Musings and lessons

Mental Health

Navigating Tough Times on the Farm

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It's no secret that life on the farm comes with its fair share of ups and downs, moments of achievement and success alongside times of intense struggle. If you’re a farmer in South Australia, like I am, you’ve likely felt like the past six months have been a rollercoaster where the ups have steadily faded. This past week, in particular, has been the icing on the cake that none of us wanted to eat. The severe dry conditions and some severe frosts across the state have placed immense pressure on o…

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Lessons from the Shearing Shed

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Shearing Wisdom: Life lessons from the shearing shed

It's the eve of our final day of shearing, and it feels like we have been shearing forever, even if it's just been a month (with a week and a few days off here and there). For us, shearing is all hands on deck. My roles vary from getting sheep in, helping drafting (my 9 year old is a gun drafter), roustabouting, and probably the most important one - making sure everyone is fed. When I was working full time as a psychologist, I used to daydrea…

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Let's talk about alcohol

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Which makes me realise. If I find it hard to say no at these events, and I don't consider that I "have a problem with alcohol", how incredibly hard is it for those of us in our communities that have realised that not drinking isn't just an option for them, but has to be a necessary choice? How hard is it for those in our communities who are struggling with their mental health and find alcohol to be a helpful short-term solution, but know that in the long term it is doing harm to themselves, thei…

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Surrender - The Power of Giving Over To

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SURRENDER – THE POWER OF GIVING OVER
 


Surrender

 - Sometimes it seems like a dirty word, but I think it is one of the most powerful things we can do.

Note: This is an edited copy of a blog I first wrote in early 2021. Here again in 2023, Surrender is a lesson I continue to learn and relearn, every.single.day.  

Surrender is my Word of the Year for 2023. It is something I believe in…

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