Riverina Bluebell

3 weeks ago

CHECK THIS OUT. This short extract is from an article by Mary O'Brien who talks farmer talk...

The statistics are everywhere, Australian males between 15 and 45 years of age are one of the highest risk categories for suicide. Men are 3 to 4 times more likely to take their own life than women and the further you move from the coast into regional, rural, and remote Australia, the more that figure climbs. Why? Why are my country heroes cashing in their chips early? The experts will tell you that that it’s due to reasons like ‘the isolation’, ‘men don’t talk about emotions’, ‘they don’t know how to express their feelings’…. Well I call bullshit! I don’t have a psychology degree of any kind, I’m not a doctor of any type, I haven’t studied mental health at all but I do know country men. And this is what I do know… country men are the toughest, hardest working, funniest, most sincere, totally dependable, thoroughly genuine people you will ever meet. So don’t sit in your university office in the city and tell me that you know rural men.

As a rule I don’t think rural men are challenged by ‘the isolation’. I think most actually thrive on it, they enjoy the peace and tranquility that surrounds them. They enjoy the time they spend tending the earth and its creatures. They are nourished and challenged by nature and all its hardships. Everyone needs interaction with other people but isolation only really becomes a major problem when coupled with depression. ... See MoreSee Less