles growing up, just like any teenager, but moving away made me feel … really alone in Calgary and I remember that I needed to come home. I needed to be closer to family and closer to a support group," recalled Wildfong.
When she returned to Saskatchewan, she had a tough time finding a purpose. Wildfong moved around a lot and had trouble completing tasks. She blamed herself, and it was a big part of what she called a "downward spiral".
"You start comparing yourself, and comparison is a thief. It steals your joy. It steals your focus on all the good things that you should be focusing on. All your positives. Your purpose. Your strengths. Your abilities."
It was particularly tough around 2014. Wildfong couldn't manage the depression and anxiety, but her roommate at the time, who also had mental health struggles, told Wildfong she needed tools to get through this, with counselling, meditation, yoga, exercise and sleep.
She started to build tools on how she could cope with those things that caused her to think and feel a certain way, and she found a support system. It was also important to create a program that helped her.
"I think the most important message to take away from that program would be that you have to have hope. You have to have faith that better days are coming. And yes, you will droop down again or you will have a low again," said Wildfong.
Three or four people came up to her after she spoke in Estevan to thank her for the message.
"I think it was tough to get over the hurdle that this is okay and you should share your message, but this is valuable to people, and we've got so much addictions and so much mental health in farming and so much stress, we need better ways to manage it and we need more people to share their stories, because that gives people the help they need."
Having her best friend present in Estevan helped her share her story.
This is a particularly busy time of year for her. Farmers want to talk about their operations and they want help solving their problems.
"That's what I focus on, is helping families figure out how to solve their problems and find solutions for such things as family," she said.
And it's particularly busy when it's been a dry year like it was for so many in Saskatchewan this year.
"I will refer to a professional. I am definitely not a professional. I have some training, but I stay within my own … coaching as opposed to counselling, and helping them understand what's right for them. And if it's really bad, then it's helping the family, giving them permission that it's okay to talk to and see someone.
"And generally the family knows. They've observed, maybe bipolar or maybe stress or maybe irrational thoughts or minor anxieties. So generally the family knows if they're working closely together, and it's about getting the whole family on board to be a support and to give that person permission."
