economic planning cycle for small
businesses affected by the current
dry conditions, while there may be
a lag in the processes they are able
to change to mitigate for the risk
for drier conditions in the medium
term.
Depending upon the severity of the
drought, symptoms of personal distress may come and go, or last for
months.
More extreme droughts carry more
risk that difficulties may be experienced.
Recognising emotional stress
Signs of emotional distress related
to droughts may include:
Trouble falling asleep or staying
asleep
Eating too much or too little
Having low or no energy
Worrying a lot of the time; feeling guilty but not sure why
Pulling away from people and
things
Having unexplained aches and
pains like constant stomach
aches or headaches
Feeling numb or like nothing
matters
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Increased smoking, drinking or
using drugs (including prescription medication)
Feeling unusually confused or
forgetful
Feeling like you have to keep
busy
Constant yelling or fighting with
family and friends; irritable
Unable to perform daily tasks
like taking care of your kids or
other dependents, trouble showing up to work or school on time
or at all (excessive absences),
trouble concentrating and getting things done, etc.
Thinking of hurting or killing
yourself or someone else
Once the immediate challenges are
met, the problems don't go away.
Stress and Coping Related to
Drought for Rural Families
Compared to other natural disasters
such as floods or pests, drought
conditions are more long-term and
more difficult to cope with for
farmers and their families. The farm
and farming means an income, a
lifestyle, and a home to many farmers, but prolonged drought has put
an increased risk on farm sustainability for farmers and families. The
loss of a farm can be a traumatic
experience and means a major
change in lifestyle, place of residency, and the end of family. Farmers
and their families are affected by
drought in many ways - financially,
emotionally and physically.
Financial stress and coping strategies
Farmers and their families are often
faced with financial stress caused
by prolonged drought. At the beginning of the drought, financial
stress can be acute, but as the
drought continue and farmers experience huge loss of their income or
even farm business, financial stress
can become chronic. Also, tension
may be building between partners
and between parents and children
due to financial stress. A number of
relevant coping strategies have
been listed to help rural families
deal with financial stress. They recommended that open and h onest
communication among family
members including children is the
most important way for families to
lessen the adverse effect of financial
stress.
The following are the specific coping strategies:
Talk about values and money.
Family members get together
and talk about each one’s values
and attitudes toward money.
Set guidelines for your financial
discussions. Each family member
states their individual wants and
needs and is willing to compromise and negotiate on financial
goals and spending habits.
Set goals and priorities. Given
the current situation, set realistic
standards to accomplish what
you want with your money. Set a
time line including shortmedium-and long-term objectives and make changes on the
plans due to any uncertain
weather patterns, earning capability and economic times. For
example, if you have planned to
buy farm equipment and it will
cost a considerable amount of
your savings, you may have to
put it off due to the hardship
related to drought currently.
Make a spending plan. Write
down your spending plan and
list your most important expenses. Avoid unnecessary and impulse buying.
Keep your business and living
expenses separate. In order to
gain a clear view of your financial situation, farmers should
keep personal and farm business
expenses separate.
Think twice about quick fixes or
offers that are too good to be
true. Consider carefully when
low introduction rate credit
cards or low interest home equity or farm equipment loans are
offered. They may look like a
quick fix, but make decisions
carefully before taking on more
debt.
Seek professional help when you
need it. Seek help from professional financial services and
communicate with your lender
and creditors to discuss solutions
to help alleviate your financial
problems.
Parents in rural families can plan
ahead for future generations,
that is, encourage their children
to leave the farm to gain new
skills. The new knowledge and