Spreading the wellbeing message for Farmstrong

Module Overview

After spending years hiding how bad he was feeling inside, Cambridge dairy farmer Marc Gascoigne says it’s an absolute honour to share his story publicly to help others who may be struggling.

The 58-year-old Farmstrong supporter has appeared as a guest speaker on behalf of Farmstrong at different rural events including the Fonterra Farm Managers Conference, an Anexa Vets event, Strawberry Growers NZ Conference, Cambridge Neighbourhood Support, an ANZCO Foods event and a Farmstrong Scotland event in Scotland.

“I talk to all sorts of different groups and organisations about the importance of looking after your wellbeing and I share my story of being in a bad place, reaching out for help and the things I do to look after my own mental health,” Marc says.

“When I give a talk, I use slides, and I go through in detail the things I do to look after myself and give practical examples of how I use the Five Ways to Wellbeing every day to keep myself in a good space.”

He says it’s always humbling to hear positive feedback from people in the audience and to know he’s helping others.

“People often come up afterwards and it’s a good opportunity for me to listen to what they are saying and for them to get things off their chest and for me to point them in the right direction.

“People also thank me for raising the topic of wellbeing and I sometimes hear from wives who say they can see parallels with my story and their husband’s situation,” Marc says.

“Getting people thinking about doing something about their situation or even just planting a seed in their mind is a positive step forward.”

Safer Farms chair Lindy Nelson attended the recent ANZCO Foods event where Marc was a guest speaker.

“Marc has a great story and messages. He was grounded, relatable and not evangelical, if you know what I mean. I watched the room when he was talking, and he was absolutely getting some penny-dropping moments from the audience.”

Strawberry Growers NZ executive director Sally King also sang Marc’s praises.

“I had so much fantastic feedback on his session and it’s clear he touched a nerve for the entire grower community. He was just amazing,” Sally says.

“His story mirrors so much of what growers have been dealing with and the humour with which he told it was perfect to break the ice on something no grower would easily front up to talk about.”

Normalising conversations about wellbeing

Marc says it’s important to normalise talking about mental health and wellbeing.

“I went through years of suffering and hid everything away until I was about 50. I didn’t want to do anything or talk to anybody… then I finally went to my GP, and he put me on antidepressants and directed me to the Farmstrong website and I haven’t looked back since,” he says.

“Farming wasn’t the problem. It was the way I was thinking about it that was the problem.”

Marc says getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, taking regular breaks and using the Five Ways to Wellbeing help him stay on top of things.

Exercise is a particularly important part of Marc’s life and helps him feel good.

“To be honest, I don’t really enjoy exercising much but it makes me feel so good for hours afterwards. It clears my head, gets me off the farm and gives me a fresh perspective on things.”

He says creating good habits is important and small changes can make a big difference.

“Every night in the shower I think of three things that went well that day and then when I go to bed, I think of three things that I’m looking forward to. No matter how bad you think things are, there’s always something good out there,” he says.

Reach out if you need help

Marc says sharing his personal story helps him in his own wellbeing journey.

“It helps my recovery to share what I went through. One of the Five Ways to Wellbeing is Giving Back and it feels good when you help somebody else.”

He says the Farmstrong website has great resources that can help you if you’re struggling.

“Or reach out to a mate or family member or go and see your GP. Don’t hide it away and don’t be embarrassed or ashamed like I was to talk about how you’re feeling,” he says.

I’d been struggling on and off for 20 years and didn’t do anything about how I was feeling. It robbed me of some of the best times in my life, but it doesn’t have to be like that.”