January 29th is Bell Let’s Talk Day, a day focused on raising awareness of mental health through social media sharing. Started in 2011, the day has raised millions of dollars for mental health support.
At this year’s FarmTech held at Edmonton, Alta., farmer Christi Friesen took the time to sit in the RealAg Radio booth to talk about her personal journey, including the challenges and opportunities she’s faced in the past.
“My brother committed suicide in November of 2014,” she says. “He was my only brother, and he did suffer with mental health issues, he was predisposed to schizophrenia. It’s tough. It’s one of those things, [where] it’s a hard experience to go through, because you don’t know the why.”
She says from the outside looking in, it might look as though someone has it all together, but deep down, something is just not right. Friesen went on to say it’s the reality she faced with her brother as, “one day they’re here, and the next day they’re gone.”
She says she deals with personal struggles, but thankfully has a husband who recognized the signs of her not quite ‘being herself’ and with that, she then reached out and got help from a professional.
Hear more from Friesen and how she balances farming, stress, and minding her mental wellness:
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