After nearly two years of collaboration, Women in Ag columnist Erica Leniczek decided to take a step back from writing this column to focus on the development of her practice. We applaud her for prioritizing her mental health by taking this decision and are proud of this next step she's taking. However, Erica would not be Erica if she left us without some final words of wisdom. Here's her parting advice.
I’ve had the pleasure of writing for Women in Ag Mag from my little part of the world in Alberta, Canada for the past 2-years. Through this experience, I’ve met pen pals, friends, and people I will be connected to now for life. Together, we have seen the highs and lows of farming through protests, mental health challenges, and losses. We have celebrated magazine anniversaries, each other’s successes, and life’s excitement.
With that, we are sad to say this is my last submission for the magazine. I am heading into a new season of life and working towards becoming a certified counsellor, and eventually, hopefully, Dr.Erica - a registered psychologist. With all that comes with, I have decided, for my own mental health, to step away and focus on my career and farm without having ‘too many irons in the fire.’
On that note, I would like to leave you all with a few mental health tips and tools, and insight about life in general that I hope you find beneficial. Straight from my heart, to you.
In this journey of life you will meet so many people. People you can feel you laugh and love with, people who surprise you with their love and generosity, people who genuinely want and push the best from you. You will also come across people who do the exact opposite of all of those things. People who surprise you with their malicious intentions and selfishness. Those who only want to use you for personal gain or whom shock you with their inherent values being so completely different than yours. What I hope you remember is this: hurt people are the people who hurt others. While you can create distance and set boundaries, it always helps me to remember that and to look at them with curiosity. I set boundaries with people all the time for my mental health, but I do so while remembering that something must have happened to them to make them that way. In doing this, you take the emphasis off of yourself for doing something wrong and increase your ability to approach situations that require incredible strength with grace.
There is so much joy in the world and things to be grateful for. I know somedays it can seem like life just keeps knocking you down, but I invite you to try to find 3 small things to be grateful for each day. By looking for gratitude, you can see exceptions to the hard times and open the door for successful action to change the way you feel mentally.
Movement does wonders for our nervous systems. Whether its stomping it out on a walk, shaking it out, dancing, running, or practicing yoga, movement helps us to process the emotional energy that happens when have have strong reactions to circumstances. Learn to utilize movement to drive yourself into freedom when you feel like you’re out of control. Look for things you can control in life, and do them often, think of them, and remember them. That’s one way to really help your mental health.
I hope through my time with WIA that you have learned something and found tools that help you with your mental heatlh.
And, if all else fails, I want to remind you that you have already survived 100% of your hardest days, you can survive today too.
Erica Leniczek, MA (cand.), B.Ed., B.Sc.
Thank you for everything, Erica!