Farmers: It will take years for scars to heal

As those hit by last week's flooding assess the physical damage, agencies such as East Coast Rural Trust are beginning to worry that, without support, the emotional toll will be too much for some.
The trust's Hawke's Bay co-ordinator, Mike Barham, said it would take years for some farmers to recover.
"This isn't like when you lose 100 ewes and you bury them and don't see them again. This is in their face for a couple of years. It'll take years for those scars to heal."
Others were still dealing with the trauma of losing homes and having to escape the torrential rain.
Chrys Ayley evacuated her Te Awanga home in the early hours of Wednesday morning last week. Cold, dark water was flooding her sleepout and already three-quarters the way up the bed. Rain lashed down outside and the water was rising. Ms Ayley grabbed a few belongings and waded to a neighbour's house.
"It's hard to describe the terror. When I woke up there was sheer panic because you don't expect a river to be in your house, and it's dark and quite scary."
Ms Ayley said she was one of the lucky ones, losing only furniture and a few possessions. The sleepout was temporarily unliveable.
Ms Ayley couldn't stop shaking for two days, which she put down to a combination of shock and lack of sleep. She was coping well and getting on with things, but got "a bit jittery" when rain started up again.
Any lingering negative thoughts are brushed aside as she gets on with life and spares a thought for others harder hit.
"I was bloody lucky. This is peanuts. I suddenly thought what the people in Christchurch go through [with constant aftershocks]. Their nerves must be absolutely shot."
Elsewhere in Hawke's Bay, especially along the coast areas and Central Hawke's Bay, the flooding and slips gauged the countryside and devastated farmland.
Mr Barham was in constant contact with farmers devastated by the weather bomb. He said many farmers were still "very fragile" one week after the devastation and there was some concern for their mental health.
"They're coping pretty well, but some are making some rash sorts of decisions. I've seen several lots of bizarre behaviour. They're signs of stress rather than depression, because we're all running on adrenalin.
"But when the realisation hits that this is a third or forth generation farm, that's when they'll start to wobble," he said.
Federated Farmers president Kevin Mitchell said farmers were renowned for resilience, "but in times like these, there will be strain on relationships. Financial resources are stretched and you don't make your best decisions when you're distressed".
Mr Mitchell was speaking from experience, having 160ha of his 1100ha farm destroyed by Cyclone Bola in 1988.
He remembered feeling overwhelmed. "You just don't know where you're going to start. Physically, you're stunned. You don't know where to turn."
Director of Gains Psychology Stephanie Dillon said reactions to trauma, like the flooding, varied according to personal resilience, support and previous experience of hardship.
"[Some] may experience such events as more traumatic, or may cope in the short-term, and exhibit traumatic reactions later," she said.
It was important people recognised depression, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, irritability and sleeping trouble were normal reactions to trauma. She said they could be "healthy responses" and were best dealt with by family and community support.
She advised, however, seeking professional help if those negative reactions did not abate with time.
Dr Dillion said not all reactions were negative. "There may be an increased sense of community after facing an adverse event with others - people pitching in to help each other. Also, individuals may discover strengths within themselves of which they were unaware."
Mr Mitchell can testify to that. He remembered a car-load of farmers from Onga Onga pitching in to help after Bola. He said their solid day's work "barely made a dent" in the overall repair, "but it was absolutely magic. The lift to morale was huge".
Storm-hit farmers can contact Mike Barham on md.ee.barham@xtra.co.nz, 06-8773930 or 0275-828443.