My grandfather had a saying, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
When I first learned to drive, my dad told me, “Drive like your brakes don’t work. Someday when they don’t work or the road is too icy to stop, you will already have planned where to . . .
steer to avoid an accident.” Every time that I had an accident or ran into the ditch on an icy road it was because I didn’t do what my dad had told me.
On the farm, it’s easier and less expensive to vaccinate animals than to treat a disease later or maybe deal with losing an animal. It’s also easier to dehorn calves than to deal with a full grown, upset animal a few years later that still has two sharp weapons, one on each side of its head. Many of us get a flu shot each fall to avoid being deathly sick in the following winter.
The deadly Coronavirus is now found in most corners of the earth. This frightening illness has killed many people, stopped cruise ships from landing because a case had been discovered on that ship, locked down cities and caused the stock markets to crash in fear. We are even warned not to shake hands with anyone in church. Fear has gripped the world.
As of the beginning of March 2020 there has not been a vaccination approved that can prevent you from contracting the virus. Elderly people and those with illnesses are at greater risk of dying if they catch the virus. We are told that the most effective defence that we all have is to thoroughly wash our hands regularly and be cautious if attending anywhere there are large crowds of people. As of March 1, 2020 there have been no deaths in our valley and no recorded cases of the virus.
To put things in perspective, for every death from Coronavirus in the world, there have been 26 deaths by suicide during the same period. One person in 20 has or will contemplate suicide. One person in five has or will experience severe stress or depression. In this unpredictable ever changing world that we now live in, these numbers may soon be even worse.
Even though there is no vaccine or even an effective cure for Coronavirus yet, there are ways of detecting psychological health problems or signs of suicide. Courses have been developed by many of our health agencies but few people have taken a day or evening to attend and educate themselves how to detect and deal with these deadly, expensive, life threatening problems.
Most people don’t even know who to call for help if they do see a problem. As psychological first aid has became available, courses have also began popping up throughout the country. A few people have participated in these educational courses but stress leave from the work place and suicides have continued to rise in our own county.
Health agencies, workers unions, schools, churches and concerned individuals have been working together to get these courses offered locally and have found sponsors to allow the courses to be offered at little or no cost to the participants.
The more people who are educated in what to watch for and detecting the early stages of depression, the easier it will become to save a friend, neighbour or family member from developing this dangerous and sometimes deadly disease. The more eyes that are watching and the more ears that are listening, the greater chance our community has of early detection and cure of these very real problems. Often, only a few minutes of your time listening to someone can save further distress or even their life.
Although some courses have already passed or are booked up, there is a one day course on March 17 open and a two evening course, March 23-24 still not booked up. Call 613-878-0081 to attend either the one day course on March 17, or the two evening course on March 23-24. Do this for your family or friends, please.
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations. gladcrest@gmail.com
