Selwyn_Times: January 19, 2022

Selwyn Times Wednesday January 19 2022
14
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Robertson’s rural well-being talk
‘Lean On A
Gate, Talk
To A Mate’
campaign
also popular
MAKE SURE you have someone
to talk to when life gets tough.
That was the key message from
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson
and a variety of rural mental
health advocates at a packed
gathering of the Ellesmere farming
community on Wednesday.
Ellesmere Sustainable Agriculture,
with support from
the Ministry for Primary
Industries, invited its members
and community to listen to four
incredible speakers sharing their
experiences around leadership,
stress, anxiety and depression
and the strategies to cope with
the pressures life creates in rural
communities.
A capacity crowd of nearly 100
farmers, their families and their
neighbours were captivated by
Robertson sharing some of the
secrets of the culture that created
the Crusaders dynasty, including
their methods to handle setbacks
and stress, which according to
Robertson apply to both the
rugby field as well as the farm.
Robertson explained how he
built his coaching career on doing
the hard yards, learning from
others who have gone before him
and building a support group he
can lean back on.
He said that earlier in his
career he used former Canterbury
coach Rob Penney as his
sounding board and these days
gets on the phone with former
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans
for mentoring.
“You always need to have a
plan or a person to call when
things get difficult,” Robertson
told the audience at the Lakeside
Soldiers Memorial Hall near
Leeston.
He explained that each person
responds differently to adversity.
“Some players get angry, some
get quiet and some withdraw,”
said Robertson who stressed
how important it was for all of us
to recognise and understand how
we react to stress and respond
accordingly.
“Instead of withdrawing or
getting angry, it is better to take
action. Talk to someone, get
a team around you, stay connected.
If you stay connected,
you can stay on course.”
After answering questions
about rugby as well as mental
health, the coach handed the
floor to three other speakers who
each support the rural community
and their mental health.
Geoff Spark, a supporter of the
Farmstrong (www.farmstrong.
co.nz) movement shared his
personal tale of dealing with
incredible stress after 2500 cattle
were culled due to Mycoplasma
bovis.
High-profile rural sports MC
and commentator Craig ‘Wiggy’
Wiggins then spoke about the
unexpected demand for a weekly
drop-in zoom call he started for
farmers during the first Covid
lockdown.
“Lockdown shut the front gate
and anxiety levels went through
the roof,” said Wiggins.
The weekly online gathering
evolved in a national campaign
SUPPORT: Rural mental
health advocates Geoff
Spark, left, Elle Perriam
and Craig Wiggins shared
their personal stories with
the Ellesmere farming
community.
(Left) – A packed Lakeside
Soldiers Memorial Hall
listens to Scott Robertson.
Where to get help:
• Alcohol Drug Helpline:
0800 787 797
• Christchurch Community
Alcohol & Drug Service:
Hillmorton Hospital – 335
4350
• 0800 543 354 (0800
LIFELINE) or free text 4357
(HELP) (available 24/7)
• https://www.lifeline.org.
nz/services/suicide-crisishelpline
• YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633
• NEED TO TALK? Free call
or text 1737 (available 24/7)
• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754
(available 24/7)
• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787
(1pm to 11pm)
• DEPRESSION HELPLINE:
0800 111 757 or TEXT 4202
• NATIONAL ANXIETY 24
HR HELPLINE: 0800 269
4389
• If it is an emergency
and you feel like you or
someone else is at risk,
phone 111.
to encourage farmers to open up
and share their worries.
Wiggins said that the ‘Lean
On A Gate, Talk To A Mate’
campaign aims to recreate some
of the traditional opportunities
when farmers used to connect
at the saleyards or in the pub,
which may not be happening as
often these days.
He explained that when people
get down, they struggle to remember
the good times.
“So it’s important to connect
to someone from the past, so
you can remember those happy
memories.”
The final speaker of the evening,
Elle Perriam, spoke about
her personal journey of depression
after her partner took his
own life, and trying everything
“to get rid of the pain”.
She explained how the depression
eventually helped her
to understand the mindset of
people considering taking their
own lives and helped to create
Will To Live New Zealand (www.
willtolivenz.com), which helps
farmers with their mental health
struggles.
Perriam, who grew up in
Haast, but now lives in Leeston,
has reached over 15,000 farmers
through her Rural Change
Programme in recent months
and has raised funding for farmers
to access private counselling,
instead of waiting for months
through the public health system.
She encouraged all farmers
to reach out if they wanted to
improve their well-being, even
those who don’t have urgent
challenges.
ESAI event organiser Jo Fearn
said the night had been a huge
success and the ESAI team were
stoked with the big turnout.
“Mental health is one of the
biggest challenges in the rural
sector and creating a night like
this to learn and to connect with
your neighbours is incredibly
important.”